The so-called Arian works are the product of the writing activity of an unknown author, who can be placed at the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century. These are works of great importance that had a significant impact on Eastern and Western theological thought.
The unknown author, initially a pagan and later a Christian, possessed an excellent philosophical education (most likely a student of the Neoplatonic philosopher Proclus) and used Neoplatonic philosophical terminology to articulate the Christian doctrine of the Trinitarian deity.
The "On the Divine Names," which extends over thirteen chapters, deals within the framework of affirmative theology with the names and characteristics of God, derived from the benevolent intentions and activities of the deity. Among others, "theonyms" such as Good, Light, Goodness, Love, Being, Life, Wisdom, and Unity are developed.
The "On Mystical Theology," divided into five short chapters, discusses the "divine apophasis" – the darkness in which God hides – and the way of union with the divine as far as possible, primarily through apophatic theology.
