Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism is a philosophical school of late antiquity (3rd - 6th century AD). Neoplatonists position the soul in the middle of a strict metaphysical hierarchy:

Soul is a lower emanation from Nous (divine Intellect), which in turn comes from the One (the ineffable source).

Soul is the mediator between the intelligible world (Nous, Forms) and the sensible world.

Soul is partly divine but also linked to matter, and some souls descend too far and forget their origin.

The ultimate aim is the return (epistrophē) to the One via inner purification, contemplation, and ascent.