If we assume that the life of Apollonius of Tyana, Cappadocia, was part and parcel of the composite exemplar in the Gospels for the life of "the Jesus Christ", combined together with the life of John The Baptist, cousin of "Jesus", then it automatically follows that the image on the Shroud of Turin is that of Apollonius of Tyana. But curiously, the Vatican has never acknowledged officially that the image on the Shroud is that of either "the Jesus Christ" or Apollonius Tyanaeus.

For additional bibliographical information, please see:

http://www.apollonius.net/bibliography.html

Regarding the Shroud itself, there is an excellent book on this subject -The Jesus Conspiracy : The Turin Shroud & The Truth About The Resurrection by Holger Kersten and Elmar R. Gruber, which was published in Germany in 1992 and was later translated into English in London in 1994 by Element Books and published internationally. Part Three of this book, "The Secrets of Golgotha", can be found at my website.

http://www.apollonius.net/golgotha.html

The following URL was sent to me by a friend. It contains an excellent synopsis of the Shroud's history.

http://www.gizapyramid.com/LECTURE-SHROUD1.htm

Thus herein, no real discussion of the Shroud itself will be undertaken, except for the dates that were involved. The Burial Shroud (previously known as "The Mandylion" or "Sindon") was taken from Jerusalem to Edessa, Assyria, in about the year 50 CE. It remained in Edessa, sometimes on public display and sometimes hidden away for its own protection, until 944 CE, when it was taken to Constantinople on the orders of Byzantine Emperor Romanus Lacapenus, arriving in Constantinople on August 15. Then in 1356 CE the Shroud was moved from Constantinople to France, where the Holy See was headquartered at Avignon during the 1300s. It was kept first at Lirey and later at Chambery and occasionally was brought out for religious purposes. Finally in 1578, the Shroud was moved to Turin, Italy, where it has remained until the present day. It is currently on public display at the St. John The Baptist Cathedral in Torino. In this essay, its authenticity is presumed to be true, as per the proof offered by Kersten and Gruber.

There are three known marble sculptures of Apollonius of Tyana. Two of them are marble busts, and the third is a marble statue. Either or both of the marble busts can be found in museums at Naples, Italy, particularly the Museo Nazionale di Napoli, although I personally have not seen them, only photographs of them online. These two busts resemble each other and obviously depict the same man at two different periods of his life, one as a younger man of about 35 years, and the other as an older man of perhaps 50-60 years. The full-length statue does not exactly resemble the two busts, but it is reported on the World Wide Web to be a statue of Apollonius; and it differs in certain details from the busts. I do not know where this statue is located today. If any reader can assist me in refining this museum information, please send email. Thanks in advance for your cooperation! All three sculptures can be seen at my website.

Herein therefore, I'll be concerned with only what I know to be the marble bust of the younger Apollonius at the Museo Nazionale di Napoli, as well as the excellent Turin Shroud cover-graphic from the Kersten-Gruber English edition. Recently I began to compare the two, and compare them also to the older Apollonius bust as well as to separate pictures that I have of the Shroud of Turin. One of the most noticeable features of the Naples Bust (and it even can be discerned also on the older bust) is the "signature scar" above Apollonius' left eyebrow. This was obviously a prominent feature on Apollonius' face that the sculptor did not ignore. And parenthetically here I might add that there is compelling evidence that Apollonius' brother Hestiaeus was a sculptor and that Hestiaeus and Apollonius together may have sculpted the celebrated "Farnese Bull", so it is theoretically conceivable that Hestiaeus himself sculpted the two busts of Apollonius. The "Farnese Bull" is currently on display at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, and I am not sure if this is the same "Museo Nazionale" that also contains the Apollonius bust(s).

http://www.cib.na.cnr.it/remuna/mann/mann.html

In general, a quick look at both the Naples Bust and the Turin Shroud reveals obvious similarities: the long hair, the mustache and full beard, the "dimple" lines around the mouth, the shape of the nose. However, these alone could always be attributed to pure chance. To cement the identification, one would need details that could not be present on two different people of different nationalities and different backgrounds in life. In this case we have at least two: the scar above the left eyebrow and the slightly irregular shape of the left nostril, which was also noticed by Kersten and Gruber. On pages 152-53, these authors list fifteen "correspondences" (accompanied by a diagram of the face) between facial markings on the Shroud and similarities in early images of "Christ" on paintings, icons and coins. They are:

1) A horizontal stripe on the forehead
2) The U-form or three-sided "square" on the forehead
3) A V-shape at the bridge of the nose
4) A second V-shape inside feature number 2
5) A raised right eyebrow
6) An accentuated left cheek
7) An accentuated right cheek
8) An enlarged left nostril
9) An accentuated line between nose and upper lip
10) A heavy line under the lower lip
11) A hairless area between lip and beard
12) The fork to the beard
13) A horizontal stripe across the throat
14) Heavily accentuated owlish eyes
15) Two loose strands of hair falling from the apex
of the forehead

Of the above characteristics, the following also would apply to the Naples Bust: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15. Eleven of the fifteen characteristics clearly "correspond" to details on the Naples Bust. It is a bit perplexing why these authors did not mention the scar above the left eyebrow, but it could be that they included it in characteristic 2; whereas I, in looking at the problem from the original standpoint of the Naples Bust, noticed the scar at once.

In my accompanying composite graphic, there are seven overlaid images of varying opacity. After exactly matching the size of the face in both the Naples Bust and the Turin Shroud, paying particular attention to the left-eyebrow scar, I adjusted the opacity of the overlaid Shroud with respect to the Bust. In the upper left image, the opacity of the Shroud is 0%, which provides a look at the Bust alone. In the next two images the opacity was increased to 20% and 40%. The central image is the one that is the most "photographic" of the seven, with an opacity of 50%. In the bottom row the opacity is increased to 60%, 80% and at the lower right 100%, which provides a look at the Shroud alone, as depicted in the cover-graphic, converted from color to grayscale.

For the record, during the 1960s I lived for two years in what was then Imperial Ethiopia, encompassing all of ancient Abyssinia. There are predominantly three ethnic groups: the Amharas (Ethiopians proper) who speak Amharic; the Eritreans who speak Tigrinya; and the Tigrais who speak "Tigrai", a variation of Tigrinya, and who live in Tigré Province. One can compare these three ethnic groups and languages to Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. The Tigré provincial capital is Axum, the location of the palace ruins of the Queen of Sheba and the historic sanctum sanctorum Mariam Church where the Ark of the Covenant is reportedly housed under constant guard. Apollonius of Tyana certainly visited ancient Axum during his trip to Ethiopia in the summer of 69 CE, for Axum was most likely the place where the "Table of the Sun" (discussed elsewhere) could be found.

As a matter of custom, two diagonal slits or cuts, pointing in towards the nose, are made above both eyebrows of every young boy in Tigré Province. These boys are often referred to by Ethiopians and Eritreans as "Number 11" because it looks like they have the number eleven "brand" above their eyebrows. Apparently this is not a Christian custom, because not all Christian Abyssinians follow it, and it can also be found in parts of the Sudan and Kenya. Thus, this is an "African custom" seemingly unrelated to Apollonius and the crucifixion of "the Jesus Christ". I mention this custom merely so that any reader who might recall it will know that, as far as can be presently determined, this custom is not a remembrance of the "Number 11" scar above the left eyebrow of Apollonius. In all likelihood, the African custom is a ceremonial ritual of "blood-letting" to ensure a lifetime free of influence from "evil spirits". But I am the first to admit that the coincidence of these "Number 11" scars in Abyssinia is most enigmatic.

You will notice in the accompanying graphic that the "gash" on Apollonius' forehead is more pronounced on the Shroud itself than on the Naples Bust. The immediate conclusion is that this forehead gash, ultimately leading to the lifetime signature "Number 11" scar, was caused by the Crown of Thorns on Crucifixion Day.

But did Apollonius actually visit Palestine? There is nothing in the biography by Flavius Philostratus to corroborate this period of "The Jesus Masquerade"; in fact, Philostratus reported quite the opposite. In June of 69 CE Apollonius of Tyana, accompanied by his scribe and "didymus" friend Damis of Ninevah, arrived by ship in Alexandria from the Greek island of Rhodes. Roman General Vespasian and his son General Titus were bringing into nearby Palestine fresh Roman troops from Cappadocia, whilst planning their siege of Jerusalem and Masada. Vespasian heard that Apollonius had arrived in Alexandria and wanted to consult with Apollonius. He sent a message to Apollonius, asking Apollonius to come to Jerusalem. But according to Philostratus, Apollonius "refused to enter a country which its inhabitants polluted both by what they did and by what they suffered" and sent that reason in a communication to Vespasian. Thus, Vespasian had to assemble a battalion of soldiers and travel from Jerusalem to Alexandria to meet with Apollonius there. Apollonius predicted that Vespasian would be crowned the next Roman Emperor, and indeed on 1 July 69 CE the Roman troops at Alexandria proclaimed Vespasian as Emperor. At that point Vespasian and his military escort returned to Jerusalem, where on July 3 the Roman troops under Titus also swore allegiance to the new Emperor. Eventually, Vespasian began a long return to Rome, solidifying his support amongst all the troops, leaving General Titus to assault Jerusalem in the spring of 70 CE, which resulted in the suicidal capitulation of the revolutionaries at Mount Masada, the first destruction of Jerusalem and the early "diaspora" of the Christians and Jews to Cappadocia and Armenia.

Around 5 July 69 CE, Apollonius and Damis departed for Ethiopia. I refer you to the following URL:

http://www.apollonius.net/nile.html

In October they returned to Alexandria, where it has been rumored that Apollonius again conferred with Vespasian before Vespasian actually left for Rome, but this second meeting cannot be so historically verified as the July meeting. One can speculate here that, somewhat out of revenge, Apollonius actually assisted his friends Vespasian and Titus in their military strategy against the Jews, who with help from Pontius Pilate had tried to kill him about forty years earlier. Of course, Apollonius would never have wanted to return to a country inhabited by people who had tried to humiliate and kill him, so his initial reply to Vespasian is completely understandable.

Around the year 400 CE, Hieronymus, who is better known as the Christian apologist Saint Jerome, wrote somewhat favorably about Apollonius of Tyana, noting that Apollonius had indeed visited Palestine. This fact was emphasized by Aldus Manutius (Aldo Manuzio, "Grandfather of the Paperback Book") in his Preface to the Aldus publication in 1504 CE of the Latin translation by Alemannus Rhinuccinus of The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Flavius Philostratus, accompanied by the treatise of Bishop Eusebius, "Father of Catholic Ecclesiastical History", Contra Hieroclem, which Aldus referred to as "the antidote to the poison" of the "liar" Philostratus.

Whether the original Philostratus manuscript published in 220 CE contained references to "The Jesus Masquerade" in Jerusalem, and whether such passages were later excised or censored from Philostratus' manuscript, perhaps after the time of St. Jerome, who may have actually seen these "lost passages", is unknown. My colleague Nicolas Verger in Bordeaux, France, suspects that indeed there was tampering with the Philostratus manuscript during "The Dark Period" from 500-1500 CE, when it "officially" disappeared from sight, except for the three obscure translations from Greek to Latin, mentioned by Aldus. Perhaps such "censorship" occurred in connection with these three now lost and so far "anonymous" translations. This matter is under active investigation.

After the death of Apollonius in 97 CE, Damis (known in Christian history as "Saint Jude Didymus Thomas", the "Twin of Jesus") returned to his homeland Assyria and settled down at the scholastic monastery in Edessa, where he wrote his "Gospel of Thomas" that was discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt. Since at that time "The Mandylion" was being kept at Edessa, it is not unreasonable to assume that Damis saw it and recognized Apollonius. The country of "Assyria" can be compared to modern Kurdistan, which includes parts of Türkiye east of Cappadocia, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran. In 800 CE "Assyrian" Jabir Ibn Hayyan, "The Father of Arab Chemistry", wrote about "Balinas The Wise" and the alchemical "Emerald Tablet". It is undisputed by historians that "Balinas" was Apollonius, leading to the presumption that Jabir had also seen "The Mandylion" at Edessa before it was taken to Constantinople by Emperor Romanus in 944 CE; and as a Moslem, Jabir would not have believed in the Christian "resurrection from the dead".

THE QURAN, Chapter Nisa'a, Sura IV, Verses 158-59 : "And their saying, 'We did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah'; whereas they slew him not, nor crucified him, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified; and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it; they have no definite knowledge thereof, but only follow a conjecture; and they did not convert this conjecture into a certainty; on the contrary, Allah exalted him to Himself, and Allah is Mighty, Wise."

In conclusion, we find ourselves confronted with an ironic conundrum. If the man on the Turin Shroud is indeed Apollonius of Tyana, then how could a Hebrew "Jesus Christ" also have been crucified by the Romans under such mirror-image circumstances but not appear on a companion Shroud? There is no doubt about the authenticity of the Apollonius sculptures and the Turin Shroud. The Vatican cannot simply announce to the world that three sculptures of "the Jesus Christ" have suddenly been discovered in Naples museums - ooops, everybody, we thought that those sculptures were Apollonius of Tyana, but really they are "Jesus"! That would be impossible and immediately re-ignite at the forefront of Catholic rhetoric the very problem which the forgerer Bishop Eusebius tried to thwart with his scathing treatise against Hierocles and Apollonius! The very validity of Christianity itself is shattered by this identification of the Naples Bust with the Turin Shroud. Lest we forget the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, they bear repeating here:

"Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." - I Corinthians 15:12-17, Revised Standard Version.