Is Apollonius of Tyana
- Paul of Tarsus ?
Apollonius of Tyanna, a
Pythagorean philosopher and contemporary of the Jesus Christ
of the Gospels. Many agnostic and atheistic scholars as well as other
free thinkers believe that some portions of the Gospels of Jesus
Christ are actually modeled on the adventures of Apollonius. Quite possibly, due to the lack of
historical evidence for Jesus as depicted in the Gospels. -
some believe him to have actually been the Jesus Christ. Others
postulate the theory that Paul the Apostle and Apollonius are one
and the same.
Some scholars argue that Paul of Tarsus a/k/a Paul the Apostle did
not exist, and that All of the original writings and teachings
attributed to him in the New Testament are the writings and teachings of Apollonius of Tyanna. Other scholars present
reasonable arguments that Paul was only a mythical character patterned
after Apollonius.
The hypothesis that Apollonius was actually the apostle Paul lends
itself much credence upon a brief review of the available facts..
- Apollonius is a Greek name, the Latin Romanized
version would be Apollos . Apollos over a period time as well
as convenience morphed to Paulos. Paulos in its English
format is Paul
- Apollonius was born in the city of Tyana, in the Roman province
of Cappadocia, in present day Turkey. At the age of twelve
Apollonius went to Tarsus and was educated there, coincidentally
Tarsus is the birthplace of Paul of Tarsus a/k/a Paul the apostle.
Tarsus is the place Apollonius moved to at a young age and went to
school, hence he could be referred to as Paul of Tarsus
both Apollonius and Paul were in Tarsus at the same time in their
youth, as Newman
points out, Apollonius and Paul were also at Ephesus and Rome at at
exactly the same time . Apollonius's biographer does not mention
Paul at all, but Paul's biographer speaks of "Apollos" having
been at Ephesus with him. .Many of his teachings coincide with Paul
of Tarsus, and Paul is said to have done many of the same things
Apollonius did. {Catholic Authorities claim that Apollonius of
Alexandria is the Apollos of the New Testament }
- Both Paul of Tarsus and Apollonius were unmarried and as far as
History records neither produced any progeny .
- Martin Luther(Founder of
Protestant- Christianity} believed Apollonius to be the author of
the Epistle to the Hebrews . And there are strong cases that early
Christian censors, and plagiarizers inserted the name Pol /
Paul in place of Apollonius/apollos/paulos wherever it could be found,
it remained in the New Testament as Apollos in some instances
because the Paul character they were creating was the speaker in the
instances in question . Fortunately, one book survived in its
entirety- Life of Apollonius of Tyana
- by Philostratus. The Life of Apollonius of Tyana was secretly
carried to the Near East where it remained over a 1000 years. In
1801 it was brought to Europe and was translated into English .
- In the Greek text, Apollonius is commonly written as Pol as well
as Apollos, "Apollos" of the New Testament - the eloquent
"Jew" whose preaching and baptizing at Corinth and at Ephesus
preceded the work of the Apostle Paul. Almost as if the narrative of
Apollos is John the Baptist to Paul/Pol being Jesus.
- Apollonius is named for the Greek sun god Apollo. Paul's
original name as per the Gospels was Saul, a mutation of
Sol / The Sun God as per the religion of Constantine -
Sol Invictus/ The invincible Sun.
- The companion of Apollonius, as well as scribe was Demis.
As per -2 Timothy 4:10 Demas was the companion of
Paul See Also Philemon, Verse 24; I Corinthians, Chapter 3: Verses 4
-- 6 & Verse 22; I Corinthians, Chapter 4: Verse 6; Titus, Chapter
3: Verse 13. Demas is also the name of one of the "criminals"
crucified alongside Jesus as per
The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea
- Apollonius, said by legend to be the son of Proteus, a shape
shifting God found in the writings of Homer. Assuming elements of
the Life of Apollonius to be Allegorical, is the connection to
Proteus a hint as to " how versatile he was, and for ever
changing his form" ...or identity. Proteus was also
known for his ability to foresee the future
- Paul fought with wild beasts at Ephesus; so did Apollonius
- Paul noticed the alter to the unknown God; so did Apollonius
- Acts 17:22-23 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the
Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you
are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked
carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with
this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.
- Apollonius spoke of Athens as the place ' “altars are
set up in honor even to unknown divinities.” ...
- Paul, on his way to Rome, landed at Puteoli, so did Apollonius
- 1 Corinthians 15:32
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons,
what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and
drink, for tomorrow we die."
Are Elements of the Jesus Christ
Narrative based on Apollonius ?
- Apollonius was born in 4 BC, the year now recognized by
scholars as the Birth year of Jesus Christ.
- The life and biography of Apollonius contains a missing period
of about 20 years , which begins when he was about thirty , at
approximately 50 years of age his biographical record can again be
traced.
So where was Pol/Apollonius for twenty years after being so visible
and so successful as a philosopher and teacher ?
Just a possibility:
Luke 3:23: "Jesus was about thirty years old when
he began his work."
- Apollonius is responsible for bringing the stories of Krishna
to the West, he brought back to Rome the teachings of Krishna who
Greeks called "Christos". Many believe that a certain
Bishop Marcion discovered the writings of Apollonius in Asia Minor
(Turkey) a century later and translated them into Greek and
Latin, producing the first compiled "Christian" Bible.
- Sossianus Hierocles claimed, it was library of Apollonius'
that was plagiarized in producing the New Testament. Hierocles, a governor in Bithynia and later
Lower-Egypt, {reign of
Diocletian 245-315 AD) and an enemy of the Christians verbally
attacked Christianity . As per Eusebius of Caesarea . "Hierocles tried to weaken the importance of
Christ's miracles without however denying them, and wanted to show that
Apollonius had performed some of equal importance and even more important ones."
Eusebius replied with a treatise that he wrote Against The
Thesis Of Hierocles on Apollonius of Tyana. Eusebius recognized that Apollonius
was a very wise man worthy of admiration; admitted everything that
was told about his holiness and his teachings, but rejected
many of the miracles that were assigned to him, dismissing them
outright or assigning them as either magic or to the work of
demons.
Hierocles also states in his writings that “Jesus was the
leader of a band of highway robbers numbering more than 900 men”
Luke 22:36 : "But now he that hath a purse, let him take it
and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword let him sell his
garments and buy one."
and - "You proclaim Jesus a god on account of a few
prodigies recorded by their evangelists, yet we have writers of more
education than yours and with more care for truth, who relate solid
judgment, do not make him a god on account of them, only regard him
as a man found pleasing to the gods."
- Numerous contemporary historians make mention of Apollonius's
remarkable career but absolutely ignore his fabled contemporary,
Jesus. Jesus appears in later writings by Christians , most of whom
went to great lengths to denigrate Apollonius , as though by
discrediting the Sage from Tyanna The King of Jews would somehow
gain in stature - [it worked].
- As per legend The coming of Apollonius was announced to his mother by
an Angel, and he was born either 3 or 4 BC - the same date {Circa}which
scholars now claim Jesus was born.
- He visited Rome and raised the daughter of a senator from the dead.
Which is reminiscent of daughter of Jairus {Luke Chapter 8 40-42}
- Followers of Apollonius claimed that he was the son of Proteus,
a god of the sea, not nearly as popular as Poseidon or Oceanus, he
was better known as their servant. Apollonius is said to have repudiated this
claim. Regardless, it was believed by many contemporary and
subsequent adherents that Apollonius was of divine parentage and
that messengers of Apollo sang at his birth. As per legend the
Angels sang at Jesuses.
- "To his mother, just before he was born, there came an
apparition of Proteus, who changes his form so much in
Homer, in the guise of an Aigyption Daimon. ... asked
him what sort of child she would bear. And he answered:
‘Myself.’ ‘And who are you?’ she asked. ‘Proteus,’ answered he,
‘the god of Aigyptos ’ Well, I need hardly explain to
readers of the poets the quality of Proteus and his
reputation as regards wisdom; how versatile he was, and
for ever changing his form, and defying capture, and how
he had the reputation of knowing both past and future. And we
must bear Proteus in mind all the more, when my advancing story
shows the hero to have been more a prophet than Proteus.” -
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 1.4
-
The Christian Holocaust instigated by
Nero coincided with / or was the same persecution
inflicted upon the Apollonians.
-
Justin Martyr ,
a Christian apologist, born about 100 C.E., was said to have asked:
- "How is it that the talismans of Apollonius have power over
certain members of creation, for they prevent, as we see, the fury
of the waves, the violence of the winds, and the attacks of wild
beasts. And whilst Our Lord's miracles are preserved by tradition
alone, those of Apollonius are most numerous, and actually
manifested in present facts, so as to lead astray all beholders?"
- An Athenian man, possessed by a devil shrieked in fear and
rage, and could not face the look of Apollonius, reminds us of the
Gospel narrative of the demon possessed man of Gadera
- Many pictures recognizable as a likeness of Jesus actually have their
origins in a portrait of Apollonius of Tyana painted in the reign of
Vespasian
.
from Antiquity Unveiled
by Jonathan M. Roberts in which evidence was presented to prove that no such man
as Jesus of Nazareth ever lived, but the name was adopted by the
framers of Christianity to cover the identity of Apollonius of Tyana
whose teachings and mode of life they purloined and made use of as a
model upon which to construct their system."
"All through the Third Century there is repeated mention of this
(Apollonius' teachings). But it was not until Hierocles in the beginning
of the Fourth Century boldly charged upon the Christian priesthood their
plagiarism of the teachings and works of Apollonius, that the latter
found it necessary to set every means at work that could in any way help
to conceal the great truth that Hierocles proclaimed with such
portentous force. It was true that no one knows exactly what it was that
Hierocles wrote, for Eusebius, who took upon himself the task of
destroying the testimony of Hierocles, took precious good care to
destroy the work of his formidable opponent, and give his own version of
the matter instead. The reply of Eusebius to Hierocles has come down to
us. Why has not Hierocles' arraignments of the Christian priesthood also
come down to us? Let that priesthood answer." (J. M. Roberts --
Antiquity Unveiled)
Appollonius in the
New Testament
I Corinthians 1:11-12: " . . . It has been reported to me
by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers
and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, 'I belong to
Paul,' or 'I belong to
Apollos,' or 'I belong to Cephas,' or 'I belong to
Christ.' Has Christ been divided?"
I Corinthians 3:4-6: "For when one says, 'I belong to Paul,' and
another, 'I belong to
Apollos,' are you not merely human? What then is
Apollos?
What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the
Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave
the growth."
I Corinthians 3:22-23: " . . . Whether Paul or
Apollos or Cephas or
the world or life or death or the present or the future -- all
belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to
God."
I Corinthians 4:6: "I have applied all this to
Apollos and myself
for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so that you may learn
through us the meaning of the saying, 'Nothing beyond what is
written,' so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of one
against another."
I Corinthians 16:12: "Now concerning our brother
Apollos, I strongly
urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but he was not
at all willing to come now. He will come when he has the
opportunity."
Scholars date 1Corinthians no later than 55 AD. All scholars also
agree that the name "Apollos" is indeed "Apollonius.". And that
Apollonius had visited Corinth and established a church/school
there, according to all historical records of the time, Apollos of
First Corinthians may well have been Apollonius of Tyana. and it is very likely
that Pol - not Paul was the Author of the epistle to the Hebrews, or
that Pol and Paul were one and the same. It is notable that in
I Corinthians 16:12 Paul explicitly states that
Apollos could not be at the same place ,at the same time that he was
there. In addition in an old version of 1st Corinthians found in a
French monastery by a Huguenot soldier entitled the
Codex Bezae .
The name Apollos is spelled Apollonius.
...concerning our brother
Apollos, I strongly
urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but he was not
at all willing to come now. He will come when he has the
opportunity.
Indicating either of the two possibilities
- Exactly as Paul had stated .."not at all willing to come
now. He will come when he has the opportunity"
- Appollos/Apollonius was
already there , but as his alter ego Paul
Who wrote the Pauline
Epistles
Fourteen books of the New Testament were "Epistles" allegedly written
by Paul [Pol] of Tarsus [The Apostle Paul] to members of the Church.
An "Epistle" is a literary letter intended to be published and/or
read by the general public. This was an established literary style . The
"Pauline" Epistles in the New Testament probably did not start out as
epistles. They were apparently letters to various churches and
individuals written to address specific problems at a church location or
with a leader. They were probably intended to be read aloud during a
single service, at a single church.
The authenticity of the Pauline Epistles has been the subject of much
debate. For instance, The Book of Hebrews - Martin Luther, the founder
of Protestantism, regarded Apollonius [Pol] as the real author of this
Epistle, and this is still the opinion of Many eminent scholars. He may
have also written others, some have attributed the apocalypse of Saint
John [Revelation] to Apollonius of Tyanna as well, while others claim a
connection to the Mandæan Book of John.. The writer of
Revelations demonstrates no knowledge of the activities
of the apostle Paul or of his letters. Though "John" relishes the
martyrdom of the saints, Paul's "execution in Rome" does not get a
mention.
The early Christian writer, Justin Martyr, in the mid-2nd century, has
nothing to say of Paul or his epistles. Likewise with other early
Christian writers , prior to the second Century AD/CE
The earliest known list containing all of Paul's accredited letters
dates from the late 2nd century. The author of the list is unknown , but
the list takes its name from its 18th century discoverer Muratori.
The Muratori list includes the statement, "Moreover there is in
circulation an epistle to the Laodiceans, and another to the
Alexandrians, forged under the name of Paul ... ".
The Crucifixion of Apollonius
"It has been claimed that Apollonius of Tyana was initiated
into the Arcanum of Egypt in the Great Pyramid, where he hung upon a
cross until unconscious and was then laid in the tomb for three days.
While his body was unconscious, his soul was thought to pass into the
realms of the immortals (the place of death) After it had vanquished
death (by recognizing that life is eternal) it returned again to the
body, which then rose from the coffer, after which he was hailed as a
brother by the priests, who believed that he had returned from the land
of the dead. This concept was, in substance, the teaching of the
Mysteries." (Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Reader's Edition)
p. 183)
Numerous scholars have theorized
that Jesus did not die on the Cross . The crucifixion may very well have been an Gnostic - Allegorical equation.
In
The Jesus Mysteries
Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy
bring to light an interesting facet of the early Christian Tradition
of Martyrdom and crucifixion . Crucifixion being somewhat symbolic of
executing ones "lower self" ,to crucify the false ego or "crucify" ones
lower nature/ animalistic self in order to be symbolically "born again" or resurrected.
In the original Greek texts of the New Testament one finds a totally
new interpretation of the Crucifixion of Jesus. One finds the
possibility that the real meaning of the crucifixion is to crucify the
lower self and be "Born again" .
["The real meaning of crucifixion
is to crucify the false self that the true Self may rise. As long as
the false self is not crucified, the true Self is not realized."
-Hazrat
Inayat Khan / The Soul's Journey
]
[ See "Jesus
Barabbas" for further clarification on this topic]
The ancient Mystery religion[s] all contained a crucifixion scenario,
or close facsimile, that of Apollonius was no different. However, in
Christendom the crucifixion scenario changes to an actual historical
event ...[perhaps].
Miscellaneous notes concerning
Apollonius
Apollonius had the strange ability to understand any Language, in his
own words...
"And I," said Apollonious, "my good friend,
understand all languages, though I never learnt a single one."
"You need not wonder at my knowing all human languages;
for, to tell you the truth, I also understand all the secrets of
human silence."
He is said to have understood the language of birds, and conversed
with them.
He wrote many books and treatises on a wide variety of subjects
during his life, including science, medicine, and philosophy. Most of
which were destroyed by early Christians. The
Book of Stones is a lengthy analysis of alchemical works attributed
to Apollonius by Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan ( ca.721 -815 )
,,,Medieval writer Nicetas tells us of bronze doors at Byzantium
which bore inscribed extracts from the Book of Rites, a lost work
of Apollonius, and that these doors were melted down in order to destroy
non-Christian beliefs which had persisted around the teachings of
Apollonius of Tyanna.
At the instant the Emperor Domitian was assassinated in Rome,
Apollonius spoke of it in a public assembly in Ephesus, and declared
the method and manner of his death; which was found to happen at the
precise moment of time he spoke of it, and in the exact manner he had
described. As per Christian dogma St. Basil, is said to have
been miraculously informed of the death of the Emperor Julian at the
very moment that it occurred.
After his death at somewhere around 100 years of age, Emperor
Hadrian collected his works and ensured their publication throughout his
realm.
According to an account from Philostratus II {
170-244 AD -Philostratus II wrote several books containing the Life of
Apollonius ), after keeping a vow of silence for 5 years,
Apollonius traveled to India in order to "converse with the Brahmins".
During his journey, he attracted a scribe among the people of Ninevah, Damis, who extensively recorded events in the life of Apollonius which
described not only events in the life of Apollonius, but events relating
to a succession of emperors and the Roman Empire itself. The notes of
Damis eventually came into the hands of the empress Julia Domna, who
commissioned Philostratus II to use the notes to assemble a biography of
Apollonius
Eunapius, the pupil of Chrysanius, one of the teachers of
Julian, writing in the last years of the Fourth Century says that
"Apollonius was more than a philosopher; he was a middle term, as it
were, between gods and men."
Roman historian
Ammianus Marcellinus {325‑391}, who composed a profane history
in the Latin language, refers to Apollonius as "that most renowned
philosopher," and thought that, "like Pythagoras and Socrates, he
was a privileged mortal who lived assisted by a familiar genius."
Sidonius Apollinaris, Bishop of Claremont, speaks highly of
Apollonius. Sidonius translated the Life of Apollonius to Latin and
in writing to a friend he says: "Read the life of a man who religion
apart resembles you in many things; a man sought out by the rich,
yet who never sought for riches; who loved wisdom and despised gold;
a man frugal in the midst of feastings, clad in linen in the midst
of those clothed in purple, austere in the midst of luxury . . . .
In fine, to speak plainly, perchance no historian will find in
ancient times a philosopher whose life is equal to that of
Apollonius.” [Sidonius Apollinaris,
The letters of Sidonius).
As per J.S. Phillimore {
Philostratus in Honor of Apollonius of Tyana 1912
} Apollonius was the founder of a church and a
community, made up of his disciples. It is very possible that these were
connected to a branch of the Essene, known as the
Nazarenes. Other sources state that there was a group known as the Apolloniei, the adherents of
Apollonius, who survived several centuries after his death. Philostratus
writes of a temple in Tyana dedicated to Apollonius and founded at the
Roman imperial expense, "for the emperors had judged him not
unworthy of like honors with themselves." and
Maurice Magre
ties Apollonius to the Albigensians, a Gnostic Cathar cult. who were
massacred in 1208 Pope Innocent III in what was termed the
Albigensian Crusade
As per G. R. S. Mead :
"He attracted to himself many followers and disciples. It would have
been interesting if Philostratus had told us more about these 'Apollonians,'
as they were called, and whether they constituted a distinct school, or
whether they were grouped together in communities on the Pythagorean
model, or whether they were simply independent students attracted to the
most commanding personality of the times in the domain of philosophy."
Apollonius of Tyana the Philosopher Reformer of the first Century.
As per William Lecky in History of European Morals: From Augustus To Charlemagne Apollonius of Tyanna
"obtained a measure of success second only to that of Christ."
Bishop Marcion
The original Gospel of Mark may or may not be the work of
Marcion. There are strong hypothesis that this
Marcion introduced the doctrine that has become Modern Christianity.
About 30 years after the death of Apollonius, Marcion went to Antioch,
where Apollonius had done a great deal of preaching, and secured a
collection of his writings . These he allegedly plagiarized, making the
requisite alterations to obscure their actual origins. He took them to
Rome, and the rest is History ... well a perverse version of it anyhow.
http://www.christianorigins.com/marcion.html
An interesting alternative theory pertaining to the Book of Mark
is that is was derived from the cult of "Divus Juluis" See
Caesar as Christ
References / Bibliography
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