Editing Apollonius of Tyana (section)

=== Apollonius of Tyana in contemporary literature and film ===
[[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]] refers to Apollonius in ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii]]'' and ''[[Zanoni]]'' as a great master of occult power and wisdom.

Apollonius appears in [[Gustave Flaubert]]'s novel ''[[The Temptation of Saint Anthony (novel)|The Temptation of Saint Anthony]]'', where he tempts the titular saint with divine wisdom and the power to perform miracles. As a miracle worker and neo-Pythagorean philosopher, the character of Apollonius is used as a bridge between the two sections of the book covering the temptations of human sages and the temptations of the gods.

Apollonius of Tyana is a major character in [[Steven Saylor]]'s [[historical fiction|historical novel]] ''[[Empire (Saylor novel)|Empire]]'', which depicts his confrontation with the harsh Emperor [[Domitian]]. Apollonius is shown confounding the Emperor (and many others) in quick-witted dialogue, reminiscent of [[Socrates]]. The book's plot leaves ambiguous the issue of whether Apollonius possessed true magical power or that he was able to use [[suggestion]] and other clever tricks.

[[Avram Davidson]]'s [[science fiction]] novel ''[[Masters of the Maze (novel)|Masters of the Maze]]'' has Apollonius of Tyana as one of a select group of humans (and other sentient beings) who had penetrated to the center of a mysterious "Maze" traversing all of space and time. There he dwells in eternal repose, in company with the [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Biblical Enoch]], the Chinese [[King Wen of Zhou|King Wen]] and [[Lao Tze]], the 19th-century Briton [[Benjamin Bathurst (diplomat)|Bathurst]], and various other sages of the past and future, some of them [[Martian]]s.

In ''[[The Circus of Dr. Lao]]'' (1935) by [[Charles G. Finney]], Apollonius appears in the employ of Dr. Lao's circus and brings a dead man back to life. Apollonius of Tyana is one of the 7 circus characters portrayed by Tony Randall in the 1964 film ''[[The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao]]''. This character does not have any philosophical context, rather he is a sideshow attraction similar to a fortune-teller who, besides being blind, has been blessed with clairvoyance. While he always speaks the truth, ugly or not, about the future, he is accursed with an ironic fate – nobody ever believes what he says.

In television, Apollonius of Tyana was portrayed by [[Mel Ferrer]] in ''[[The Fantastic Journey]]'' episode entitled "Funhouse". Apollonius was banished centuries ago to a time zone by the gods for opposing them. When the time zone travelers led by the 23rd century healer and pacifist named Varian arrive at a seemingly abandoned carnival, Apollonius intends to lure them into his funhouse of horrors so that he can possess the body of one of the travelers and escape his eternal imprisonment.

[[John Keats|Keats]]' poem ''[[Lamia (poem)|Lamia]]'' mentions and discusses Apollonius.