CHRONOLOGICAL APOLLONIUS GRAPHICS
Page One
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Clearly these two pictures depict the
same man, but they are obviously not the same sculpture. The marble
bust directly above (and probably the bust of the older Apollonius
as well) can be seen at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
in Italy, where the celebrated "Farnese Bull" shown
below is also displayed. A compelling case can be made that the
"Farnese Bull" was actually sculpted by Apollonius and
his brother Hestiaeus (known subsequently as Tauriscus) and that
Hestiaeus himself perhaps sculpted the two previous busts of Apollonius.
This matter will be analyzed in a future essay.
This is not an actual representation
of Apollonius of Tyana. It is a graphic that I found on the Web,
drawn by Eric Raspaut of Paris, France. The long hair and beard,
the tattoo of the bird, and the solar halo, however, are quite
reminiscent of Apollonius. Whether the older man in the preceding
sculptures actually resembled Raspaut's younger drawing is unknown.
This marble bust of a teenaged Apollonius
was uncovered during the 2003 excavations of ancient Tyana near
the modern Turkish town of Kemerhisar.
At the time this bust was sculpted, probably by his brother Hestiaeus,
Apollonius had not yet adopted the Pythagorean prohibitions against
shaving and cutting one's hair. Thus, he was probably about 17
years old when this bust was sculpted. Note the resemblance of
his hairstyle to that of the Assyrian hairstyle of Roman
Empress Julia Domna. This looks like a male version of the
regional hairstyle.
This is a Roman "contorniate"
copper medallion that depicts Apollonius Tyanaeus. This medallion,
the style of which dates to the 4-5th Century CE, appeared on
the front dust-jacket of the 1936 book about Apollonius
by Mario Meunier and in that year was being kept at the "Cabinet
de France", a museum-style government bureau in Paris.
This is supposedly a statue of Apollonius.
As can be seen, there are superficial differences between this
face and the two faces in the other sculptures. I have no information
about the current location of this statue, so if any reader can
assist me in this regard, your help will be appreciated.
You can send email below. Thanks. Rob
The above is taken from the book Antiquity
Unveiled
by Jonathan M. Roberts (1892).
This graphic of Apollonius of Tyana
has been attributed to French artist and philosopher Jean-Jacques
Boissard, who lived 1528-1602. It was sent to me from someone
on the Internet, so technically I cannot vouch for its authenticity.
Philostratus' biography was republished in Venice in 1504 and
was not long thereafter translated from Latin to French in Paris.
So it is entirely possible that Boissard drew this depiction of
Apollonius in the late 1500s, after reading the new French translation
of Philostratus' book. Interestingly, notice "The Cosmic
Tree" that Boissard included next to the depiction of Apollonius,
a Cosmic Tree guarded by a dragon. Fascinating!
For more information, to go The Cosmic
Tree area of this website.
Elderly Apollonius Tyanaeus in Roman
Emperor Domitian's time, as shown in an unidentified graphic.
Most of these graphics were found at various websites and/or sent
to me by friends.
This is an unidentified medallion from
the Middle Ages, depicting Apollonius of Tyana, apparently dated
in the year 1007 CE.
This is a German lithograph that appeared
in the "Dactylioth" of German philosopher Lippert, who
published a book on Greek mythology and history.
The date is uncertain.
An image of uncertain origin depicting
"the Jesus Christ". Note the "Number 11 Scar"
above the left eyebrow, the signature scar of Apollonius of Tyana,
which can be seen in the younger marble bust above.
This image of "the Jesus Christ"
(according to someone who sent it to me over the Internet) is
from Assyria and is one of the earliest such images. "Jesus"
supposedly corresponded by mail with Assyrian King Agbar, his
contemporary; and this drawing is said to have been contemporaneous
with King Agbar. This correspondence was mentioned by Bishop Eusebius.
Note: Damis was from Ninevah, Assyria; and after the "death"
of Apollonius, he retired to the Schola Persica at Edessa, Assyria,
where the Mandylion was stored in secret, after having been brought
there from Jerusalem by Thaddeus in about 50 CE. This image is
probably from Edessa, modern (Sanli)Urfa, Turkiye. Faintly visible
above the left eyebrow is Apollonius' signature "Number 11
Scar", found these days only amongst the male population
of Tigré Province, Ethiopia.
This image of Jesus/Apollonius was
found in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral (now Mosque) in Constantinople/Istanbul,
Turkiye. The Hagia Sophia was originally built in 360 CE by Roman
Emperor Constantius II. It burned and was rebuilt a couple of
times in the following two centuries. There is no possibility
to determine when this painting was added to Hagia Sophia. Again,
note the presence of Apollonius' "Number 11 Scar" above
the left eyebrow.
As usual, the India graphic on the
left was sent to me by someone on the Internet; however, I assume
that it is accurate. In my theory of Apollonius' life, I maintain
that the so-called "Saint Jude Didymus Thomas" of the
New Testament was identical with the scribe Damis who was the
close friend, travelling companion and confidant of Apollonius.
Thus, this would be a graphic of Damis of Ninevah as an older
man. The image in the middle shows the so-called "Insignia
of St. Thomas". If any reader has information about the design
and colors of this insignia, or any other item of significance
about it, please send me an email. Thanks. And the graphic on
the right, provided by my colleague Nicolas Verger of Bordeaux,
France, depicts the "Cross of St. Thomas" as it is carved
onto an old Christian church in India.
The origin of this bas-relief is unknown
to me, but it depicts the God Hermes in his chariot, attended
by a bearded man who may or may not represent Apollonius of Tyana.
This is an ancient Greek coin, source
unknown, depicting Pythagoras, who, incidentally, lived around
the time of the last dissolution of The
Cosmic Tree. Thus, some of the "secret knowledge"
handed down from the time of the Trojan War to Pythagoras ultimately
was known to Apollonius Tyanaeus (himself the Trojan War hero
Euphorbus in a previous life); and this secret knowledge must
have related to this long, forgotten "epoch of the gods"
on Mount Olympus.
Apollonius of Tyana was a follower
of the renown physician Asclepius, whose personal philosophy and
way of life were derived from the Pythagorean School, into which
Apollonius was initiated.
For more information about the above
graphic, please CLICK HERE.
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