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Apollonius of Tyana | by Dr. R. W. Bernard (1964)
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Apollonius of Tyana | by Dr. R. W. Bernard (1964)
Web Publication by Mountain Man Graphics, Australia
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Part 2: Similarities Between Apollonius and Jesus |
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The messengers of Apollo sang at his birth as the angels did at that of Jesus. He also was exposed to the attacks of enemies, though always engaged in doing good. He similarly went from place to place carrying out the work of reform, being accompanied by his favorite disciples, amongst whom disaffection, discouragement and even treachery made their appearance. And when the hour of danger was at hand, in spite of the prudent advice of friends, and the abandonment of his disciples, he went straight to Rome, where Domitian, the cruel emperor, was seeking to kill him, just as Jesus went up to Jerusalem and to certain death. And before this event, he had been a victim of Domitian's no less cruel predecessor, Nero, as Jesus had been exposed to the machinations of Herod Antipus. Like Jesus, he is accused of working miracles of mercy by the aid of magic and unlawful arts, whereas he only succeeded in working them because he was a friend of the gods and worthy to be esteemed as such. Like Jesus on the road to Damascus, he fills an avowed enemy with wondering dismay by an apparition several years after his resurrection and ascension.
Another remarkable resemblance between Apollonius and Jesus was the great number of cases of evil spirits that were driven out at his bidding. He speaks to them, as it was said of Jesus, with authority. The young man of Athens, who was possessed, through whom the devil uttered cries of fear and rage, and who could not face the look of Apollonius, reminds us of the Gospel narrative of the demoniac of Gadera. Neither was cured until some outward visible circumstance had taken place that gave the people reason to believe that the devil had really gone out. In the one case a herd of swine rushed down into the lake, and in the other a statue falls, overthrown by the violence of the evil spirit as it rushes out of the young man.
There is also mentioned in the biography of Apollonius another case of possession singularly like the one of the epileptic child in the three first gospels. In Rome, Apollonius restored a young girl to life under circumstances which immediately remind us of the return to life of the daughter of Jairus. It may be further remarked that both stories are so recorded that a careful critic might ask himself with respect to each whether the young girl who was brought to life again had really been dead after all. The lame, the blind and the halt came in crowds to be healed by the laying on of hands by Iarchus, the chief of the Brahman sages of the Himalayan heights whom Apollonius visited and under whom he studied and derived his knowledge and power.
His miraculous appearance to his friends - Damis and Demetrius - who thought at first that he was a spirit, remind us at once, in the way this was related, of the resurrection of Jesus after his death.
The following inspiring description of the Christ-like figure of Apollonius is given by Campbell in his book, "Apollonius of Tyana:" "A strange distinctive figure, clad in white linen and not in garments wrought of skins; with feet unsandled and with locks unshorn; austere, reserved, and of meagre mien; with-eyes cast upon the ground as was his manner, Apollonius of Tyana drew to him with something of a saint's attraction all simple folk, and yet won as intimates the Emperors of Rome.
"By years of silence and contemplation, by extensive travel and
by a continuous spiritual and worldly experience, he deepened to
no minute measure, an originally, powerful. and intense
personality, and so it was that at length he became the
admiration not only of all countries through which he passed,
but of the whole Roman and Hellenic world. Cities sent envoys
and embassies to him decreeing him public favors; monarchs
bestowed special dignities upon him, counting him worthy to be
their counsellor; incense was burnt before his altars; and after
his death divine honours were paid to his images, which had been
erected, with great enthusiasm, in all the temples of the gods.
Nor did his fame evanesce. All down the ages his name has
carried in it something of a hurricane; for speculative critics
of both early and later days have thought to find in the life of
this exceptional character a parallel to the life of Christ, and
to ground an argument thereon, against the supernal claims of
the Son of Man. Hence for centuries even the name of Apollonius
wag odious to Christians; for it seemed the very Gospel of the
Son of Man was at stake; and Christian apologists, on their
part, in self-defense, were not lacking to attack fiercely their
adversaries' champion, and to denounce him as little better than
an imposter, a sorcerer and a magician; on this account they
have generally failed to understand the man. They have lacked,
at least in their combative approach to him, that sweet
affection for signal worth, that gracious patience for
nobleness, which is absolutely essential to comprehend a new or
startling character or mode of life."
"Through his love for all life and swift appreciation of the
beauty of the human form, he drew high to the sufferings of the
body and became acquainted with the sufferings of the soul. He
sought to heal, or at least to soothe, some of the distresses,
physical and spiritual, of poor humanity; and to such a singular
degree of skillfulness did he attain in the healing arts of his
day, that even the sacred oracles of Agaea and of Delphi
pronounced him more than mortal, referred the distempered body
and the smitten soul to him, for relief, knowing that from his
very presence proceeded a peculiar virtue, a benign influence an
almost theurigic power.
Another writer gives the following description of Apollonius:
"He had a Zeus-like head, long beard and hair descending to his shoulders, bound with a deep fillet. Damis describes Apollonius as ever mild, gentle and modest, and in this manner, more like an Indian than a Greek, though, when witnessing some special enormity, he would burst out indignantly against it. His mood was often pensive, and when not speaking he would remain for long with eyes cast down, plunged in deep thought. Though always stern with himself, he readily made excuses for others. As an instance of this, the following may be cited: During Nero's reign, when, on his way to Rome, Apollonius was warned that he and his followers would be in danger, of thirty-four companions who set out with him, only eight remained staunch enough to brave the threatened peril; while praising the courage of those few who remained with him, he refused to blame as cowards the many who had fled."
From Phliostratus's biography, we gather the following facts about the life and character of Apollonius of Tyana. He was born in the year 4 B.C. At the age of twelve he was sent to Tarsus in Cilcia, the alleged birthplace and home of "St. Paul." There he studied every system of philosophy, and perfected himself in rhetoric and general literature. He took up residence in the temple of Aescalupius, famed for its marvelous cures, and was initiated by its priests into their mysteries, after which he performed cures that astonished not only the people but those masters of the art of healing. He then finally decided to adopt the philosophy of Pythagoras, and rigorously observed the trying discipline instituted by the Samian sage. He abstained from animal food, wine and women -- and lived upon fruits and herbs, dressed only in white linen garments of the plainest construction, went barefooted and with uncovered head, and wore his hair and beard uncut. He was especially distinguished for his beauty, his genial bearing, his uniform love and kindness, and his imperturbable equanimity of temper.
In these respects he was the personal embodiment of the imaginary traits of the Christian Jesus, and was no doubt the original of the pictures of the so-called Nazarene, now so venerated by the uninformed professors of the Christian religion. (Almost every picture that in modern times is recognized as a likeness of Jesus really have their origins in a portrait of Apollonius of Tyana painted in the reign of Vespasian.)
Determined to devote himself to the pursuit of knowledge and the teaching of philosophy, he gave away his large patrimony to his poor relatives and went to Antioch, then a center of learning but little less noted than Athens or Alexandria. There he began his great mission by teaching philosophy to a number of disciples and to the people. He then entered the temple of Apollo Daphne at Antioch and learned the mysteries of its priests. Later he traveled to India in search of wisdom and visited the Gymnosophist philosophers of Egypt. He then returned to Greece to restore the Mysteries and to teach the doctrines of Chrishna and Buddha, which he learned at the feet of his Himalayan teacher, Iarchus. (These Teachings, embodying the Buddhist gospels that Apollonius carried westward, became the origin of the Christian religion).
As a a social and political reformer, he traveled from one end of the Roman Empire to the other, inciting revolt against the cruel tyrants - Nero and Domitian, for which he was arrested by both and thrown into jail. After his arrest by Domitian he was acquitted and "disappeared." After having completed his labors for humanity which lasted a century, it is believed he went to India to rejoin his teachers in the Himalayas. When and where he died is unknown.
Ells gives the following account of the life of Apollonius:
"In the phraseology of today he was a vegetarian and a total
abstainer. He claimed that by this mode of life his senses were
made abnormally acute, so that he had a premonition of future
events and became aware of the minds of men and of distant
happenings; and he successfully set up that defense when he was
tried for `sorcery' before the emperor. He prayed to the Sun
three times a day, offering incense but never sacrificing
victims. He believed in the immortality of the soul, in
metempsychosis [reincarnation], and in a supreme diety - the
Creator of the Universe. Indeed it may be argued that in the
deities whom he worshipped he saw merely phases and agencies of
this Supreme Deity, for in referring to the gods collectively he
is frequently quoted by Philostratus as using indiscriminately
the words `gods' or `god,' and the Indian sage Iarchus, with his
evident approval, likens the Universe to a ship of which the
Creator is the Master and the subordinate `gods' are petty
officers [cf. the Christian idea of orders of `angels' who
assist in the smooth running of creation, and the Hindu idea of
a trinity of `gods' - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - representing
the creative, preserving and destructive energies that are
operating continually within the creation, each having their
correlative functions or energy centers (chakras) within the
human body - which in itself is but a microcosm or reflection of
the macrocosmic universe.]
"All his life long his advice and help were constantly sought by
cities, temples and rulers everywhere, and were freely given
without reward. He journeyed over the known world from the
Atlantic ocean to the Ganges river, and south to the cataracts
of the Nile, acquiring and imparting wisdom. In middle age, when
his travels were not half completed, he told his disciples that
he had already seen more of the earth's surface than any other
man had ever done. During his long and laborious life he wrought
many wonders, and many men regarded him as an incarnate
divinity. The kings of Persia and of India vied with each other
to do him honor. After his death the Emperor Hadrian built a
temple and endowed a priesthood for his worship of Tyana. The
emperor Aurelian vowed to do the like, calling him the most
godlike, holy and venerable of mankind, endowed with more than
mortal powers, and declaring: "If I live, I will publish at
least a summary of his wonderful deeds, not because they need
anything my words can give, but to make them familiar to all
lips, as they are marvelous."
"Another emperor, Alexander Severus, with questionable taste,
set the image of Apollonius in his private chapel or solarium,
among his tutelary deities, in company with Orpheus, Abraham and
Christ (Though this reference has been quoted by many writers,
it appears very improbable that early Roman emperors, prior to
Constantine, who was the first to accept Christianity, had
statues of Abraham or Christ in their chapels. This statement is
obviously a Christian interpolation. [forgery] The statue of
Orpheus is the only one we can believe to have existed side by
side with that of Apollonius. As Eisler has shown, even in the
Catacombs of the early Christians there was no representation of
Jesus, while Orpheus is represented as the central object of
Worship. It is probable that Orpheus was considered as the
founder of the religion of which Apollonius was the apostle.)
"He was born in Tyana, A Greek City of Asia Minor, three years
before the birth of Christ, and he lived about a hundred years,
until the reign of Nerva. As with Moses, no man knoweth his
grave unto this day. Devoted to philosophy from his boyhood, he
studied it after the unequalled method of those days, by
listening to lectures and to disputations of rival thinkers in
every market-place and from the steps of every temple. He chose
as his own the philosophy of Pythagoras, and enthusiastically
practised its austerities, maintaining absolute silence for five
years as a mental discipline, avoiding all relations with women,
giving away his patrimony, and wearing only linen [cotton]
garments.
This very history we owe to the reverence paid to his memory by the empress Julia Domna, the wife of Septimius Severus, who commissioned Philostratus to write it and supplied him with most of the materials. For two hundred years after his death, Apollonius was generally acclaimed as more divine than human, until in the reign of Diocletian a Roman pro-consul Hierocles attempted to sweep back the rising tide of Christianity by publishing his "Candid Words to Christians," in which he drew unfavorable comparison of Christ with Apollonius. The nascent church easily confuted his attack, but could not forget nor forgive it; and not content with its victory over its assailant, it stigmatized the long-dead philosopher as a charlatan inspired and aided by the devil.
The chorus of destruction has been very persistent. As late as the time of Charles II, when one Charles Blount tried to publish in England a translation of Philostratus' biography, he complains in his preface that the clergy would only let him print the first two of its eight books, and that the Catholic priesthood was especially active in its opposition. (Eells, C.P., "Life and Times of Apollonius of Tyana.")
Since ancient times, the controversy raged between the followers of Apollonius and those of Jesus as to who was the more highly moral type. The partisans of Apollonius argued that he, being a man, offered humanity a more useful moral example than Jesus, a god, who could only be worshipped, but not imitated, and in comparison with whom Apollonius was as virtuous in every respect, and in some ways more so. They pointed out in particular, that a man who, from his sixteenth year, resolved to live only on fruits and herbs and to remain forever chaste -- which resolution he strictly followed throughout his long life of over a century -- was certainly a higher and more moral type than one who sat and ate among publicans the viands offered him and who drank wine at wedding feasts.
Already at the beginning of the fourth century A.D., Hierocles wrote a treatise in which he maintained that Apollonius was a much higher type than the Jesus of the Gospels. Hot controversies ensued on the subject; and the Catholic opponents of Apollonius invented the most ridiculous lies to belittle his character. Thus Arnobius and the fathers of the church, just after its formation at the beginning of the fourth century, maliciously attributed the reputed miracles of Apollonius to magic, while putting up a fictitious imitation of him in the form of the messiah of their new religion. Even as late as the fifteenth century, we find Pico della Mirandola, and as late as the sixteenth century, Jean Bodin and Baronius, still denouncing Apollonius as an evil magician who had a pact with Satan.
However, even the enemies of Apollonius had to admit that his life was exemplary, for here was a man who, from a tender age, resolved to abstain from meat, from wine and from association with women, who let his hair grow long and did not permit a blade to touch his chin, and who also as a Pythagorean naturist, went around bare footed or wore sandals made from bark, not from leather, dressing only in white linen robe and considering it an impurity to wear clothing made from the wool of sheep.
Spending his time in a temple, his silence was extraordinary, yet his knowledge of languages was universal. From one end of the Roman Empire to the other he traveled as a teacher and healer, to whom the sick flocked wherever he went. He was also a social reformer and revolutionist, who fearlessly opposed tyrants, inciting uprisings against them, and organizing his followers into communistic communities.
It thus appears that Apollonius was a much higher moral, as well as intellectual type than the humble carpenter of Galilee. Such considerations have led Reville, a Catholic writer, in his book on Apollonius of Tyana, to admit, "Jesus was only the offering of an obscure people; his doctrine was but the refinement of a paltry local tradition; his life, of which little is known the great majority of his contemporaries, was extremely short. He soon fell victim to the attacks of two or three priests, a petty king, and a prosecutor, and a few remarkable progidies alone distinguished him from a crowd of other existences which had nothing whatever to do with the destinies of humanity.
"Apollonius, on the contrary, a Greek by birth, had stored his
vast intellect with the religious doctrines of the whole world,
from India to Spain; his life extended. over a century. Like a
luminous meteor he traversed the universe, in constant
intercourse with kings and the powerful ones of the earth, who
venerate and fear him, and if he ever meets with opposition, he
triumphs over it majestically, always stronger than his tyrants,
never subject to humiliation, never brought into contact with
public executioners.
Tredwell, in his "Sketch of the Life of Apollonius of Tyana," writes as follows:
"Apollonius was chaste and temperate; he was actuated by a noble
desire to know and the still nobler desire to communicate his
knowledge to mankind. He was ingenious, learned and original in
his language. No man ever lived who utterly rejected all vulgar
artifice for producing effect upon men; no majestical pomp of
words characterised his teachings. And he was ready at all times
and in all places to impart good instruction; and from all
testimony of him no man was more emphatically an apostle of
peace. It is difficult, indeed, to overcome the common-sense
conclusion that Apollonius, whom Philostratus has placed before
us, is a real man, a corporeity, and not a spirit; he walks the
earth, eats, drinks and sleeps like other men, loves and hates
as experience teaches us is natural for man. He is an observer
of natural phenomena, compares and speculates, adores nature,
birds, animals, trees, flowers and is not destitute of humor,
although of great gravity and dignity. Everywhere in nature and
art, with the Brahmans of India, he found something to admire."
"That Apollonius was a great and good man can hardly be
questioned; the tribute paid him by Titus, Vespasian and
Aurelius is a guarantee. Even among those of the present day
most willing to detract from his character many are forced to
admit that a certain pure and true morality pervades the whole
of his system of teaching. There is a well- established theory
in it, that virtue and true piety is the only foundation of
happiness.
Towards the end of the third century, just previous to the formation of the church, the struggle between the Pythagorean supporters of Apollonius and his opponents, who later organized the Roman Catholic Church at Nicea, reached its last and bitter stages . At this time there were temples and shrines all over Asia Minor dedicated to Apollonius and his work, but there were none to Jesus, for he was unknown since he did not exist.
In the place of the august Apollonius, whose fame was world wide during the first three centuries, and who was revered in all centers of learning as the wisest of men, his opponents endeavored to set up an uneducated youth of only local significance, who was known only to a few illiterate fishermen in his vicinity, and whose short period of activity (3 years) and his short life (33 years) precluded his achieving what Apollonius with his century of incessant activity had accomplished. While Jesus spent his life in Galilee among the common people, Apollonius traveled from one end of the world to the other, studying the wisdom of the greatest minds that could be found -- the Brahmans of the Himalayas, the Gymnosophist philosophers of Egypt, and Druids of Gaul, etc.
According to Tredwell, Apollonius travelled more extensively than any man of his age. "That he was a man of no mean account," Tredwell adds, "is evident from his letters addressed to kings, rulers, philosophers societies and the first men of his time, still extant, reserved in the works of Philostratus and Cujacius. He traveled among the Magi and was everywhere the more honored on account of his modesty and virtues; giving always wise and prudent counsel, and rarely disputing with anyone. The prayer which he was accustomed to offer up to the gods is admirable. "O, ye immortal gods, grant us whatever you shall judge it fit and proper to bestow, and of which we may not be undeserving."
For many centuries after his passing, a halo of sanctity was thrown around his head, and he was worshipped as a god in many parts of the world. The Tyanaeans elevated him to the position of a demigod, and the Roman emperors approved his apotheosis. But in the course of time, the deification of Apollonius showed the same fate as that decreed the Roman emperors; and his chapel became as deserted at that which the Athenians erected in honor to Socrates.
It was claimed for Apollonius by his followers that he was the son of a god (Proteus), a claim which he repudiated. Nevertheless it was believed by people that Apollonius was of divine parentage and that messengers of Apollo sang at his birth. Ammonianus Marcellinus ranked Apollonius among the most eminent men, and claimed that he prophesied by supernatural aid of a genius, as did Socrates and Numa.
The miracles said to have been performed in India by the Hindu savior, Chrishna, during his mission being almost identical with those attributed to Apollonius, were all well known and discussed in Alexandria at this time; and although Apollonius never encouraged the propagation of his divine nature, yet he never emphatically repudiated it, knowing that but little respect attached to the person or teachings of any philosophy with the vulgar multitudes unless founded on evidence of divine inspiration, the demonstrations of which were in the form of "miracles," and he appears to have allowed the vulgar populace to believe this. Thus arose the belief that he was the son of God, and was a second Chrishna, or a Christ.
Out of respect to Apollonius, his native birthplace of Tyana was regarded as a sacred city and was exempted from the jurisdiction of governors sent from Rome. Gibbon, in his history of Rome, states that a superstitious reverence of the countrymen of Apolloniua caused the emperor Claudius Aurelian (A. D. 273) to treat with lenity the conquered city of Tyana.* (*That in spite of his eminence as a historian of Rome, Gibbon was ignorant of the true significance of Apollonius, is indicated by the following statement of his: "We are at a loss to discover whether Apollonius was a sage, an impostor or a fanatic." In view of such ignorance by an outstanding authority on Roman history, we can well imagine how the general public were uninformed on the subject at the time that Gibbon wrote, as it still is.)
Vopiscus writes that as the forces of Aurelian were marching against Tyana, the citizens having shut the gates against him, incensed the emperor so that he declared that he would not leave a dog alive in the city; but the spirit of Apollonius appeared to him in his tent, threatened him into a better mind, and for Apollonius's sake, he spared the inhabitants. Later he dedicated a temple in his honor, as the emperor Marcus Aurelius also did. The emperor Hadrian, with reverent pomp, deposited Apollonius's writings in his splendid palace at Antium, whither pilgrims flocked daily in crowds to see them.
Apollonius's reputation as a saint was so well established during the early centuries that even after the advent of Christianity, many Christian writers, including Cassiodorus, spoke highly in his praise. Lactantius says that a statue of Apollonius was erected at Ephesus. Statues were erected to him in the temples and divine honors were paid him by the Emperors Caracella, Alexander Severus and Aurelain, while magical virtues were attributed to his name. Newman claims that Apollonius was everywhere hailed as a god, and when he entered a city made converts as soon as seen. This was the case in Olympia, where the crowds paid more attention to him than to the games, almost worshipping him.
At Ephesus, he was worshipped under the title of Hercules, the warder- off of evil. Reville says that "after his death, the city of Tyana paid him divine honours; and the universal respect in which he was held by the whole of the Pagan world testified to the deep impression which the life of this supernatural being had let indelibly fixed in their minds, an impression which caused one of his contemporaries to exclaim, "we had a god living among us."*
After Apollonius's passing, for centuries he received from emperors honors equal to those which they claimed for themselves, and he was universally deified and worshipped as a demi-god. Philostratus writes that "the country people say he was a son of Zeus, but he claims to be the son of Apollo, as his name indicates. Apollonius has been called the "true friend of the gods." Pierre Bayle, in "Dictionaire Historique et Critique" (1696), remarks that Apollonius was worshipped in the beginning of the fourth century under the name of Hercules, and refers for his authority to Vopiscus, Eusebius and Marcellinus. Albert Reville says, "The universal respect in which he was held by the whole pagan world testified to the deep impression which the life of this supernatural being had indelibly fixed in their minds."
Philostratus speaks of a temple in Tyana dedicated to his memory and founded at the imperial expense, "for the emperors had judged him not unworthy of like honors with themselves." It was from the priests of this temple, who had gathered as much information as they could about Apollonius, that Philostratus got much of the material for his biography.
Concerning Apollonius's universal renown during the first century, W.B. Wallace writes: "His noble countenance, his winning presence, his pure doctrine, his unsullied life, his ardent advocacy of the immortality of the soul, as well as his miracles - led men to believe, wherever he went, that he was more than mortal. He consorted and corresponded with the mighty ones of the earth. (J.A. Froude writes: According to Philostratus he was a heathen saviour, who claimed a commission from heaven to teach a pure and reformed religion, and in attestation of his authority went about healing the sick, curing the blind, raising the dead men to life, casting out demons, stilling tempests, and prophesying future events - which came afterwards to pass.
"He was born four gears before the Christian era in Tyana, a
city of Cappadocia. His parents sent him to be educated at
Tarsus, in Cilicia, a place of considerable wealth and repute,
and he must have been about the beginning of his studies when
St. Paul as a little boy was first running about the streets. On
the death of his father, he divided his property among the poor,
and after five years retirement he traveled as far as India in
search of knowledge. Here he discoursed with the learned
Brahmans, and came home with enlightened ideas. He began his
career as a teacher in the Roman Empire. He preached his new
religion and performed miracles to induce people to believe in
him. He was spiritual advisor of Vespasian. By Domitian he was
charged with having pretended being a god himself. He was
arraigned, convicted and was about to suffer, when he vanished
out of the hands of the Roman police and reappeared at
Ephesus... Apollonius of Tyana, among many others, was looked
upon as an emanation of the divine nature. --(J. A. Froude, in
"Nineteenth Century," Sept. 1879.)
Tigellinius, the brutal favorite of Nero, cowered before him, Vespasian was encouraged by him to aim at the Imperial diadem. His disciples were numerous.* (*On this point, Mead, in his "Apollonius of Tyana," writes: "He attracted to himself many followers and disciples. It would have been interesting if Philostratus had told us more about these 'Apollonians,' as they were called, and whether they constituted a distinct school, or whether they were grouped together in communities on the Pythagorean model, or whether they were simply independent students attracted to the most commanding personality of the times in the domain of philosophy.")
Indicating the high reverence in which Apollonius was held in his day, Justin Martyr, in his work written in the second quarter of the first century, made the following statement:
"Question 24: If God is the maker and master of creation, how do
the consecrated objects of Apollonius have power in the
(various) orders of creation? For, as we see, they check the
fury of the waves and the power of the winds and the inroads of
vermin and attacks of wild beasts."
The followers of Apollonius, who were called Apollonians, continued to worship him until the fourth century. Many of them wore the same dress as himself and adopted his Pythagorean vegetarian mode of living.* (*However, Apollonius never imposed his mode of life on others, even on his personal disciples, whom he gave utmost freedom. Thus, he tells Damis that he has no wish to prohibit him from eating flesh and drinking wine, though he demands the right to refrain himself and of defending his conduct if called to do so. This is an indication that Damis, who was the source of Philostratus's information concerning the life and teachings of Apollonius, was not a member of the inner circle of discipline, and therefore was not in a position to communicate as much about his master as he otherwise would have been able to do.
In the Pauline Epistles, which, in their original form, were undoubtedly written by Apollonius, Damis is referred to as "Demas,"** a companion of the apostle (Paul, or Pol, representing Apollonius, who also appears in the epistles as "Apollos," who is said to have preached a similar doctrine and in a similar manner as Paul.***)
[*** I Corinthians, Chapter 3: Verses 4 - 6; also Verse 22; I Corinthians, Chapter 4: Verse 6; Titus, Chapter 3: Verse 13.]
Admitting that he was not permitted to enter the inner circle of his teacher and master, Damis refers to his manuscript on the "Life, Journeyings and sayings of Apollonius of Tyana," which later came into the possession of Julia Domna, who obtained it from a relative of Damis, and which constituted the basis of Philostratus's biography, as "the crumbs of the feast of the gods." Repeated mention is made of their accompanying Apollonius on his travels, sometimes as many as ten of them at the same time, but none of them were allowed to address each other until they had fulfilled the vow of silence. The most distinguished of his followers were Musonius, who was considered the greatest philosopher of the time after Apollonius, and who was the special victim of Nero's cruelty, and Demetrius, `who loved Apollonius' as his master.
These names are well known to history; of names otherwise unknown are the Egyptian Dioscorides, who was left behind owing to weak health on the long journey to Ethiopia; Menippus, whom he had freed from an obsession; Phaedimus and Nilus, who joined him from the Gymnosophists; and of course Damis, who would have us think that he was always with him from the time of their first meeting at Ninus.
There is reason to think that the followers of Apollonius were Essenes or Therapeuts, of which sects he was undoubtedly the leader. According to Reville, "Apollonius and his followers, like Pythagoras and his disciples, constituted a regular order of Pagan monks."
Lecky, in his well known book, "History of European Morals," states that Apollonius "obtained a measure of success second only to that of Christ.* (*Renan called Apollonius "a sort of Christ of paganism." Reville calls him a Greek or Pagan Christ, "a universal priest, a philosopher who is so holy as entitled to divine honors," and "a god in human form". "He advocated a morality and virtue far in advance of the religious sentiments of his age." Again he writes: "Apollonius of Tyana, at the close of the Flavian period, endeavored, with noble purpose, to unite moral training with religious practice; the oracles, which had long ceased, were partially restored."*
It appears that Apollonius was himself an object of worship -- because of his sanctity, wisdom, beauty, etc. - wherever he went. "His magic powers, which seem to have been considerable, procured for local piety his recognition as an object of cultus in his Cappadocian birth-place," writes Phillimore. There is evidence that Apollonius's "church," whose adherents were known as "Apolloniei" survived for some centuries after his death, and constituted the origin of what, after the Council of Nicea, was later transformed into he Christian Church.)
G.R.S. Mead, a student of early Christian and Gnostic movements, writes along similar lines as follows: "Apollonius of Tyana was the most famous philosopher of the Graeco-Roman world of the first century, and devoted the major part of his long life to the purification of the many cults of the Empire and to the instruction of the ministers and priests of its religions. With the exception of Christ no more interesting personage appears upon the stage of western history in these early years."
Appuleis classes Apollonius with Moses and Zoroaster, and other famous prophets and magi of antiquity. Arnobius, the teacher of Lactantius, at the end of the third century, also classes him among the great prophets, side by side with Zoroaster. But while the previous universal high opinion of Apollonius was lost after the formation of the Church, the Church fathers were not all of the same mind concerning him, for on the one hand we find John Chrysostom bitterly denouncing Apollonius as a deceiver and evil-doer, Jerome asserts that the philosopher found everywhere something to learn and something whereby he could become a better man. Also in the next century, St. Augustine, while ridiculing the attempts that were made at comparison with Jesus, admits that the character of Apollonius was exemplary in virtue.
Vopiscus, a writer who lived at the end of the third century, is very enthusiastic about Apollonius, whom he called "a sage of the most widespread renown and authority, an ancient philosopher and a true friend of the gods, indeed, a manifestation of Deity." Vopiscus resolved to write a life of Apollonius in Latin, so that, he says, "his deeds and words may be on the tongues of all, for as yet the only accounts are in Greek. For who among men," he adds, "was more holy, more worthy of reverence, more venerable and more god-like than he?" He it was who gave life to the dead. He it was who did and said so many things beyond the power of men.
Vopiscus did not fulfill his intention, but Soterichus, an Egyptian epic poet of the last decade of the third century, Nichomachus, and Tascius Victorianus all wrote lives of Apollonius, which were lost after the formation of the Church, having been destroyed by the Christians.
During the fifth century, we find Volusian, a pro-consul of Africa, descended from an old Roman family, still worshipping Apollonius of Tyana as a supernatural being. Lactantius refers to a statue erected to him at Ephesus. Sidonius Apolinaris, who wrote his biography in the last half of the fifth century, speaks of him as the favorite of monarchs and the admiration of the countries he traversed. This same writer sent a copy of Philostratus's "Life of Apollonius of Tyana" to his friend, Leo, the chancellor of a Frankish king at Toulouse, with this message:
Other references to Apollonius were derived from a certain Machus, the unusual color of whose robes won him the name of Porphyry, who wrote a celebrated treatise against Christianity which was destroyed by the Emperor, but his life of Pythagoras and his school, written in the last years of the third century and the first years of the fourth, is still in existence, as is also a similar work by Iamblichus written at the same time; and both refer to Apollonius's biography of Pythagoras, the first thirty sections of which constituted the course of their information.
Tredwell says that there was a vast amount of literature produced during the Apollonian period, "more probable than was ever produced during a like period by the like number of persons. All we know about it is, that it once existed and was destroyed during the subsequent ages. It was obviously burnt by the Christians."
Apollonius was a man of extensive learning and the author of many books, all of which have been destroyed by the Christians.* (*Apollonius was the author of the following books:
(2) Four books entitled "The Oracles or Concerning Divination." According to Philostratus, the Full title was "Divination of the Stars," and he says that it was based on what Apollonius learned in India; but the kind of divination Apollonius wrote about was not the ordinary astrology, but something which Philostratus considers superior to ordinary human art in such matters. He had, however, never heard of anyone possessing a copy of this rare book.
(3) "The Life of Pythagoras." Porphyry refers to this book, and Iamblicus quotes a long passage from it.
(4) "The Will of Apollonius." This was written in the Ionic dialect, and contained a summary of his doctrines.
(5) "A Hymn to Memory." (Eudocia speaks of many other works, all of which, including the ones above described, were destroyed by the churchmen.) He was familiar with Plato, Pythagoras, Livy and Horace, as indicated by his frequent quotations from them; but his favorite author was Homer, and his philosophy was the dialectic stoicism of Zeno. He was the author of four books on Judicial Astrology and a treatise on Sacrifice, referred to by Eusebius and Suidas.
The Emperor Hadrian had a book he had written which he kept with his letters in his palace at Antium. According to Tredwell, it seems probably that Apollonius was the author of a voluminous literature, much of which Philostratus must have had before him in a diary of Damis. Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 130) learned stoic philosophy from Apollonius's writings. "From Apollonius," said Aurelius, "I have learned freedom of will and understanding, steadiness of purpose, and to look to nothing else, not even for a moment, except to reason."