Apollonius the Nazarene                                        [Image]

                          Apollonius the Nazarene
                                  Part 9:
                 Events in the life of Apollonius of Tyana
                The Trials of Apollonius by Nero and Domitan
    as recorded in "The Life of Apollonius of Tyana" by his biographer,
                                Philostratus

                  By: Dr. R. W. Bernard, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.



During the reign of Nero, the philosophic cloak was proceeded against in
the law-courts as the guise of diviners. Not to mention other cases,
Musonius, a man second only to Apollonius, was imprisoned on account of
his philosophy and came near to losing his life. Before Apollonius and his
company reached the gates of Rome, a certain Philolaus of Citium tried to
deter them from proceeding. To Apollonius this seemed a divinely ordained
test to separate the stronger disciples from the weaker (whom, however, he
did not blame); so that, out of thirty-four, only eight remained with him,
the rest making various excuses for their flight at once from Nero and
from philosophy.

Entering Rome, Apollonius publicly denounced the reigning tyranny, as one
so grievous that under it men were not permitted to be wise. His
discourses being all public, no accusations were made against him for a
time. He spoke to men of standing in the same manner as to the common
people. A public protest against luxury, delivered on a feast-day in a
gymnasium which the Emperor was opening in person, led to his expulsion
from Rome by Nero's minister Tegellinus, who henceforth kept a close watch
on Apollonius.

His opportunity came at last when there was an epidemic of colds and the
temples were full of people making supplicants for the Emperor, because he
had a sore throat and the "divine voice" was hoarse. Apollonius, bursting
with indignation at the folly of the multitudes remained quiet, but tried
to calm a disciple by telling him to pardon the gods if they delight in
buffoons."

This saying reported to Tigellinius, he had him arrested. Bringing him to
trial, however, he found himself baffled, and in fear of his superhuman
powers, let him go. Philostratus tells us that at his trial, "an informer,
well instructed, came forward, who had been the ruin of many. He held in
his hand a scroll wherein was written the accusation, which he flourished
about him like a sword before the eyes of Apollonius, boasting that he had
given it a sharp edge, and that now his hour had come. Upon this
Tegellinus enfolded the scroll, when, lo, and behold, neither letter nor
character was to be seen...All these things appeared, in the eyes of
Tigellinus, divine, and above human power, and to show he did not wish to
contend with a god, he bid him go where he pleased as he was too strong to
be subject to authority."

When Domitian ascended the throne and began to show the same morbid vanity
and cruelty which had characterized Nero, we find Apollonius traveling up
and down the Empire, spreading seeds of discontent and rebellion against
the crowned monster. To Domitian, he fearlessly said, "I am Apollo's
subject not thine."*

     (* How much different from the more compromising Christian
     messiah, who proved much more acceptable to Constantine's and
     his court, preaching as he did to "render unto Caesar the things
     that are Caesar's," doctrine which was the opposite of that
     preached by the revolutionary Apollonius, an enemy to tyranny.
     This makes it clear why the Romans refused to accept
     Christianity so long as Apollonius was its head, and why
     immediately after his replacement by Jesus (at the Council of
     Nicea in the year 335 A.D.), a previously persecuted `communist'
     cult of the poor and oppressed was elevated to become the
     imperial religion of the Roman emperors.)

Apollonius did not try to start a revolution (against tyranny) only in one
place, but throughout the Empire. Wherever he went, revolutions arose. He
went into Gaul, and there with Vindex, he raised the standard of revolt.*

     (*There can be no doubt that Apollonius was behind Vindex's
     revolt in Gaul, in concert with the governor of Baetica. After
     his expulsion from Rome, Apollonius went to Spain to aid in the
     forthcoming revolt against Nero. This is conjectured by Damis
     from the three days' secret interview that Apollonius had with
     the Governor of the Province of Baetica, who came to Cadiz
     especially to see him, and whose last words to Apollonius were,
     "Farewell, and remember Vindex.")

In Chios and Rhodes he succeeded in bringing about political reforms.
Later with Domitian, a second Nero, no less cruel than his predecessor,
and even exceeding him, if that were possible, we find the ever active and
fearless Apollonius going up and down from one end of the Roman Empire to
the other, sowing everywhere the seeds of discontent and rebellion against
the tyrant of Rome. Still later we find him fostering a conspiracy against
Domitian in favor of the virtuous Nerva.

Discovering the plot against him, Domitian ordered Apollonius to be
arrested, but even this did not deter him. When Vespasian was emperor,
Apollonius supported and counselled him so long as he worthily tried to
follow out his instructions, but when he deprived th&127 Greek cities of
their privileges, he immediately rebuked the Emperor to his face. "You
have enslaved Greece," he wrote him. "You have reduced a free people to
slavery."

When under Domitian, Apollonius became an object of suspicion to the
Emperor for criticizing his acts as he did the follies of Nero, instead of
keeping away from Rome, he determined to brave the tyrant to his face.
Crossing from Egypt to Greece and taking ship at Corinth, he sailed by way
of Sicily to Puteoli and thence to the Tiber mouth, and so to Rome where
he was tried and acquitted.

Apollonius always considered wisdom his sovereign mistress and defended
liberty even under Domitian. He entertained no fears of his own life, for,
although many philosophers were going into involuntary exile during
Domitian's reign, Apollonius determined to remain and take up arms for the
good of Rome against Domitian, as he had done against Nero, although well
knowing that Domitian would condemn him to destruction. To the pleading of
hid disciple, Demetrius, not to enter Rome at the risk of his life after
Domitian threatened to imprison and put to death any philosopher that
remained in the city or attempted to enter it, Apollonius replied:

     "I have raised the standard of liberty, and at the moment she is
     on trial -- shall I desert her? If so, of what friendship am I
     worthy after having thus betrayed my friends into the hands of
     the executioner?...My life is not necessary; to go to Rome my
     conscience tells me is. I shall therefore be true to myself and
     shall face the tyrant...I go to Rome! For, as Phrasea Paetus
     used to say, I had rather be killed today than go into voluntary
     exile tomorrow."

Some of the sayings of Apollonius against Domitian, the successor of Nero
to the throne of Rome, who surpassed even his predecessor in cruelty,
having been recorded; we are told that he fell under suspicion through his
correspondence with Nerva and his associates Ofitus and Rufus. When
proceedings against them were begun, Apollonius addressed the following
words to the statue of Domitian: "Fool! How little you know of the Fates
[Law of Karma] and Necessity! He who is destined to reign after you,
should you kill him, will come to life again."

This was brought to Domitian's ears by means of Euphrates. Foreknowing
that the Emperor had decided on his arrest, Apollonius anticipated the
summons by setting out with Damis for Italy. At Puteoli, he met Demetrius,
who told him that he has been accused of "sacrificing a boy to get
divinations for the conspirators;" and that the further charges against
him were his strange dress and the worship that was said to have been paid
him by certain people. Demetrius tried to dissuade his master from staying
to brave the anger of a tyrant unmoved by the most just defense, but
Apollonius replied that he intended to remain and answer the charges
against him, for to flee from a legal trial would, he believed, have the
appearance of self-condemnation. And whither could he flee? It must be
beyond the limits of the Roman Empire. Should he then seek refuge with men
who knew him already, to whom he would have to acknowledge that he has
left his friends to be destroyed by an accusation which he has not dared
to face himself?

Before the tribunal, Aelian, Domitian's prefect, accused Apollonius of
being worshipped by men and thinking himself worthy of equal honors with
the gods. Apollonius was thrown into prison, where he spent his time
exhorting the prisoners to courage and raising their spirits. Brought
before Domitian, he bravely defended Nerva, Rufus and Orfitus, whom
Domitian, had imprisoned as conspirators. Domitian insisted that he should
defend himself alone from the charges, and not the others who were
condemned. Apollonius, rather than defend himself, declared them innocent
and protested against the injustice of assuming their guilt before the
trial.

Domitian replied, telling him that as regards his own defense, he could
take what course he liked; and thereupon he ordered his beard and hair
cut, and put him into fetters such as are reserved for the worst
criminals. (A letter attributed to Apollonius in which he supplicatingly
entreats the Emperor to release him from his bonds, Philostratus
pronounced as spurious.)

Being uneasy about his master's fate in Domitian's prison, Damis was
reassured by Apollonius who said, "There is no one who will put us to
death."

     "But when, sir," asked Damis, "will you be set at liberty."

     "Tomorrow," answered he, "if it depended on the judge, and this
     instant if it depended on myself."

And without a word more, he drew his leg out of the fetters, and said to
Damis, "You will see the liberty I enjoy, and therefore I request you will
keep up your spirit." He then put his leg back into the fetters.

While in prison, Domitian sent a Saracusan, who was his "eye and tongue,"
to Apollonius, telling him that he could gain his release if he gave
information about the supposed conspiracy against the Emperor, but he had
to leave without result. Apollonius then sent Damis to Puteoli, to expect
with.Demetrius his appearance there, after he had made his defense.

Among the charges that Domitian made against Apollonius were the
following:

     Charge lst: With wearing garments which differ from those of
     other men, thereby attracting crowds of boisterous people to the
     detriment of the good order of the city. Of wearing the hair
     long and of living not in accord with good society.

     Charge 2nd: With allowing and encouraging men to call him a god.

Brought before the tribunal, Apollonius disregarded the monarch, and did
not even glance at him. The accuser therefore cried out to him to look
towards the god of all men," whereupon Apollonius raised his eyes to the
ceiling, thus indicating, according to Philostratus, that he was looking
to Zeus.

After his triumphant defense, which he made spontaneously, since he was
not permitted to read the long defense he had previously prepared,
Domitian acquitted him, asking him, however, to remain so that he could
converse with him in private. Apollonius thanked him, but added the stern
reproof:

     "Through the wretches who surround you, cities and islands are
     filled with exiles, the continent with groans, the armies with
     cowardice, and the senate with suspicion." Then he suddenly
     disappeared from among them; and in the afternoon of the same
     day, he appeared to Damis and Demetrius at Puteoli, as he had
     promised, at a time when they despaired to ever see him again.
     [i.e., He disappeared from in front of the Emperor Domitian at
     Rome, and rematerialized 150 miles away in Puteoli.]

After he had slept, to rest from the recent strenuous events in Rome,
Apollonius told his disciples that he was leaving for Greece. Demetrius
was afraid that he would not be sufficiently hidden there, but Apollonius
replied that if all the earth belonged to the tyrant, they that die in the
open day had a better part than they that live in concealment. To those in
Greece who asked him how he escaped, he merely said that his defense had
been successful. Hence, when many coming from Italy related what had
really happened, he was almost worshipped, being regarded as divine,
especially because he had in no way boasted of the marvelous mode of his
escape.

                                  *******
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

WWW design and text editing Copyrighted © 1996-1997 by Jeroen Wierda
Picard UFO Research International