Apollonius of Tyana: The Philosopher, Explorer & Social Reformer

by G.R.S. Mead, Apollonius of Tyana (Subject)

Through the life of Apollonius of Tyana, Mead, in this 1901 work, brings in to focus a previously unknown time in history. Very little was known about the lives and motivations of those living in the first century A.D. Nor was there much information about how Christianity developed immediately after the life of Jesus. Apollonius was a Pythagorean who wrote many books on philosophy and science, and being associated with cults like the Pythagoreans, he necessarily came in contact with the religious devotees of his time. Students of history and religion will find the life of Apollonius an illuminating tale from a nearly forgotten period of history. British scholar and philosopher GEORGE ROBERT STOW MEAD (1863-1933) was educated at Cambridge University. He served as editor of The Theosophical Society's Theosophical Review, and later formed The Quest Society and edited its journal, The Quest Review. He is also the author of Notes on Nirvana (1893) and an 1896 translation of The Upanishads.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Biography

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

George Robert Stowe Mead, who always published under the initialism G.R.S. Mead, was a historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society, as well as founder of the Quest Society. His scholarly works dealt mainly with the Hermetic and Gnostic religions of Late Antiquity, and were exhaustive for the time period.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

After having so wholeheartedly extolled Mead's Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, I now slide over the spectrum to what might be one of his worst books.

If one really wants to know about Apollonius of Tyana, the place to go is Philostratus' biography available from the Loeb Library. But the ancients are often painful for us moderns to read, so, failing that, Mead's book is a constructive and readable appropriation of that material and the little obtainable elsewhere about the ancient philosopher and thaumaturge.

Here, unlike the Fragments, Mead's own prejudices obtrude. His aim is to set Apollonius up as an alternative to Jesus, a superior alternative, by showing how Apollonius, and others, did what Jesus supposedly did, but better. While is is certainly good to know that miracles, like raising the dead, weren't unique to Jesus but were almost necessary indicators of a religious teacher's authority, Mead's way of making such points displays a distressing animus towards Christianity, an animus which fails to see such virtues as were maintained by the early Church such as its appeal to the poor and downtrodden.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting little book about Apollonius of Tyana - the pagan Christ, as he was once called.

Interesting, but really only shows up how very little information we have on the man.

[Tom Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book seems to be written for scholars of Classical Greek and Roman history and literature. It assumes that the reader is familiar with names and references of the era. I struggled a bit. I did, however, appreciate learning about a historical figure of whom I knew very little about

[J's Bookshelves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating; so much historical textual information on Apollonius, and almost none on the Jesus of the Christian Bible, yet who has heard of him?

[Susan Janke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the easiest or most engaging book to read. It is, however, an insightful look into the life of a man who rivaled the qualities of Jesus and who was significantly more well known during his life.