— ’ ‘ Vh d a ‘s Y r a Y u s A PO LLO N I U S OF TY A N A THE PHILOSOPHER- REFORMER E FI T C NT Y A D . OF THE RS UR . A CRITI CAL ST UD Y OF THE ON LY EXISTIN G RE CORD O F H IS LIFE WITH SOME ACCO UN T OF TH E WAR O F O PIN ION CON C ERN IN G H IM A N D AN INTRO D UCTION O N TH E RELIGIO US ASSOCIATION S A N D BROTH ERH OO D S O F THE TIMES A N D TH E POSSI BLE IN FLUE N CE IN D IAN THO UGHT ON GREE CE—BY E D B M A . A , . , LOND ON A ND B ENARES TH EOSO PHI CAL PU BLIS H lN G S OCI ETY 1 90 1 TA B E F E L O C ONT NTS . I N TROD U OTORY THE RELIGIOU S ASSOCIA TIONS A N D COMMU N ITIES OF THE F IRST CENTU RY I NDIA A N D GREE CE THE APOLLONIU S OF E A RLY OPINION T XTS T A NS A TI NS A N D LIT A TU E , R L O , ER RE THE BIOGRA PHER OF APOLLONIUS E A RLY LIFE THE TRA VELS OF APOLLONIU S I N THE SHRINE S OF THE TEMPLES A N D THE RETREA TS OF RELIGION THE GY MNOSOPHISTS OF U PPER EGY PT A P OLLON rUS A N D THE RU LE RS OF THE E MPIRE APOLLONIU S THE P ROPHET A N D WONDER WORKER H I S MODE OF LIFE H IMSELF A N D HIS CI ROLE F ROM HIS S A Y INGS A N D SERMONS FROM HIS LETTE RS THE WRITINGS OF APOLLONIU S X I I I B I B LI OGRA P H I OA L N T S V . O E APOLLONIUS OE TY ANA . SECTION I . INTROD UCTORY . To the studen t of the origin s of Christian ity there is n aturally no period of Western history of greater interest an d importance than the first century of our era ; an d yet how little compara tively is known about it of a really definite an d a a a reliable n ture . If it be subject of l sting regret that no non - Christian writer of the first century had sufficient in tuition of the future to record even a li ne of information concernin g the birth an d growth of what was to be the religion the W e e a a i of est rn world , qu lly dis ppoint ng is it to find so little definite information of the general social an d religious conditions of the e an d the a time . The rul rs w rs of the Empire seem to have formed the chief interest of the a the e e an d historiogr phers of succe ding c ntury , e e e a e a v n in this d p rtm nt of politic l history , though 2 A POLLONIUS OF TYANA . the public acts Of the Emperors m ay b e fairly e w e can e e w ll known , for ch ck th m by records e we e a and inscriptions, wh n come to th ir priv te acts an d motives we find ourselves no longer on the a the the ground of history , but for most p rt in f a e o e e a a an d e a . tmosph re pr judic , sc nd l , sp cul tion l a a e an d e f e The po itic l cts of Emp rors th ir o fic rs , e e can at e a e - how v r, b st throw but dim sid light the a a w e on gener l soci l conditions of the time , hil they shed no light at all on the religious con dition s so far as e e an a a , except th s in y p rticul r a e the a A s cont ct d dom in of politics . well might w e seek to reconstruct a picture of the religiou s e e a a an d e life of the tim from Imp ri l cts r scripts , as endeavour to glean an y idea of the intimate religion of this country from a p erusal of statute books or reports of Parliam entary debates . The a e so- a e w e Rom n histori s c ll d , to which a so far a e a e h ve been ccustom d , c nnot h lp us in the reconstruction of a picture of the environ e the a a l ed m nt into which , on one h nd , P ul the e an d an d new faith in Asia Minor, Gre ce , Rome ; e a a se in which , on the oth r, it lre dy found it lf in the districts bordering on the south-east of the e e e e Medit rranean . It is only by pi cing tog th r laboriously isolated scraps of inf orm ation an d a e e a are fr gments of inscriptions , that we b com w of the existence of the life of a world of religious associations an d private cults which existed at 3 INTRODUCTORY . at e e we a e an this period . Not th v n so h v y very direct inform ation of what went on in these a s a an d e w e s oci tions , guilds, broth rhoods ; but have sufficient evidence to make us keenly regret e the absence of furth r knowledge . f as fiel d ' is e ee Di ficult this to till , it is xc dingly e e e e an d is b e e e e a f rtil in int r st , it to r gr tt d th t comparatively so little work has as y et b een done an d a as so e en the a e the in it ; th t , is fr qu tly c s , has ee e the a work which b n don is , for most p rt , he a W a not accessible to t English re der. h t work has been done on this special subj ect m ay b e seen from the bibliographical n ote appended to e a e a an d this ss y, in which is giv n list of books articles treating Of the religious associations a the ee an d an w mong Gr ks Rom s . But if e seek to obtain a general view of the condition of religious affairs in the first century we find our sel ves without a reliable guide for of works dealing with this particular subj ect there are f ew a n d e w e ea t e a , from th m l rn li tl th t does e i a e e not imm d t ly concern , or is thought to conc rn , Christianity whereas; it is just the state Of the - a e a non Christi n r ligious world bout which , in e en a w e e e e . the pr s t c s , desir to be inform d ' a ce ea e If, for inst n , the r d r turn to works of ’ e e a as Merivale s h g n r l history , such History of t e R man e the Em ire d o s und r p (London ; last e . ’ he is e a a e will find , it tru , in ch p . iv. , d scription 4 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA . N a e e of , ero of the st t of r ligion up to the death , but he wil l b e little wiser for perusing it. If ’ he turn to Hermann Schiller s Geschichte der rOmischen K aiserreichs unter der Regierung des Nero (Berlin ; he will find much reason for discarding the vulgar opinions about the e e as ee monstrous crimes imput d to N ro , ind d he l ’ ea . e e might do by r ding in Eng ish G . H L w s Was 7 a a article Nero a Monster . (Cornhill M g - d he a 1 8 6 3 an fin d . zine ; July, ) will lso (bk a e e a e i an d IV . chap . iii . ) g n r l view of the r l gion philosophy of the time which is far more in telli ’ gent than that of Merival e s but all is still very a an d a a r an d we . e e e v gue uns tisf cto y , f el ours lv s still outside the intimate life of the philosophers and religionists of the first century. a a he the a e If, g in , turn to l test writ rs of Church a ea e a a history who h ve tr t d this p rticul r question , he will find that they are occupied entirely with the contact of the Christian Church with the a e an d nl e a e Rom n Empir , o y incid nt lly giv us any information of the nature of which we are a On e a .