A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology By Professor William Smith & Others, London, 1890 (Volume I, Pages 237-241 and 244-246)

Comments, for the most part, will be added only for those men named Apollonius whose lives might be confused with or relevant to the life of Apollonius of Tyana. A bold-faced numbered item indicates that I think it may refer to Apollonius of Tyana. The Smith dictionaries of antiquities are quite thorough and accurate in all their material, which I trust completely. I feel certain that they have included everyone of any historical importance in their compilation of men named Apollonius. For the record, I'll not omit any of them here. Let me add that anyone should be able to see by the amount of research that went into just Apollonius how thorough and lengthy these dictionaries are in their entirety. There are ten of them; and if they were republished today, in typical book size, they would probably require 30,000 pages! These inherited dictionaries from the 19th Century have been literally invaluable to me in all phases of my research.

Professor Smith lists these Apolloniuses:

7 historical
27 literary (including Tyanaeus)
4 artists
22 physicians

Total = 60 men of historical significance named Apollonius.

There are 21 possible "duplications" of Apollonius of Tyana, over one-third of all these men. Is it "logical" that there were a number of physicians of the same first name, all travelling around, working and writing during the First Century without any of them seeming to know anything about the others? It is the same sort of conundrum that presents itself by the idea that three "messiahs" (Apollonius, Jesus and Issa) all travelled to India within a few years of each other and never seemed to cross each others' paths or be connected contemporaneously by other contemporary historians. If we cannot "make some sense" out of all of this and "progress" to a higher understanding of history, then what, pray tell, is the value of history in the first place? If some ivory-tower professor's "vested interest" is destroyed in the process of historical change, then so what? That professor can simply "go with the flow" and find a more complete vested interest, or languish futilely in the out-dated detritus of the past. I do not understand this reluctance of experts in Academia to "improve" their entrenched ideas. It reminds me of the time when Christopher Columbus set out for America. Too many European "scholars" of that time had "vested interests" in the idea of the world's remaining flat. They did not want Columbus to succeed. But you'd think that by now, we would have matured and evolved as humans a little bit more intellectually progressively than we seem to have done.

Which brings to my mind that pessimistic remark by Chilean Hermeticist Darío Salas Sommer, writing under the pseudonym of John Baines in The Stellar Man: "It is sad to observe the tremendous limitation of sapiens, who shuts himself up in the small world of stereotypes, of knowledge, all learned by rote, of imitation and devices of compensation and defense. His mental infirmity prevents him from realizing how small is the cubicle which imprisons him. And, thus, with a mind made up in advance, he accepts, condemns or tolerates without bothering to further analyze intelligently the situations with which he is faced."

Apollonius of Tyana would surely agree! Salute, Hermes!

Rob Solàrion
27 August 2004

***

APOLLONIUS (historical)

1. The son of Charinus, appointed by Alexander the Great, before leaving Egypt, as governor of the part of Libya on the confines of Egypt, B.C. 331. (Arrian, Anab. iii, 5; Curtius, iv, 8.)

2. A friend of Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who accompanied Demetrius when he went to Rome as a hostage, B.C. 175, and supported him with his advice. Apollonius had been educated together with Demetrius, and their two families had been long connected by friendship. The father of Apollonius, who bore the same name, had possessed great influence with Seleucus. (Polyb. xxxi. 19, 21.)

[COMMENT: These are curious facts. Late in life supposedly, Apollonius of Tyana married Seleucis, the mother of Alexander Peloplaton, whom Apollonius of Tyana adopted as his "son". The father of Apollonius of Tyana was also named Apollonius. And there was a Demetrius connected with the life of Apollonius of Tyana. However, clearly this date is much too early for a confusion of Apolloniuses themselves. It might be surmised, though, that the Apollonius of 175 BCE was an ancestor of our Apollonius whose life dominated the First Century CE. RS]

3. The spokesman of an embassy sent by Antiochus IV to Rome, in B.C. 173. He brought from his master tribute and rich presents, and requested that the senate would renew with Antiochus the alliance which had existed between his father and the Romans. (Liv. lil. 6.)

[COMMENT: The Seleucid Kingdom was the Middle Eastern part of the old Greek Empire of Alexander The Great. This date of 173 is close to the previous date of 175, so if these two Apolloniuses were not one and the same, then at least their lives overlapped; and I feel certain that they knew each other and were probably from the same family. RS]

4. Of Clazomenae, was sent, together with Apollonides, in B.C. 170, as ambassador to king Antiochus after he had made himself master of Egypt. (Polyb. xxviii. 16.)

[COMMENT: And yet here is a third Apollonius of this same general time-period. As you will glean from this treatise, I firmly believe that all of these Apolloniuses listed as "different persons" were not truly distinct from some of the others. Professor Smith was simply cataloguing in a dictionary format all of the men named Apollonius who were mentioned in ancient writings, without attempting to draw conclusions from his raw data. But it is my contention that quite a number of these Apolloniuses are references to a single man. The confusion about the 170s BCE serves as a good introductory example for what will follow regarding Apollonius of Tyana. RS]

5. One of the principal leaders during the revolt of the slaves in Sicily, which had been brought about by one Titus Minucius, in B.C. 103. The senate sent L. Lucullus with an army against him, and by bribes and the premise of impunity he induced Apollonius to betray the other leaders of the insurrection, and to aid the Romans in suppressing it. (Diod. xxxvi. Eclog. 1. p.529 &c.)

6. Of Drepanum, a son of Nicon, was a profligate but wealthy person, who had accumulated great treasures by robbing orphans of their property, and was spoiled in his turn by Verres. He obtained the Roman franchise, and then received the Roman name of A Clodius. (Cic. in. verr. iv. 17; Quintil. ix. 2. §52.)

7. A tyrant of a town in Mesopotamia called Zenodotia, which was destroyed by M. Crassus in B.C. 54, because 100 Roman soldiers had been put to death there. (Plut. Crass. 17; Pseudo-Appian, Parth. p.27, ed. Schweigh.)

APOLLONIUS (literary)

1. Of Acharnae, a Greek writer, the author of a work on the festivals. (Peri eortrown; Harpocrat. s. vv. pelanos,Puanopsia, Xalkeia; Phot. s. v. udrofaria.)

2. Of Alabanda, surnamed o Malakos, was some years older than Apollonius Molon, with whom he has sometimes been confounded. He was a rhetorician, and went from Alabanda to Rhodes, where he taught rhetoric. (Strab. xiv. p.655.) Scaevola in his praetorship saw him and spoke with him in Rhodes. He was a very distinguished teacher of rhetoric, and used to ridicule and despise philosophy. (Cic. de Orat. i. 17) Whenever he found that a pupil had no talent for oratory, he dismissed him, and advised him to apply to what he thought him fit for, although by retaining him he might have derived pecuniary advantages. (Cic. de Orat. i. 28; comp. Spalding, ad Quintil. i. p.430, ii. p.453, iv. p.562; Clinton, F.H. vol. ii. p.147, &c.)

3. Of Alabanda, surnamed Molon, likewise a rhetorician, who left his country and went to Rhodes (Strabo, xiv. p.655); but he appears to have also taught rhetoric at Rome for some time, as Cicero, who calls him a great pleader in the courts of justice and a great teacher, states that, in B.C. 88, he received instructions from him at Rome. (Cic. Brut. 89.) In B.C. 81, when Sulla was dictator, Apollonius came to Rome as ambassador of the Rhodians, on which occasion Cicero again benefited by his instructions. (Brut. 90.) Four years later, when Cicero returned from Asia, he stayed for some time in Rhodes, and had an opportunity of admiring the practical eloquence of Apollonius in the courts as well as his skill in teaching. (Brut. 91.) Apollonius is also called a distinguished writer, but none of his works has come down to us. They appear however to have treated on rhetorical subjects, and on the Homeric poems. (Phoebam. i. p.98; Porphyr. Quaest. Homeric. p.10.) Josephus (c. Apion. ii. 36) mentions some work of his in which he spoke against the Jews. Julius Caesar was also one of his disciples. (Plut. Caes. 3; Suet. Caes. 4; comp. Cic. ad Att. ii. 1, Brut. 70, de Invent. i. 56; Plut. Cic. 4; Quintil. iii. 1. §16, xii. 6. §7.)

[COMMENT: To me, it is quite obvious that both these men designated as Apollonius of Alabanda are one and the same. As Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky has so masterfully demonstated in his Ages In Chaos series, many of our historical figures are merely "duplications" or "ghost correlations" of others in separate accounts. And it is the premise of this treatise to show how "many faces" there really are of Apollonius of Tyana. RS]

4. Of Aphrodisias in Cilicia, is called by Suidas a high priest and an historian. He is said to have written a work on the town of Tralles, a second on Orpheus and his mysteries, and a third on the history of Caria (Karika), of which the eighteenth book is mentioned, and which is often referred to by Stephanus of Byzantium. (s. vv. Bargasa, Xousaoris, Agkura, Xowlon teixos; Etym. M. s. v. Arpasos, &c.)

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana often travelled in Cilicia, which was on the coastline south of Cappadocia with Tarsus as its main city. Also, Apollonius was familiar with the town of Tralles and wrote other books on history and the mysteries. See artists Apollonius and Tauriscus of Tralles below. Thus, it is my conclusion that these reports actually refer to Apollonius of Tyana. RS]

5. The son of Archebulus, Archebius, or Archibius, was like his father an eminent grammarian of Alexandria. He lived about the time of Augustus, and was the teacher of Apion, while he himself had been a pupil of the school of Didymus. This is the statement of Suidas, which Villoison has endeavoured to confirm. Other critics, as Ruhnken, believe that Apollonius lived after the time of Apion, and that our Apollonius in his Homerica Lexicon made use of a similar work written by Apion. This opinion seems indeed to be the more probable of the two; but, however this may be, the Homeric Lexicon of Apollonius to the Iliad and the Odyssey, which is still extant, is to us a valuable and instructive relic of antiquity, if we consider the loss of so many other works of the same kind. It is unfortunately, however, very much interpolated, and must be used with great caution. The first edition of it was published by Villoison from a MS. of St. Gemain belonging to the tenth century. (Paris, 1773, 2 vols. fol., with valuable prolegomena and a Latin translation. It was reprinted in the same year at Leipzig, in 2 vols. 4to.) H. Tollius afterwards published a new edition with some additional notes, but without Villoison's prolegomena and translation. (Lugd. Bat. 1788, 8vo.) Bekker's is a very useful edition, Berlin, 1833, 8vo. This Apollonius is probably the same as the one who wrote explanations of expressions peculiar to Herodotus. (Etymol. M. s. vv. kawfos and sofistes.)

[COMMENT: The manuscript that was published by Jean-Baptiste d'Ansse de Villoison (Paris, 1773) was The Homeric Lexicon Of The Iliad And The Odyssey (Apollonii Sophistae Lexicon Graecum Iliadis et Odysseae), written by Apollonius of Tyana. Villoison obtained this manuscript from l'Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés, before the death of the legendary Comte de Saint-Germain in about 1790. This manuscript by Apollonius was referenced by Edward Gibbon in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London, 1788). The very fact that the term "sophist" (sofites above) is found in connection with this Apollonius Archibius of Alexandria itself indicates a possible connection to Apollonius of Tyana. See "The Synchronized Chronologies Of Roman And Related Histories" elsewhere in this book, or you can go to
http://www.apollonius.net/chronology.html
and find it online. There is some disagreement regarding the exact birth-year of Apion, but I have placed his birth in about 19 CE, when Apollonius of Tyana was 22 years old. After the Crucifixion in 30 CE, when Apion was only 11 years old, Apollonius and Damis moved to Alexandria for about fifteen years. There they founded the acclaimed School of Didymus, which word is a Greek variant of the Aramaic name Damis. Thus, there is no chronological problem with Apion's studying at the School of Didymus under a teacher named Apollonius. Whilst in Alexandria, Apollonius wrote several books, including The Homeric Lexicon, and it may well be that Apion's work drew on that of Apollonius and not the other way around as suggested here by Professor Smith. RS]

6. Of Ascalon, an historian. (Steph. Byz. s. v. Askalown.)

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

7. Of Athens, a sophist and rhetorician, lived in the time of the emperor Severus, and was a pupil of Adrianus. He distinguished himself by his forensic eloquence, and taught rhetoric at Athens at the same time with Heracleides. He was appointed by the emperor to the chair of political eloquence, with a salary of one talent. He held several high offices in his native place, and distinguished himself no less as a statesman and diplomatist than as a rhetorician. His declamations are said to have excelled those of many of his predecessors in dignity, beauty, and propriety; but he was often vehement and rhythmical. (Philostr. Vit. Soph. ii. 20; Eudoc. p.57, &c.)

8. Of Athens, a son of Sotades, wrote a work on the obscene poetry of his father. (Athen. xiv. p.620.)

9. Surnamed Attaleus, the author of a work on dreams. (Artemid. Oneir. i. 34, iii. 28.)

10. The son of Chaeris, a Greek writer, who is referred to by the Scholiast on Aristophanes (Vesp. 1231), and the Venetian Scholiast on Homer (Il. iii. 448; comp. Fabric. Bibl. Graec. iv. p.275.)

[COMMENT: If this is all that is known about 9 and 10, then it could possibly be that these are tidbits of information that actually refer to Apollonius of Tyana. Certainly Apollonius considered himself skilled at dream interpretation, as we know from his conversation with King Phraotes in Taxila, recounted by Flavius Philostratus in his Life Of Apollonius Of Tyana. Moreover, Apollonius is connected elsewhere to the writings of Homer. RS]

11. Of Chalcedon or Chalcis, or, according to Dion Cassius (lxxi. 35) of Nicomedia, was invited by the emperor Antoninus Pius to come to Rome, for the purpose of instructing his son Marcus in philosophy. (Capitolin. Antonin. Pius, 10; M. Antonin. de Rebus suis, i. 8; Lucian, Demon. 31; comp. Fabric. Bibl. Graec. iii. p.539.)

12. A freedman of Crassus, to whom he was much attached. He afterwards became a useful friend of Cicero's, and served in the army of J. Caesar in the Alexandrine war, and also followed him into Spain. He was a man of great diligence and learning, and anxious to write a history of the exploits of Caesar. For this reason Cicero gave him a very flattering letter of recommendation to Caesar. (Cic. ad Famil. xiii. 6.)

13. A Christian writer, whose parents and country are unknown, but who is believed to have been bishop of Ephesus, and to have lived about the year A.D. 192. He wrote a work exposing the errors and the conduct of the Christian sect called Cataphryges, some fragments of which are preserved in Eusebius. (Hist. Eccles. v. 18, 21.) Tertullian defended the sect of the Montanists against this Apollonius, and the seventh book of his work peri ekstaseows was especially directed against Apollonius. (Auctor Praedestinati, cc. 26, 27, 68; Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p.53; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vii. p.164.)

14. A Christian, who suffered martyrdom at Rome in the reign of Commodus. He is said to have been a Roman senator. At his trial he made a beautiful defence of Christianity in the Roman senate, which was afterwards translated into Greek and inserted by Eusebius in his history of the Martyrs, but is now lost. (Hieronym. Epist. 84, Catalog. 42, 53; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. v. 21.) Nicephorus (iv. 26) confounds the martyr Apollonius with Apollonius the writer against the Cataphryges. (Cave, Hist. Lit. i. p.52; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vii. P.163.)

[COMMENT: All throughout the Second Century CE, from Emperors Hadrian to Septimius Severus there was a sort of "renaissance" of Greek philosophical and scientific enlightenment throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity was considered rather to be an heretical nuisance, espoused only by moralists like Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon, who was assembling the first-ever "New Testament". Those who lived in the progressive Second Century could never have envisioned the philosophical destruction that was to come later with Emperor Constantine and then with bloodthirsty book-burner Emperor Theodosius! So it is not surprising to read here that the brutal Emperor Commodus (180-192) might have slaughtered a few "anarchist" Christians, "just for kicks", if nothing else. RS]

15. Surnamed Cronos, a native of Iassus in Caria, was a philosopher of the Megarian school, a pupil of Eubulides, and teacher of the celebrated Cronos. (Strab. xiv. p.658; Diog. Laërt. ii. 111.)

16. Surnamed Dyscolos, that is, the ill-tempered, was a son of Mnesitheus and Ariadne, and born at Alexandria, where he flourished in the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He was one of the most renowned grammarians of his time, partly on account of his numerous and excellent works, and partly on account of his son, Aelius Herodian, who had been educated by him, and was as great a grammarian as himself. Apollonius is said to have been so poor, that he was obliged to write on shells, as he had no means of procuring the ordinary writing materials; and this poverty created that state of mind to which he owed the surname of Dyscolos. He lived and was buried in that part of Alexandria which was called Bruchium or Purouxeion. But, unless he is confounded with Apollonius of Chalcis, he also spent some time at Rome, where he attracted the attention of the emperor M. Antoninus.

Apollonius and his son are called by Priscian in several passages the greatest of all grammarians, and he declares, that it was only owing to the assistance which he derived from their works that he was enabled to undertake his task. (Priscian, Praef. ad libb. i. and vi. vii. p.833; ix. init. and p.941.) He was the first who reduced grammar to anything like a system, and is therefore called by Priscian "grammaticorum princeps". A list of his works, most of which are lost, is given by Suidas, and a more complete one in Fabricius. (Bibl. Graec. vi. p.272, &c.) We confine ourselves here to those which are still extant. 1. Peri suntakseows tou logon merown, "de Constructione Orationis", or "de Ordinatione sive Constructione Dictionum", in four books. The first edition of this work is the Aldine. (Venice, 1495, fol.) A much better one, with a Latin translation and notes, was published by Fr. Sylburg, Frankf. 1590, 4to. The last edition, which was greatly corrected by the assistance of four new MSS., is I. Bekker's, Berlin, 1817, 8vo. 2. Peri antownumias, "de Pronomine liber", was first edited by I. Bekker in the Museum. Antiq. Stud. i. 2, Berlin, 1811, 8vo. 3. Peri sundesmown, "de Conjunctionibus", and 4. Peri epirrematown, "de Adverbiis", and both printed in Bekker's Anecdot. ii. p.477, &c.

Among the works ascribed to Apollonius by Suidas there is one peri katepseusmenes istorias, on fictitious or forged histories. It is generally believed that the work of one Apollonius, which was published together with Antoninus Liberalis by Xylander, under the title "Historiae Commentitiae" (Basel, 1568, 8vo.), is the same as the work ascribed by Suidas to Apollonius Dyscolos; and Meursius and subsequently L.H. Teacher published the work with the name of Apollonius Dyscolos. This work thus edited three times is a collection of wonderful phenomena of nature, gathered from the works of Aristotle, Theophrastus, and others. Now this is something very different from what the title of the work mentioned by Suidas would lead us to expect; that title can mean nothing else than, that Apollonius Dyscolos wrote a work which was an exposition of certain errors or forgeries which had crept into history. Phlegon, moreover, quotes from the work of Apollonius Dyscolos passages which are not to be found in the one which Meursius and others ascribe to him. (Phlegon, cc. 11, 13, 17.) The conclusion therefore must be, that the work of Apollonius Dyscolos peri katepseusmenes istorias is lost, and that the one which has been mistaken for it belongs to an Apollonius who is otherwise unknown. (Westermann, Scriptores Rerum mirabil. p.20, &c, where the work of the unknown Apollonius is also incorporated, pp.103-116.)

[COMMENT: And it is entirely possible that this "otherwise unknown" Apollonius was Apollonius of Tyana who also wrote about history and would certainly have wanted to correct any mistakes or errors therein. Quite a lot of information regarding Apollonius Dyscolos can be found online. RS]

17. A native of Egypt, a writer who is referred to by Theophilus Antiochenus (ad Autolyc. iii. pp. 127, 136, 139) as an authority respecting various opinions upon the age of the world. Whether he is the same as the Apollonius from whom Athenaeus (v. p.191) quotes a passage concerning the symposia of the ancient Egyptians, is uncertain. The number of persons of the name of Apollonius, who were natives of Egypt, is so great, that unless some other distinguishing epithet is added, it is impossible to say who they were. An Apollonius, an Egyptian, is mentioned as a soothsayer, who prophesied the death of Caligula. (Dion Cass. lix, 29.)

[COMMENT: It is my own opinion that this is yet another reference to Apollonius of Tyana from the time of his residence in Alexandria. RS]

18. Surnamed Eidographus (eidografus), a writer referred to by the Scholiast on Pindar (Pyth. ii. 1) respecting a contest in which Hiero won the prize. Some writers have thought he was a poet, but from the Etymol. M. (s. v. eidothea) it is probable that he was some learned grammarian.

19. Of Laodicea, is said to have written five books on astrology (astrologia apotelesmatica) in which he accused the Egyptians of various astronomical errors. (Paulus Alex. Praef. ad Isagog.). In the royal library of Paris there exists a MS. containing "Apotelesmata" of one Apollonius, which Fabricius believes to be the work of Apollonius of Laodicea.

[COMMENT: These references certainly imply Apolloius of Tyana. RS]

20. Of Myndus, lived at the time of Alexander the Great, and was particularly skilled in explaining nativities. He professed to have learned his art from the Chaldeans. (Senec. Quaed. Nat. vii. 3 and 17). His statements respecting the comets, which Seneca has preserved, are sufficient to shew that his works were of great importance for astronomy. Whether he is the same as Apollonius, a grammarian of Myndus, who is mentioned by Stephanus Byzantius (s. v. Mundos), is uncertain.

21. Of Naucratis, a pupil of Adrianus and Chrestus, taught rhetoric at Athens. He was an opponent of Heracleides, and with the assistance of his associates he succeeded in expelling him from his chair. He cultivated chiefly political oratory, and used to spend a great deal of time upon preparing his speeches in retirement. His moral conduct is censured, as he had a son Rufinus by a concubine. He died at Athens in the seventieth year of his age. (Philostr. Vit. Soph. ii. 19, 26. § 2; Eudoc. p.66.)

22. Pergaeus.

23. Rhodius.

[COMMENT: Mathematician Apollonius of Perga and poet Apollonius of Rhodes are quite well-known in their own rights. Much information exists about them in encyclopedias, libraries and online. Their biographical sketches will not be included here. RS]

24. A Syrian, a platonic philosopher, who lived about the time of Hadrian, and who had inserted in his works an oracle which promised to Hadrian the government of the Roman world (Spartian. Hadr. 2).

25. Tyanaeus.

[COMMENT: In my opinion Apollonius The Syrian was identical with Apollonius of Tyana, who like Rhodius and Pergaeus is given a separate and lengthy biography. Professor Smith's account of Apollonius of Tyana is provided in another chapter of this book. But let me add that Aramaic was the common language of Cappadocia, Syria, Phoenicia (Lebanon), Assyria (Kurdistan), Jordan and Palestine. Apollonius of Tyana, Julia Domna Bassianus of Emesa and Damis of Ninevah all grew up speaking Aramaic. Julia Domna's father was the gnostic Syrian High-Priest Bassianus in the spiritual center of Emesa. It was an easy journey along the Roman highroads from both Tyana and Ninevah to Emesa, southeast of Antioch. This is not an unreasonable assumption to make, especially since Emperor Hadrian supposedly acquired The Emerald Tablet from the estate of Apollonius of Tyana. RS]

26. Of Tyre, a stoic philosopher, who lived in the reign of Ptolemy Auletes, is mentioned by Diogenes Laërtius (vii. 1, 2, 24, and 28) as the author of a work on Zeno. Strabo (xvi. p.757) mentions a work of his which he calls pinaks town apo Zenownos filosofown kai town Bibliown, and which appears to have been a short survey of the philosophers and their writings from the time of Zeno. Whether this Apollonius is the same as the one who wrote a work on female philosophers (Phot. Cod. 161), or as the author of the chronological work (xronika) of which Stephanus Byzantius (s. v. Xalketorion) quotes the fourth book, cannot be decided.

27. King of Tyre, is the hero of a Greek romance, the author of which is unknown. Barth (Adversar. lviii. 1) thought that the author was a Christian of the name of Symposius. About the year A.D. 1500, the romance was put into so-called political verse by Constantinus or Gabriel Contianus, and was printed at Venice, 1603, 4to A Latin translation had been published before that time by M. Velerus, under the title "Narratio eorum quae acciderunt Apollonio Tyrio", Aug. Vindel. 1595, 4to. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries this romance was very popular, and was translated into most of the European languages.

APOLLONIUS (artists)

1. Apollonius and Tauriscus of Tralles, were two brothers, and the sculptors of the group which is commonly known as the Farnese bull, representing the puunishment of Dirce by Zethus and Amphion. It was taken from Rhodes to Rome by Asinius Pollio, and afterwards placed in the baths of Caracalla, where it was dug up in the sixteenth century, and deposited in the Farnese palace. It is now at Naples. After its discovery, it was restored, in a manner not at all in keeping with its style, by Battista Bianchi of Milan. There is some reason to believe that additions were made to it in the time of Caracalla. It was originally formed out of one block of marble. A full description of the group is given by Winckelmann, who distinguishes the old parts from the new.

From the style of the ancient porticos of the group, Winckelmann and Müller refer its execution to the same period to which they imagine the Laocoon to belong, that is, the period after Alexander the Great. Both groups belong to the same school of art, the Rhodian, and both probably to the same period. If, therefore, we admit the force of the arguments of Lessing and Thiersch respecting the date of the Laocoon, we may infer, that the Farnese bull was newly executed when Asinius Pollio took it to Rome, and consequently, that Apollonius and Tauriscus flourished at the beginning of the first century of the Christian aera. It is worth while to notice, that we have no history of this work before its removal from Rhodes to Rome.

Pliny says of Apollonius and Tauriscus, "Parentum il certamen de se fecere: Menecratem videri professi, sed esse naturalem Artemidorum", which is understood to mean, that they placed an inscription on their work, expressing a doubt whether their father, Artemidorus, or their teacher, Menecrates, ought to be considered their true parent. The Farnese bull bears no such inscrption, but there are the marks of an effaced inscription on a trunk of a tree which forms a support for the figure of Zethus. (Plin. xxxvi. 4. § 10; Winckelmann, Werke, vi. p.52; Müller, Archäol. der Kunst. § 157.)

[COMMENT: Excellent rhetoric can be used to identify these sculptors with Apollonius Apollonius Menodotus of Tyana and his older brother Hestiaeus Apollonius Menodotus, regardless of how some of these reports record the name of Apollonius' father (which was Apollonius Menodotus Menodotus). The City of Tralles, like Tyana and Tarsus, was a major crossroads city in extreme western Cappadocia on the highroad to Ephesus. Roman highroads from the west, south and east converged at Tralles. Certainly Apollonius and Hestiaeus passed through Tralles on numerous occasions; Hestiaeus may even have moved there after their father died in 17 CE, and after Emperor Tiberius annexed Cappadocia to the Roman Empire that same year. Note the linguistic similarity of the name "Tauriscus" with the City of "Tarsus" and the "Taurus" Mountains which surround Tyana. Hestiaeus may have adopted the "artistic pseudonym" of "Tauriscus" to reflect the fact that he hailed from the Taurus Mountains. The acclaimed Farnese Bull is now on display in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy, where also there are displayed two marble busts of Apollonius of Tyana. During 2003 archaeological excavations at Kemerhisar, Turkey, another marble bust of a young Apollonius was found in the buried ruins of Old Tyana by Dr. Asim Tanis of the University of Venice and his colleagues. So there are three marble busts of Apollonius but not a single one of "Jesus"! Who sculpted these busts? Who better to do it than the brother "Hestiaeus Tauriscus" of Apollonius himself! If so, this would lead to the idea that Apollonius, via his artistic sculptor-brother, had an appreciation for good sculpture and probably assisted "Tauriscus" in creating the Farnese Bull. Images of all these sculptures can be found at my website.
http://www.apollonius.net/graphics.html
See also: http://www.apollonius.net/oxford.html
Roman Empress Julia Domna Bassianus of Syria commissioned Flavius Philostratus to write an official biography of Apollonius of Tyana. She was married to Emperor Septimius Severus, mentioned earlier, and Emperor Caracalla was their son. In about 214 CE Emperor Caracalla paid a visit to Tyana, where he erected a shrine to Apollonius and proclaimed that the city was an official "Colony of Rome". If the Farnese Bull was put on display in the Baths of Caracalla, built by Caracalla, then it must have been taken to Rome around 210 CE, perhaps even earlier. It was placed in the baths to further honor the memory of Apollonius! Why else?! If the sculptors' names were later effaced from the bull, then perhaps that was just another vile Christian attempt to obliterate all memory of Apollonius in favor of their Hebrew "Jesus Christ". The Farnese Bull must have been simply too beautiful to break it apart with a sledge hammer, so these Christian censors opted only for scratching out the names of anyone from Tyana. Furthermore, it would not be inconsistent with other facts that Apollonius and Hestiaeus adopted the Alexandrine artistic school as a guide for creating the sculpture, since Apollonius was intimately familiar with the philosophies of Aristotle, teacher of Alexander The Great. Apollonius, Alexander and Aristotle are connected elsewhere by The Emerald Tablet Of Thoth. See:
http://www.apollonius.net/bibliography.html
Certainly there would not be all of these sheer "coincidences" if this Apollonius and Tauriscus were other men. You be the judge. RS]

2. An Athenian sculptor, the son of Nestor, was the maker of the celebrated torso of Hercules in the Belvedere, which is engraved in the Mus.Pio-Clement. iii. pl. 10, and on which is inscribed APOLLOWNIOS NESTOROS ATHENAIOS EROIEI. From the formation of the letters of the inscription, the age of the sculptor may be fixed at about the birth of Christ. The work itself is one of the most splendid remains of Grecian art. There is at Rome a statue of Aesculapius by the same artist. (Winckelmann, Werke, i. p.226, iii. p.39, vi. pp. 64, 94, 101, vii. p.215; Thiersch. Epochen, p.332.)

[COMMENT: The very fact that this same sculptor also sculpted a statue of Aesculapius, whose medical healing philosophies Apollonius of Tyana studied in Tarsus, points back in the direction of Apollonius and Hestiaeus, or "Tauriscus". This torso of Hercules is also housed in the same Naples museum with the other works, noted previously. The inscription APOLLOWNIOS NESTOROS ATHENAIOS EROIEI probably means "Apollonius Nestorus, Athenian Sculptor". Again, the father's name is different, but "raw facts" are "raw facts" which cannot be ignored. If nothing else, Dr. Velikovsky certainly taught us that basic research premise! RS]

3. An Athenian sculptor, the son of Archias, made the bronze head of the young hero, which was found at Herculaneum and is engraved in the Mus. Hercul. i. tab. 45. It bears the inscription APOLLONIOS ARXIOT ATHENAIOS EPOWESE. It probably belongs to the period of the birth of Christ. (Winckelmann, Werke, ii. p.158, iv. p.284, v. p.239, vii. p.92).

[COMMENT: Again, I re-emphasize my preceding arguments, and both these Athenian sculptors lived at the time of Christ. Also note that in 2 the name Apollonius in Greek is spelled "Apollownios" whereas in 3 it is spelled "Apollonios". The "ow" vowel indicates the Greek letter Omega, whereas the "o" indicates Omicron. Apollonius of Tyana's name has the Omega as the middle vowel. RS]

4. A sculptor, whose name is inscribed on the beautiful marble statue of a young satyr, in the possession of the Earl of Egremont, at Petworth, Sussex.

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

APOLLONIUS (physicians)

For a list of the physicians of this name see Fabricius, Bibl. Gr. vol. xiii. p.74, ed. vet.; Le Clerc, Hist. de la Méd.; Haller, Biblioth. Medic. Pract. vol. i; Harless, Analecta Historico-Crit. de Archigene Medico et de Apolloniis, &c, Bamberg, 1816, 4to.; Sprengel, Hist. de la Méd.

1, 2. Apollonius Antiochenus (Antioxeus), the name of two physicians, father and son, who were born at Antioch, and belonged to the sect of the Empirici. They lived after Serapion of Alexandria and before Menodotus, and therefore probably in the first or second century B.C. (Gal. Introd. c. 4. vol. xiv. p.683). One of them is very likely the person sometimes called "Apollonius Empiricus"; the other may perhaps be Apollonius Senior.

[COMMENT: Seeing this name Menodotus, I immediately looked him up in Professor Smith's dictionary. He was also of the Empirici School and was greatly admired as a physician. He wrote several books on medicine. Menodotus was also the name of Apollonius of Tyana's father and grandfather. Father Menodotus was born in about 32 BCE, and grandfather Menodotus in about 57 BCE. According to Professor Smith, this other Menodotus lived about 100 BCE. However, in cases like this, dating is highly suspect; and it would not be too far-fetched to presume that this other Menodotus was in fact the grandfather or great-grandfather of Apollonius of Tyana. All of these people lived in the same general Aramaic-speaking Antioch-Tarsus-Tyana region, so perhaps even this father and son Apollonius Antiochenus were related by family ties as well. RS]

3. Apollonius Archistrator (Arxistratowr) is the author of a medical prescription quoted by Andromachus (ap. Gal. De Compos. Medicam. sec. Gen. v. 12, vol. xiii. p.835), and must therefore have lived in or before the first century after Christ. Nothing is known of the events of his life.

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

4. Apollonius Biblas (Biblas), lived probably in the second century B.C. and wrote, after Zeno's death, a book in answer to a work which he had composed on the meaning of certain marks (xarakteres) that are found at the end of some chapters in the third book of the Epidemics of Hippocrates. (Gal. Comm. II. in Hippoer, "Epid. III", § 5, vol. xvii. pt. i. p.618.) It seems most likely that he is not the same person as Apollonius Empiricus. His name is supposed to be connected with the word Bibliakos, and seems to have been given him for being (as we say) a book-worm.

5. Apollonius Citiensis (Kiteus), the oldest commentator on Hippocrates whose works are still extant. He was a native of Citium, in Cyrpus (Strabo, xiv. 6, p.243, ed. Tauchn.), and studied medicine at Alexandria under Zopyrus (Apollon. Cit. p.2, ed. Dietz); he is supposed to have lived in the first century B.C. The only work of his that remains is a short Commentary on Hippocrates, Peri Arhrown, De Articulis, in three books. It is dedicated to a king of the name of Ptolemy, who is conjectured to have been a younger brother of Ptolemy Auletes, king of Eypt, who was made king of Cyprus, and who is mentioned several times by Cicero. (Pro Dom. c. 8, 20, Pro Flacc. c. 13, Pro Sext. c. 26.) Some portions of this work were published by Cocchi in his Discorso dell'Anatomia, Firenze, 1745, 4to., p.8, and also in his Graecorum Chirurgici Libri, Florent. 1754, fol. The whole work, however, appeared for the first time in the first volume of Dietz's Scholia in Hippocratem et Galennum, Regim. Pruss. 1834, 8vo.; and an improved edition with a Latin translation was published by Kühn, Lips. 1837, 4to., which, however, was not quite finished at the time of his death. (See Kühn, Addidam. ad Elenchum Medicorum Veterum a Jo. A Fabricio, &c. exhibitum, Lips. 1826, 4to., fascic. iii. p.5; Dietz, Schol. in Hipp. et Gal. vol. i. praef. p.v; Littré, Oeuvres d'Hippoer, vol i. Introd. p.92; Choulant, Handbuch der Bücherkunde für die Aeltere Medicin.)

6. Apollonius Claudius must have lived in or before the second century after Christ, as one of his antidotes is quoted by Galen. (De Antid. ii. 11, vol. xiv. p.171.) Nothing is known of his life.

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

7. Apollonius Cyprius (Koprios) was the pupil of Olympicus and the tutor to Julianus. He was a native of Cyprus, belonged to the sect of the Methodici, and lived probably in the first century after Christ. Nothing more is known of his history. (Gal. De Meth. Med. i. 7, vol. x. pp. 53, 54.)

[COMMENT: This also corresponds to the century of Apollonius of Tyana, but most likely this Apollonius was either identical with Apollonius Citiensis above or his Cypriot descendant. RS]

8. Apollonius Empiricus (Empeirikos) is supposed to be one of the persons called "Apollonius Antiochenus". He lived, according to Celsus (De Med. i. praef. p.5), after Serapion of Alexandria, and before Heracleides of Tarentum, and therefore probably in the second century B.C. He belonged to the sect of the Empirici and wrote a book in answer to Zeno's work on the xarakteres in Hippocrates, mentioned above. This was answered by Zeno, and it was this second work that drew from Apollonius Biblas his treatise on the subject after Zeno's death. (Gal. Comm. II. in Hipp. "Epid. III." § 5, vol. xvii. pt. i. p.618.) He is mentioned also by Galen, De. Meth. Med. ii. 7, vl. x. p.142.

9. Apollonius Glaucus must have lived in or before the second century after Christ, as his work "On Internal Diseases" is quoted by Caelius Aurelianus. (De Morb. Chron. iv. 8, p.536.) Nothing is known of his life.

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

10. Apollonius Herophileius (Erofileios) is supposed to be the same person as Apollonius Mus. He wrote a pharmaceutical work entitled Peri Enropistown, De Facile Parabilibus (Gal. De Compos. Medicam. sec. Loc. vi. 9, vol. xii, p.995), which is very frequently quoted by Galen, and which is probably the work referred to by Orbasius (Eupor. ad Eunap. i. prooem. p.574), and of which some fragments are quoted in Cramer's Anecd. Graeca Paris, vol. i. p.395, as still existing in MS. in the Royal Library at Paris. He lived before Andromachus, as that writer quotes him (ap. Gal. De Comos. Medicam. sec. Loc. vol. xiii. pp. 76, 114, 137, 308, 326, 981), and also before Archigenes (Gal. ibid. vol. xii. p. 515; we may therefore conclude that he lived in or before the first century after Christ. He was a follower of Herophilus, and is said by Galen (ibid. p.510) to have lived for some time at Alexandria. His work, Peri Murown, On Ointments, is quoted by Athenaeus (xv. p.688), and he is also mentioned by Caelius Aurelianus (De Morb. Ac. ii. 28. p.139).

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

11. Apollonius Hippocraticus (Ippokrateios) is said by Galen (De Secta Opt. c 14. vol. i. p.144; Comment. III. in Hippocr. "De Rat. Vict. in Morg. Ac." c. 38. vol. xv. p.703) to have been a pupil of Hippocrates II., and must therefore have lived in the fourth century B.C. He is blamed by Erasistratus (ap. Gal. l. c.) for his excessive severity in restricting the quantity of drink allowed to his patients.

12. Apollonius Memphites (Memfites) was born at Memphis in Egypt, and was a follower of Erasistratus. (Gal. Introd. c. 10. vol. xiv. p.700.) He must therefore have lived about the third century B.C., and is probably the same person who is called "Apollonius Stratonicus". He wrote a work "On the Names of the Parts of the Human Body" (Gal. l.d. and Definit. prooem. vol. xix. p.347), and is quoted by Erotianus (Gloss. Hipp. p.86), Galen (De Antid. ii. 14, vol. xiv. p.188), Nicolaus Myrepsus (De Aur. cc. 11, 16, pp. 831, 832), and other ancient writers.

13. Apollonius Mus (Mys), a follower of Herophilus, of whose life no particulars are known, but who must have lived in the first century B.C., as Strabo mentions him as a contemporary. (xiv. 1. p.182, ed. Tauchn.) He was a fellow-pupil of Heracleides of Erythrae (ibid.) and composed a long work on the opinions of the sect founded by Herophilius. (Cael. Aurel. De Morb. Acut. ii. 13. p.110; Gal. De Differ. Puls. iv. 10, vol. viii. pp. 744, 746.) He also wrote on pharmacy (Cels. De Med. v. praef. p.81; Pallad. Comm. in Hipp."Epid. VI.", ap Dietz, Schol. in Hipp. et Gal. vol. ii. p.98; Gal. De Antid. ii. 7, 8, vol. xiv. pp. 143, 146), and is supposed to be the same person who is sometimes called "Apollonius Herophileius".

[COMMENT: Strabo lived approximately from 66 BCE until 25 CE. If he knew Apollonius of Tyana, it would have been when Apollonius was still a young man. I seriously doubt that they ever met each other in person. Thus, Apollonius Herophileius might have been yet another designation for Apollonius Tyanaeus, with Apollonius Mus' living a generation earlier, as a contemporary of Strabo. RS]

14. Apollonius Ophis (o Ofis) is said by Erotianus (Gloss. Hipp. p.8) to have made a compilation from the Glossary of difficult Hippocratic words by Baccheius; he must therefore have lived about the first or second century B.C. He is supposed by some persons to be Apollonius Pergamenus, by others Apollonius Ther.

15. Apollonius Organicus (Organikos) is quoted by Galen (De Compos. Medicam. sec. Loc. v. 15, vol. xiii. p.856), and must therefore have lived in or before the second century after Christ. Nothing is known of his life.

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

16. Apollonius Pergamenus (Pergamenos) is supposed by some persons to be Apollonius Ophis, or Apollonius Ther. He was born at Pergamus in Mysia, but his date is very uncertain, since it can only be positively determined that, as he is quoted by Oribasius, he must have lived in or before the fourth century after Christ. (Orib. Empor. ad Eun. i. 9, p.578.) He is probably the author of rather a long extract on Scarification preserved by Oribasius (Med. Coll. vii, 19, 20, p.316), which is published by C.F. Matthaei in his Collection of Greek Medical Writers, entitled XXI. Veterum et Clarorum Medicorum Graecorum Varia Opuscala, Mosqu. 1808, 4to., p.144.

17. Apollonius Pitanaeus was born at Pitanae in Aeolia, and must have lived in or before the first century after Christ, as an absurd and superstitious remedy is attributed to him by Pliny. (H. N. xxix. 38.)

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

18. Apollonius Senior (o Presthuteros) is quoted by Erotianus (Gloss. Hipp. p.86), and must therefore have lived in or before the first century after Christ. Some persons suppose him to be one of the physicians called Apollonius Antiochenus.

[COMMENT: See my Comment above in connection with Apollonius Antiochenus. It could well be that "Apollonius Senior" meant Apollonius Menodotus Menodotus, father of Apollonius "Junior" of Tyana. We do not know from Flavius Philostratus in exactly what profession Apollonius Menodotus Menodotus was engaged, only that the family was one of the oldest and wealthiest in Tyana. But he sent his son Apollonius Apollonius Menodotus to Tarsus to study the medical philosophies of Aesculapius, mentioned earlier. RS]

19. Apollonius Stratonicus (o apo Stratownos) was probably not the son, but the pupil, of Strato of Beryta: he is very likely the same person as Apollonius Memphites, and may be supposed to have lived about the third century B.C. He was a follower of Erasistratus, and wrote a work on the Pulse, which is quoted by Galen. (De Differ. Puls. iv. 17, vol. vii. p.759.)

20. Apollonius Tarsensis (o Tarseus) was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and lived perhaps in the first or second century after Christ. His prescriptions are several times quoted by Galen. (De Compos. Medicam. sec. Gen. v. 13, vol. xiii. p.843.)

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

21. Apollonius Ther (o Ther) is supposed by some persons to be the same as Apollonius Ophis, or Apollonius Pergamenus. As he is quoted by Erotianus (Gloss. Hipp. p.86), he must have lived in or before the first century after Christ.

[COMMENT: Apollonius of Tyana? RS]

22. Another physician of this name, who is mentioned by Apuleius (Met. ix. init.) as having been bitten by a mad dog, must (if he ever really existed) have lived in the second century after Christ; and the name occurs in several ancient authors, belonging to one or more physicians, without any distinguishing epithet.

[COMMENT: Presumably this Apuleius was the Second Century's Apuleius of Medaura, who was acquainted with Alexander Paphlagonaeus of Abonoteichus, the "successor" of Apollonius of Tyana, perhaps even Apollonius' first biographer, writing under the pseudonym "Moeragenes"! Apuleius of Medaura was also the Libyan kinsman and friend of Emperor Septimius Severus and probably his wife Julia Domna. And curiously, too, there is a story about Apollonius of Tyana and a mad dog recounted in the biography by Philostratus! RS]