Apollonius of Tyre

But the saintly Apollonius of Tyana isn’t the only Apollonius from the olden days. Apollonius of Tyre was the star of an ancient Greek novel (now lost), which was adapted into many versions in the middle ages. John Gower tells Apollonius’ story in his really very long collection of tales Confessio Amantis (ca. 1390): Apollonius, “a yong, a freissh, a lusti knyht” travels to Antioch to try to win a princess in a riddling contest. Instead, he ends up fleeing for his life, and then sails back and f...