ApolloniusOfTyana-HistoryOrFable

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One of the most controversial figuresin the history of antiquity was

Apollonius of Tyana. Long deridedby sectarians as a rival of Christianity, wediscover here that he was a leading figure in theemergence of the Neopythagorean movement inthe first century CE, and a Magus in his ownright, one of our links to the ancient Pythagorean

Mysteries.In the first century of our era, there

appeared at Tyana in Cappadocia one of thechief representatives of Neopythagoreanism.Pupil of the Indian Brahmans, he relatedthe Mysteries of Pythagoras to the wisdomof the East and preached to the educatedclasses of his time a pagan, but sincerelyhumanitarian, religion.

The name of this challenging Greek wasApollonius of Tyana. Born an aristocrat, he

had given his patrimony to his relatives andtraveled about like a poor monk. He broughtknowledge of spiritual and moral truth tothe courts of princes, for although the masses

were seldom satisfied with philosophicsubtleties, a philosophic religion appealed tothe more intelligent.

Apollonius has been characterized as

a figure combining holiness with civilizedbehavior, humor with wisdom, fortitude withurbanity, and humaneness under extremeprovocation.1

Associating with the mighty of his time,this teacher tried to persuade them that thebad live badly, even if they are prosperous.2

The true religious life, as he saw it, was toacquire wisdom, and, so far as one can, do

good to those who deserve it.Equating moral with social law, he hated

the mere outward show of piety, whichcharacterized the ceremonial religions of histime. Beneath the hypocritical veneer, he sawappalling materialism and bigotry. He had nopatience with self-righteousness. He dismissed

what we would call today dogmatictheology as a subject which transcends thepower of humans.

He visited the temples of manycreeds, but above all the gods he revered asupreme and unfathomable Intelligence.His contemporaries tried to bribe the gods

with bloody sacrifices, but he was contentto receive with gratitude only what he reallyneeded and deserved.

Apollonius taught a Yogic communionwith the All, a Buddhistic message of

the conquest of desire, and a Christ-likedoctrine that people should live together

Apollonius of Tyana:

History or Fable?

Ben Finger, Jr.

Adapted from the Rosicrucian Digest, April 1962, pages 150-153.

The Wandering Philosopher, probablyApollonius of Tyana, Second CenturyCE. Roman Marble copy of a Greekoriginal. The Archaeological Museum ofHerakleion. Photo 2008 by GeorgeGroutas/Wikimedia Commons.


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without hatred and help one another. Hewas acclaimed the son of a god, but he neverset himself above his companion Initiates.The superstitious praised or feared him andcalled him a magician because he manifestedextrasensory perception and healed stubbornillnesses; but he never claimed to be able toviolate natures laws.

The evidence for parapsychologyhas convinced many today who are notsupernaturalists. The effectiveness of

Apolloniuss therapy was the result of histhorough training as a physician and hissympathetic understanding of humancharacter. Kindness and insight made himparticularly successful as a psychiatrist, or

exorcist of demons (to use the language ofhis age).

Historical Figure or Archetype?

Apollonius of Tyana, like many otherancient figures, is often written off asunhistorical because so many metaphors,mythic concepts, and allegories have beenassociated with his story. Although there ismuch plausible material which might very

well be factual, it is without supportingevidence in contemporaneous literature.

Those not versed in the symbolismof the Mysteries are tempted to write offthe whole biography of Apollonius asfictional: They misread the intent of the

Annunciation; his divine origin; his exorcismof demons; his raising of the girl believedto be dead; his conversation with the dead;

his power to make himself invisible and towalk through closed doors; his understanding

of all languages without learning them; andhis Ascension.

The memoirs of Apollonius, we aretold, were written by his disciple, Damis,

who accompanied him on his journeys.The original memoirs are no longer extant:They remained suspiciously unnoticed fromthe first to the third centuries, even though

Apollonius had dramatic relationships withthe Emperors Nero and Domitian and wasprominent in important places.

Early in the third century, the memoirswere reportedly given by the Empress JuliaDomna, a patron of the arts, to an urbaneliterary man named Flavius Philostratus.Her husband, Septimius Severus, adorned

his private chapel with busts of Apollonius,Jesus, Jupiter, Orpheus, and Abraham. Inthat eclectic atmosphere, Julia Domna is saidto have persuaded Philostratus to translatethe memoirs of Damis, and to use them ashis source in writingThe Life of Apollonius ofTyana.An English translation of this work hasbeen published in three volumes by HarvardUniversity Press.3

Some scholars hold that Damis leftno memoirs and that Philostratus merelyinvented a naive religious romance to whileaway the tedium of Julia Domna. Othersconcede the existence of the original sourcematerial, but feel that it was adorned byPhilostratus to provide a pagan counterblastto the New Testament.4 Philostratus,certainly, was not inventing idle fiction forthe sheer diversion of a sentimental reader

when he dramatized the inner verities by wayof parables and symbols.

The present writer agrees with thosewho see an historical individual behind themythic archetypes. In The Life of Apolloniusareal character is unmistakably discerned, whomust have been described in the first place bya contemporary who knew him intimately.If the mythic elements in his biography

parallel the archetypes attached to otherAvatars (divine teachers) and apostles, it is

Constantine Manasses, Miniature 28 from his Chronicle,14th century: Roman Emperors Septimius Severusand Caracalla.
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because both have a common sourcein the Mysteries. There is no reasonto postulate borrowing with anulterior purpose.

Biography Interpreted

In reading Philostratuss The Lifeof Apollonius, we must distinguishbetween the facts of his externalcareer and the symbols and allegoriespertaining to his inner life. Themiraculous marvels of antiquity, someimpossible in a literal sense, symbolizeinner spiritual experience. Vital stages inthe life of the Magus correspond to ourown trials and triumphs in the ascent to

universal consciousness.The lives of Avatars display significant

parallels. Apollonius, Buddha, Pythagoras,Krishna, Chaitanya, all were similar, notonly in their visible services to humanity, butespecially in their world view, integration ofcharacter, pursuit of understanding, struggle

with temptation, dedication, and sacrifice.They all brought the same divine Ideal to

their followers in the times and places allottedto them.

Just before Apollonius was born, we read,his mother had a vision of the propheticgod, Proteus, who informed her that he

would incarnate in the child she would bear.Likewise, Platos father and mother werereportedly notified by Apollo in a dream thattheir child would be virgin born. In the mysticinner lives of Adepts and Avatars, all are

divinely begotten saviors. This symbolizestheir mystic birth during the Mystery ofInitiation: The day of ones real birth is thaton which one is born again into the worldspiritually.

All Avatars have been, in the tradition ofHermetic philosophy, inspired by a way oflife based upon Cosmic Consciousness ratherthan upon the petty strife of narrow, unaware

egos. It is not surprising that the legend ofraising the dead is a stock feature of the

Myth of the Magus.5 We are always dead tothose truths of which we are not aware.

Another traditional part of such Mythic

structures is that all Avatars are threatenedby an opposing power, the matter-centeredworld of glamour or illusion. This power ispersonified in the story of Apollonius by thefigures of Nero, Domitian, and his Judas,Euphrates.

The protagonist must pass throughthe trials of Initiation. He is tempted, buttriumphs over the kingdom of darkness.

Accused of sedition and witchcraft,Apollonius was tempted to hide, but he cameto Rome voluntarily to answer these chargesbefore Domitian.

He was imprisoned and persecuted, buthe could not be cowed. This sophisticated

Avatar was fortunate enough to die a naturaldeath (surrender of physical personality) atan advanced age, but his followers said hereturned to them glorified by spiritual birth,

and then ascended into Heaven (the invisiblebrotherhood of the Masters).

The inner states are symbolized in thevarious dramatizations of the Mysteriesthe world over as the degrees and trials ofInitiation. Apollonius, it is obvious, derivedhis name from the Sun god, Apollo, and theallegorical Solar saga identified his trials withthe twelve Zodiacal signs. Even his travels,

mystically described, personify a journeythrough the signs.

Birth of Buddha at Lumbini, from a Laotian Temple. Photo 2006by Sacca/Wikimedia Commons.


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When both the noumenal and empiricallife of the Avatar conform to a universalpattern prefigured in the heavens, the questfor his individual traits of personality andthe facts of his objective career require carefulstudy. The Life of Apollonius by Philostratusnot only outlines one life but also elaborates it

to symbolize the entire Hermetic philosophy.

Study and Travels

At the age of fourteen Apollonius ofTyana was educated by Euthydemus in the

worlds leading university at Tarsus. He thenstudied in the peaceful neighboring townof Aeg where he was privileged to dwelland study in the Temple of Asclepius. At

sixteen, he embraced the austere rule of thePythagorean Community, accepting the lifeof contemplation, self-examination, holiness,sobriety, and service.

He adopted the vegetarian diet to honorthe fact of universal kinship. He recognizedreincarnation as a reality. For five years, he

went through the Pythagorean disciplineof silence, which our present age mightprofitably restore. When this discipline wascompleted, Philostratus notes, his words hada ring about them as of the dooms deliveredby a sceptered king.6

The Tyanean seeker gave up his patrimonyin order to travel lightly through life, but hetraveled far and long. The description of his

travels is allegorical. He went through a greatpart of Asia Minor to find his way to India

in order to familiarize himself with the secretdoctrines of the Brahmans. Ex Oriente lux.

Journey to the East

The journey to India symbolicallyrepresents the trials of a neophyte. Eventhough preternaturally wise, Apollonius hadto journey widely to gain the arcane wisdomof the world. On the journey, he stayed for atime in Babylon where he was introduced tothe Magi. He found them wise, but not inall respects.7 The Chaldean way station onthe journey to India represents a definite stateof every aspirants interior development.

At length, Apollonius reached theCourt of King Phraortes in India, who

recommended him to Iarchus, the oldest ofthe sages. The simplicity of the Indian palace,contrasting with the pomp of Babylon, wasemblematic of a more austere philosophy.

The Indian sages knew self-understandingto be the beginning of philosophy: Iarchustold Apollonius many details about his lifeand character which could have been knownonly by intuition. The rites of Initiation were

symbolized by the Well of Testing, the Fireof Pardon, the Jar of the Rains, the Jar of theWinds, and the Icons of the Gods, the lastsymbolizing apotheosis through identification

with the eternal Archetypes.

The Indian sages expressed profounddoctrines of animism, reincarnation,divination, and therapy of the body and soul.

A sound interpretation of his discourses withthe Brahmans and their advice, together with

his later dialogues with Menippus, yields thewhole esoteric catechism.

Return to the West

Apolloniuss visit to the Empire of theSages and his interview with their leadersymbolize some of the deepest occultdoctrines of our Hermetic heritage. When

Apollonius returned from this pilgrimage, the

wise respected his wisdom more than ever,and princes honored him as a superior when

The Seven Liberal Arts: Pythagoras as a symbol for Arithmetic.14th-15th centuries. Venice, Doges Palace: capital # 17in the porch. Photo 2008 by Giovanni DallOrto/

Wikimedia Commons.


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they entertained him attheir courts.

At Ephesus, the centerof Greco-Roman worship,the Adept reproved thepeople for their ignorance,idleness, arrogance, andnoise. He advised theSmyrneans to take morepride in worthy peoplethan in fine architecture.He rebuked the Atheniansfor their gory gladiatorial shows. The lamia orvampire from whom Apollonius saved youngMenippus is a symbol which relates to thoseconcerned only with getting, never with giving.

In Rome, the Adept was arrested onthe charge of impiety against Nero, butafter questioning was released as a being toopowerful to be controlled. His aid to Vindexin the western half of the Empire was indeeda redoubt raised against Nero.

We are told that Apollonius met thefuneral procession of an aristocratic virgin, thedaughter of a Consul, apparently dead on her

wedding day. He touched her; whereupon shearose and returned home. For this, notes thesymbolic story, he was expelled from Rome.

Predicting that Vespasian would be thesovereign of Rome, Apollonius gave him thisgood counsel: Gold lacks lustre and is meredross if it be wrung from human tears.8

When Apollonius visited an academy ofsages near the bank of the Nile, he remindedthe Egyptians of their debt to their Indianmentors, and examined ancient institutionsin a critical spirit.

Continuing his journeys, the Adepttook a firm stand against the cruelty of theEmperor Domitian. His words were reportedto that tyrant by his mortal enemy, Euphrates.

Apollonius was accused of having participatedin an insurrection against Domitian, but heappeared before the tribunal and was acquitted.

Ultimately, he settled in Ephesus andthere opened a Pythagorean school. He con-

tinued his philosophicteaching there until hedied, at about a hundredyears of age. He hadtraveled in Nineveh,Babylon, India, Spain,

Africa, Greece, Italy,

Egypt, and Persia. At last,having mastered the lore ofthe Magi, the Brahmans,and the Egyptian ascetics,he settled in Ephesus as a

humble teacher.

He was credited with unparalleledthaumaturgical powers, but he claimednothing beyond the natural magic of

sincere seeking and constructive effort. Theancient world long distinguished betweenthe Apollonii (white magicians) and thePherecyd (black magicians). Perhaps thewhite magic of holiness and selfless serviceopened for Apollonius windows of insight

which were closed to grosser natures.

1 Eliza Marian Butler, The Myth of the Magus(Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1993), 55.2Apollonius of Tyana, Epistle 91 To His Brothers,in Flavius Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, trans. F.C. Conybeare, (Cambridge: HarvardUniversity Press, 1912), vol. 2, 479.3 Flavius Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius, 3vols.,1-2 tr. F.C. Conybeare (Cambridge: HarvardUniversity Press, 1912). Available at http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/aot/laot/index.htm.4 Ferdinand Christian Baur,Apollonius von Tyana undChristus(Leipzig: Ed. Zeller, 1876).5 See the discussion of common archetypes in Butler.6 Philostratus, Life of Apollonius, chap. 17, trans.Conybeare,1:48-49. Available at http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/aot/laot/laot04.htm.7 Ibid., chap. 26, 1:79.8 Apollonius of Tyana, Sermon 5:36, fragment inG.R.S. Mead, Apollonius of Tyana (London andBenares: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1901),

139. Available at http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/aot/aot/aot16.htm.

Ruins of the Temple of Artemis, 6th centuryBCE. Ephesus. Photo 2004 by Adam Carr/

Wikimedia Commons.
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