The
Chaldean Oracles have survived as fragmentary texts from the 2nd century AD, and consist mainly of
Hellenistic commentary on a single mystery-poem (which may have been compilations from several oracular sources, considering the random subject changes) that was believed to have originated in
Chaldea (
Babylonia). They appear to be a
syncretic combination of
Neoplatonic elements with others that were
Persian or Babylonian in origin. Later Neoplatonists, such as
Iamblichus and
Proclus, rated them highly. The 4th-century
Emperor Julian suggests in his
Hymn to the Magna Mater that he was an initiate of the God of the
Seven Rays, and was an adept of its teachings. When Christian Church Fathers or other
Late Antiquity writers credit "the Chaldeans", they are probably referring to this tradition.