Apollonius of Tyana: Critical Study of the Philosopher-Reformer (Forgotten Books)

Apollonius of Tyana was a Greek Pythagorean philosopher and teacher. He hailed from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor. After his death his name remained famous among philosophers and occultists.By far the most detailed source is the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, a lengthy, novelistic biography written by the sophist Philostratus at the request of empress Julia Domna. She died in 217 AD, and he completed it after her death, between 217 and 238 AD. Philostratus account shaped the image of Apollonius for posterity and still dominates discussions about him in our times. To some extent it is a valuable source because it contains data from older writings which were available to Philostratus but disappeared later on. On the other hand, it is full of obviously fictitious stories and dialogues. Modern scholars challenge its credibility in many regards. Most of what it contains must be dismissed as pure invention. (Quote from wikipedia.org)About the AuthorGeorge Robert Stowe Mead (1863-1933) was an author, editor, translator, esotericist, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society.He was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England into a military family, and educated at The King's School, Rochester and St John's College, Cambridge.Mead became a member of Blavatsky's Theosophical Society in 1884. He abandoned his teaching profession in 1889 to be Blavatsky's private secretary, which he was until her death in 1891. During this time, he was also an assistant editor to her monthy magazine, Lucifer, which was the vehicle for her society, but principally herself. When he finally took over as its editor, he renamed it The Theosophical Review.Some time between 1895 and 1901 he married anothe