"In the first century of the Common Era, there
appeared at the eastern end of the Mediterranean a remarkable religious
leader who taught the worship of one true God and declared that religion meant
not the sacrifice of beasts but the practice of charity and piety and the
shunning of hatred and enmity. He was said to have worked miracles of
goodness, casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead. His
exemplary life led some followers to claim he was the son of God, although
he called himself the son of man. Accused of sedition against Rome, he was
arrested. After his death, his disciples claimed he had risen from the dead,
appeared to them alive, and then ascended to heaven. Who was this teacher
and wonder-worker? His name was Apollonius of Tyana; he died about 98 A.D.,
and his story may be read in Flavius Philostratus's Life of Apollonius."
Readers who too hastily assumed that the preceding
described Apollonius's slightly earlier contemporary, Jesus of Nazareth, may
be forgiven their error if they will reflect how readily the human imagination
embroiders the careers of notable figures of the past with common mythical and
fictional embellishments." Randel Helms
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