Apollonius of Tyana: The Life and Legacy of the Influential Ancient Greek Philosopher

*Includes pictures
*Includes excerpts of ancient sources
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
In virtually all fields of human endeavor, ancient Greece was so much at the forefront of dynamism and innovation that the products of its most brilliant minds remain not only influential but entirely relevant to this day. In the field of medicine, the great physician Hippocrates not only advanced the practical knowledge of human anatomy and caregiving but changed the entire face of the medical profession. The great philosophers of Athens, men like Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato, interrogated themselves with startling complexity about the nature of good and evil, questioned the existence of divinity, advocated intelligent design, and went so far as to argue that all life was composed of infinitesimal particles.
Even after Greek power waned, the Romans borrowed Greek culture, so it should come as little surprise that various Greeks continued to be influential in antiquity. In fact, if people in the 3rd century CE were asked which religious or philosophical figure from the 1st century CE was most likely to found or inspire a global religion that would attract millions of followers and last for centuries, they would not have answered Jesus of Nazareth. Instead, a Pythagorean philosopher, orator, and teacher known as Apollonius of Tyana would have been the likeliest name brought forward.
Today, very few have heard of him, but he became a major philosophical and religious figure through the publication of his thoughts, travels, and miracles by Philostratus the Elder (c. 170-247 CE), written about a century after Apollonius of Tyana’s death. Philostratus the Elder’s works were based on the works of other writers (Maximus of Aegae, Damis, and Moeragenes), and miracles attributed to Apollonius were often compared to those of Jesus, who lived around the same time. Apollonius’s cult was important throughout the whole of the Pagan era and even carried on into the Middle Ages, during which he continued to be a figure of some significance. During the Enlightenment (1715-1789), he again attracted attention and admiration as a spiritual teacher, to the extent that 18th century writer Francis Barrett claimed that Apollonius was "one of the most extraordinary persons that ever appeared in the world."
Why such an important philosopher has been so forgotten by modern historians is in itself an interesting issue, and it is just as crucial to understand what Apollonius preached and the information he provided about his contemporary world. He spent most of his life within the boundaries of the Roman Empire, but he also traveled farther afield, and the accounts of these journeys provide a wealth of information about the outside world in which the Roman Empire had to operate and survive.
Academics are divided on whether all of Philostratus the Elder's accounts are based on actual fact or if they are works of pure fiction, and therein lies the first dilemma when trying to assess Apollonius's life and work. What, exactly, is factually incontrovertible about him as a person, and what can be deemed true in the books written about him while he was living or a hundred years and more after his death? That said, regardless of what can be determined as fact or fiction, the writing is invaluable as a historical source for this period and the Roman Empire in particular.
Apollonius of Tyana: The Life and Legacy of the Influential Ancient Greek Philosopher chronicles the life of the famous philosopher, how his legacy affected Europe, and why he was forgotten over time. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Apollonius of Tyana like never before.