I consider Apollonius to have been an historical person.billd89 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 8:30 pmA Fourth C inscription about a somewhat or largely fictional character described in the Early Third C? Of a purportedly Historical Apollonius, who lived in the First C?Leucius Charinus wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 8:11 pmIn which case you'll need to explain an inscription to Apollonius
http://mountainman.com.au/apollonius_of_tyana.htm
There is no inscription to Jesus before the 4th century. And arguably no physical evidence for the Christians before the 3rd century. The physical literary "evidence" from the "F-Fathers" is from the middle ages.The oldest 'Jesus' evidence is quicker than that.
Ammianus Marcellinus a most reliable historical guide in his "Res Gestae" twice mentions Apollonius.Aelius Aristides (c.175 AD) was fanatic devotee of Aesculapius, and highly literate. Why doesn't he reference this famous 'Apollonius of Tyana' (c.95 AD), a spectacular guru-author who lived and died ~three generations earlier?
Eusebius a most unreliable historical guide refers to this book many times as the "history" of Philostratus.Because 'Apollonius of Tyana' is a fictional construct, an historische roman: The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, by Philostratus c.235 AD.
AGAINST THE LIFE OF APOLLONIUS OF TYANA
WRITTEN BY PHILOSTRATUS,
OCCASIONED BY THE PARALLEL
DRAWN BY HIEROCLES
BETWEEN HIM AND CHRIST.
Translated by F.C. Conybeare (1912).
I
So then, my dear friend, you find worthy of no little admiration the parallel which, embellished with many marvels, this author has drawn between the man of Tyana arid our own Saviour and teacher. For already against the rest of the contents of the "Lover of Truth " (Philalethes), for so he has thought fit to entitle his work against us, it would be useless to take my stand at present; because they are not his own, but have been pilfered in the most shameless manner, not only I may say in respect of their ideas, but even of their words and syllables, from other authorities. Not but what these parts also of his treatise call for their refutation in due season ; but to all intents and purposes they have, even in advance of any special work that might be written in answer to them, been upset and exposed beforehand in a work which in as many as eight books Origen composed against the book which Celsus wrote and--even more boastfully than the " Lover of Truth,"--entitled " True Reason." The work of Celsus is there subjected to an examination in an exhaustive manner and on the scale above mentioned by the author in question, who in his comprehensive survey of all that anyone has said or will ever say on the same topic., has forestalled any solution of your difficulties which I could offer. To this work of Origen I must refer those who in good faith and with genuine "love of truth " desire accurately to understand my own position. I will therefore ask you for the present to confine your attention to the comparison of Jesus Christ with Apollonius which is found in this treatise called the " Lover of Truth," without insisting on the necessity of our meeting the rest of his arguments, for these are pilfered from other people. We may reasonably confine our attention for the present to the history of Apollonius, because Hierocles, of all the writers who have ever attacked us, stands alone in selecting Apollonius, as he has recently done, for the purposes of comparison and contrast with our Saviour.
http://mountainman.com.au/essenes/euseb ... lonius.htm