by Jean-Jacques COURTEY, Doctor in Economic Geography, Ph D.
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Today, we are going to help you rediscovering a troubling famous man, who was living in the Ist century AD : we will just call him "A" to start.
He was almost contemporary of Jesus Christ, and quite certainly of Saul of Tarsus (now called Saint Paul). He is said to have met the latter when he studied in Tarsus.
His personality and his life had many common points with the ones of Jesus. And a few searchers even thought it could have been him, not without some ulterior motives usually.
But generally, people stopped the identification on someone else, Saint Paul precisely, who had been attributed the writing of various "Epistles" ("Letters") in ancient Greek of the New Testament.
And that was the case of Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), the great Reformer of Christianity during the Renaissance time.
Martin Luther was first a Catholic monk in quest of truth and purity - an Augustinian monk in Erfurt (Thuringia, Germany). In 1520, he became the Protestant leader we know, when he burnt the Papal Bull threatening him to be excommunicated if he didn't retract his "95 thesis" of 1517.
As a flasback, in 1505 - when a teenager- , a curious event happened to him : a lightning fell right next to him during a powerful storm. He was neither touched nor injured, but as he could have been struck down, he felt a very strong emotion. And he was never able to forget what happened.
Here lies the link he established with Saint Paul, and may be also the connection some people could establish between him and Saint Paul - the refounder of Christianity.
As a matter of fact, the latter which original name according to his hagiography was Saul of Tarsus, is said to have been stricken by a lightning : "the lightning of Jesus Christ", on the way of Damas. And the official story taught us he totally changed his life and reversed his beliefs, after having stayed blind for three days. He was transfigurated !
Generally, what is studied about Luther is the genesis of Protestantism, with his numerous criticisms about the Church of his time and the power of Popes : his "95 thesis" placarded on the door of the Church of Wittenberg in Saxony, on Saturday, October 31st, 1517 precisely.
That's why people intend to forget the very original identification he made between the one he took as the real author of most "Epistles", and our character of the day.
He didn't deny Saul of Tarsus dramatically changed after the accident of the lightning on the way of Damas. But, by studying and identifying the style of most Epistles in the New Testament, he saw some appearent differences. And, as an exegete, those ones lead him to think, that Saul of Tarsus couldn't have written all of what he was attributed. Beside the observable variations in style, he thought this man coming from Cilicia, who was first a denunciator of Christians to the Romans, wasn't qualified and cultured enough to have written most of them. And by investigating who was at that time, he became convinced it was our mysterious "A", whom life and knowledge were partly similar to those of Jesus Christ.
Luther recognized the passion and the energy Saul of Tarsus (aka "Paulus", the "Small") put in the development of Christianity.
But at the same time, he made the hypothesis that there was another "Paul", in parallel with Saul.
And the other one, was according to him, a famous wise man in the Antiquity with miraculous powers. His personality was luminous. From Greek origin, his name was just shortened in "Pol", which could explain the quiproquo.
We guess, at this stage you don't know yet whom we are talking about. So, let's give more details about him !
The other "Pol", which speech can often look similar to the one of Jesus Christ, is appearing nowadays to have been born in the beginning of the Ist century AD in Cappadocia, and to have died in Ephesus around 97 or 98 AD.
Like the Christ he had apostles (the "Caduceus Carriers"), at the number of 7 about him, and a friend called Damis. Coincidentaly, Saint Paul had a friend called "Demas", which is rather proximate as a name.
Hence if we follow this logic, "Pol" was a contraction of "Appolonios" (from Apollo's name). And if we add he was precisely born in Tyana, you got it : you now know we are talking about Appolonios of Tyana !
This man was able to read in the thoughts of people and to prophesy.
To conclude about Appolonios of Tyana, we must say he was certainly a suprising man.
Usually, he is presented as a neopythagorician and a Magus with strange and incredible powers (resurrection of the dead, clairvoyance, bilocation...).
Various Roman emperors revered him, except Domitian (81- 96 AD). Noticeably, he could never forgive anything to the latter, an attitude which is then quite different from the forgiveness preached by Jesus Christ.
And he stayed famous in all the Roman Empire, for more than two centuries after his death.
Apollonios of Tyana was born in a rich family, and he didn't have difficulties to travel far and stay at good places.
With his friend Damis, they visited India where they could attend levitation sessions, and even try themselves.
It is also said that they were invited in a normally inaccessible kingdom of deep Asia, where they were served meals by automats (robots then)... and this almost two thousand years ago !
He had an opened conflict with the Roman Emperor Domitian quoted above, and was tried as an enemy of Rome for this reason.
But something amazing happened at the beginning of the trial. When the act of accusation had to be read in the court, all the charges retained against him spectacularly disappeared from the tablet of the scribe. He was then acquitted and released, which was again far different from Jesus' destiny. And this miraculous event increased enormously his fame and aura !
It is obvious that if we admit such an identification of Appolonios of Tyana with "Pol" (for Paul), we have also to admit Christianism has been from the right beginning a vast synthesis between several similar or very proximate religious currents.
It is not really impossible, as we know already there was a strong influence of Mithraïsm for instance, so why not a discrete influence of Apollonios of Tyana too ?
Following the same logic, the historicity of Jesus himself, sometimes doubted nowadays, would derive more in fact from his Partner in life, Maria-Magdalena, and the spouses Pilatus (Pontius Pilatus and his beloved wife, the Roman princess Claudia Procula), rather than only from the four traditional Evangelists.
And the same goes for his Resurrection and his recognized Divinity !
