Thomas Whittaker
Published: 2015-07-03
Total Pages: 224
Get eBook
Excerpt from Apollonius of Tyana and Other Essays A reformer of Greek religion from within, whose activity may have coincided with the first emergence of the Christian propaganda from Judaea, is undoubtedly an interesting historical figure. And both in ancient and in modern times Apollonius of Tyana has been made the subject of parallels which were probably never thought of by the author of his extant Life. The first of these parallels was by Hierocles, Proconsul of Bithynia under Diocletian; in which the attempt seems to have been made to show that the marvels attributed to Apollonius were better authenticated than those attributed to Christ. We do not possess this work itself; but we have the reply of Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea and ecclesiastical historian, written after the triumph of the new faith. The most elaborate modern parallel is that of F. C. Baur, first published in 1832.1 Baur here attempts to show, not only that there are resemblances between the Life of Apollonius by Philostratus and the Gospels, but that Philostratus deliberately modelled his hero on the type set forth by the Evangelists. Though he was followed in this view by Zeller, it is now generally rejected; so that there is no need to enter into con' troversy on the subject. It remains, however, none the less interesting to try to determine the character of the reforming activity of Apollonius himself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.