Editing Apollonius of Tyana (section)

==Sources==
The earliest and by far the most detailed source is the ''[[Life of Apollonius of Tyana]]'', a lengthy, novelistic biography written by the [[Second Sophistic|sophist]] [[Philostratus]] at the request of empress [[Julia Domna]], wife of [[Septimius Severus]]. She died in AD&nbsp;217,<ref name="CJones">{{Citation |last1=Philostratus |title=The Life of Apollonius of Tyana |page=2 |year=2005 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0-674-99613-5 |last2=Jones |first2=Christopher P.}}</ref> and he completed it after her death, probably in the 220s or 230s&nbsp;AD. Philostratus's account shaped the image of Apollonius for posterity. To some extent it is a valuable source because it contains data from older writings that were available to Philostratus but [[Lost literary work|disappeared later on]]. Among these works are an excerpt (preserved by [[Eusebius]]) from ''On Sacrifices'', and certain alleged letters of Apollonius. The sage may have actually written some of these works, along with the no-longer extant ''Life of [[Pythagoras]]''.<ref>Dzielska pp.&nbsp;138–146.</ref> At least two biographical sources that Philostratus used are lost: a book by the imperial secretary [[Maximus of Aegae|Maximus]] describing Apollonius's activities in Maximus's home city of [[Aigai (Aeolis)|Aegaeae]] in [[Aeolis]] and a biography by a certain [[Moiragenes]]. There also survives, separately from the life by Philostratus, a collection of letters of Apollonius, but at least some of these seem to be spurious.<ref>For discussion see Bowie, pp.&nbsp;1676–1678.</ref>

One of the essential sources Philostratus claimed to know are the "memoirs" (or "diary") of [[Damis]], an [[acolyte]] and companion of Apollonius. Some scholars claim that the notebooks of Damis were an invention of Philostratus,<ref>Among others, E. L. Bowie. (1978). ''Apollonius of Tyana: Tradition and Reality'' (ANRW&nbsp;2, no.&nbsp;16, 2) pp.&nbsp;1663-1667.</ref> while others think it could have been a real book [[Pseudepigrapha|forged by someone else]] and naively used by Philostratus.<ref>Jaap-Jan Flinterman: ''[http://www.xs4all.nl/~flinterm/Power-Paideia-Pythagoreanism.html Power, Paideia and Pythagoreanism]'', Amsterdam 1995, pp.&nbsp;79–88; Dzielska pp.&nbsp;12–13, 19–49, 141</ref> Philostratus describes Apollonius as a wandering teacher of philosophy and miracle-worker who was mainly active in [[Ancient Greece|Greece]] and Asia Minor but also traveled to [[Italy]], [[Spain]], and [[North Africa]], and even to [[Mesopotamia]], [[Ancient Indian Empire|India]], and [[Ethiopia]]. In particular, he tells lengthy stories of Apollonius entering the city of [[Rome]] in disregard of emperor [[Nero]]'s ban on philosophers, and later on being summoned, as a defendant, to the court of [[Domitian]], where he defied the emperor in blunt terms. He had allegedly been accused of conspiring against the emperor, performing [[human sacrifice]], and predicting a plague by means of [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]]. Philostratus implies that upon his death, Apollonius of Tyana [[Entering heaven alive|entered heaven]].<ref>Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 8.30-31.</ref>

How much of this can be accepted as historical truth depends largely on the extent to which modern scholars trust Philostratus, and in particular on whether they believe in the reality of Damis. Some of these scholars contend that Apollonius never came to [[Western Europe]] and was virtually unknown there until the 3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD, when Empress Julia Domna, who was herself from the [[province of Syria]], decided to popularize him and his teachings in Rome.<ref>Dzielska pp.&nbsp;83–85, 186–192.</ref> For that purpose, so these same scholars believe, she commissioned Philostratus to write the biography, in which Apollonius is exalted as a fearless sage with supernatural powers, even greater than [[Pythagoras]]. This view of Julia Domna's role in the making of the Apollonius legend gets some support from the fact that her son [[Caracalla]] worshipped him,<ref>Cassius Dio [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/78*.html#18 78.18.4]; see on this Dzielska pp. 56, 59–60.</ref> and her grandnephew emperor [[Severus Alexander]] may have done so as well.<ref>''[[Historia Augusta]]'', ''Vita Alexandri'' 29.2; the credibility of this information is doubted by Dzielska p.&nbsp;174.</ref>

Apollonius was also a well-known figure in the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]], being referred to by the name ''Balinus''.<ref name="Martin Plessner 1960, pp. 994-995">Martin Plessner: ''Balinus'', in: ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'', vol. 1, Leiden 1960, pp.&nbsp;994-995; Ursula Weisser: ''Das „Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung“ von Pseudo-Apollonios von Tyana'', Berlin 1980, pp.&nbsp;23-39; Dzielska pp. 112-123.</ref>