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The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Volume II: Books 6-8. Epistles of Apollonius. Treatise of Eusebius
THIS EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A NEWER EDITION.
Novel and biography are joined in this literary work with a historical core. Philostratus' life of the first century mystic from Tyana was written at the request of the empress Julia Domna. It portrays a man with supernatural powers, a Pythagorean who predicts the future, cures the sick, raises the dead, and himself prevails over death, ascending to heaven and later appearing to disciples to prove his immortality. The account has a rich and varied setting: Apollonius' ministering carries him throughout the eastern Mediterranean world, as far south as Ethiopia, and eastward to India. Philostratus' "Life of Apollonius" was long viewed by Christians as a dangerous attempt to set up a Christ-like rival.
This two-volume edition of the "Life of Apollonius of Tyana" includes, in the second volume, a collection of Apollonius' letters and a treatise by the Christian bishop and historian Eusebius attacking Apollonius as a charlatan.
Also available by Philostratus 'the Athenian' in the Loeb Classical Library is his "Lives of the Sophists," a treasury of information about notable sophists that yields a good picture of the predominant influence of Sophistic in the educational, social, and political life of the Empire in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
Novel and biography are joined in this literary work with a historical core. Philostratus' life of the first century mystic from Tyana was written at the request of the empress Julia Domna. It portrays a man with supernatural powers, a Pythagorean who predicts the future, cures the sick, raises the dead, and himself prevails over death, ascending to heaven and later appearing to disciples to prove his immortality. The account has a rich and varied setting: Apollonius' ministering carries him throughout the eastern Mediterranean world, as far south as Ethiopia, and eastward to India. Philostratus' "Life of Apollonius" was long viewed by Christians as a dangerous attempt to set up a Christ-like rival.
This two-volume edition of the "Life of Apollonius of Tyana" includes, in the second volume, a collection of Apollonius' letters and a treatise by the Christian bishop and historian Eusebius attacking Apollonius as a charlatan.
Also available by Philostratus 'the Athenian' in the Loeb Classical Library is his "Lives of the Sophists," a treasury of information about notable sophists that yields a good picture of the predominant influence of Sophistic in the educational, social, and political life of the Empire in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
640 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1912
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About the author
Philostratus of Athens
96 books7 followersLucius Flavius Philostratus Greek sophist.
b. circa 172 - died 250
b. circa 172 - died 250
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 24, 2022
I’ll not repeat my comments on the Life here. Just looking at the other pieces. I appreciate what Loeb has done as you have everything Apollonius related in one place.
First up, the Epistles. Well, it’s a collection of letters so we mustn’t expect too much. Apparently they’re a mixture of authentic and forged and no-one’s entirely sure where the dividing line is. I’m certainly not qualified to say, but I did note that those in the first half are pithy little things. The second half is baggy and repetitive. What I suppose is most interesting is that in them we have a further parallel with the New Testament: a group of letters, some real, some forged that sit alongside the stories. I understand that there were actually letters forged in Jesus’ name at one point. Plato got the same treatment and I note that we still foist the same indignity on people of stature today, though now all the letters have to be authentic which I think is a very great shame.
Against Hierocles is more entertaining, though not for the reasons the author intends. The back story is as follows. At some point about the year AD 300 a bloody Roman called Hierocles wrote a book taking the mickey out of the Christians and pointing out the similarities to Apollonius. Unfortunately some twit lost the last copy, but not before it annoyed Eusebius. This book is his response both to Hierocles and Philostratus. It’s a pleasingly sarcastic work, but the ultimate effect is unintentionally ironic. Eusebius approach is to pick apart Philostratus’ inconsistencies. Fertile ground, as Philostratus is riddled with them. To be fair, I don’t think he was trying to be consistent and those inconsistencies stuck me as being evidence of him having a variety of sources. The problem with Eusebius’ approach is that the gospels are also riddled with inconsistencies and with almost every argument he advanced I couldn’t help thinking he was in a glass house. In fact, some of the analogues between Jesus and Apollonius are so precise that you could take his text, switch out the names, and you would think he was a pagan attacking Christianity.
Both short works, and worth reading if you’ve read the Life. Don’t expect to encounter literature.
First up, the Epistles. Well, it’s a collection of letters so we mustn’t expect too much. Apparently they’re a mixture of authentic and forged and no-one’s entirely sure where the dividing line is. I’m certainly not qualified to say, but I did note that those in the first half are pithy little things. The second half is baggy and repetitive. What I suppose is most interesting is that in them we have a further parallel with the New Testament: a group of letters, some real, some forged that sit alongside the stories. I understand that there were actually letters forged in Jesus’ name at one point. Plato got the same treatment and I note that we still foist the same indignity on people of stature today, though now all the letters have to be authentic which I think is a very great shame.
Against Hierocles is more entertaining, though not for the reasons the author intends. The back story is as follows. At some point about the year AD 300 a bloody Roman called Hierocles wrote a book taking the mickey out of the Christians and pointing out the similarities to Apollonius. Unfortunately some twit lost the last copy, but not before it annoyed Eusebius. This book is his response both to Hierocles and Philostratus. It’s a pleasingly sarcastic work, but the ultimate effect is unintentionally ironic. Eusebius approach is to pick apart Philostratus’ inconsistencies. Fertile ground, as Philostratus is riddled with them. To be fair, I don’t think he was trying to be consistent and those inconsistencies stuck me as being evidence of him having a variety of sources. The problem with Eusebius’ approach is that the gospels are also riddled with inconsistencies and with almost every argument he advanced I couldn’t help thinking he was in a glass house. In fact, some of the analogues between Jesus and Apollonius are so precise that you could take his text, switch out the names, and you would think he was a pagan attacking Christianity.
Both short works, and worth reading if you’ve read the Life. Don’t expect to encounter literature.
Displaying 1 of 1 review