Power, paideia & Pythagoreanism: Greek identity, conceptions of the relationship between philosophers and monarchs, and political ideas in Philostratus' Life of Apollonius

285 Pages·1995·5.596 MB·English

by  Jaap-Jan Flinterman

DUTCH MONOGRAPHS ON ANCIENT HISTORY
AND ARCHAEOLOGY
EDITORS
F.J.A.M. MEIJER - H.W. PLEKET
VOLUME XIII
JAAP-JAN FLINTERMAN
POWER, PAIDEIA & PYTHAGOREANISM
JAAP-JAN,~TERMAN
/~
POWER, PA/DEJA
& PYTHAGOREANISM
GREEK IDENTITY, CONCEPTIONS OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN PHILOSOPHERS AND MONARCHS
AND POLITICAL IDEAS IN
PHILOSTRATUS' LIFE OF APOLLONIUS
J.C. GIEBEN, PUBLISHER
AMSTERDAM 1995
No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint,
microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the author.
© by J.-J. Flinterman, 1995 / Printed in The Netherlands / ISBN 90 5063 236 X
FORE\VORD
The original Dutch version of this book was my doctoral thesis at the University of
Nijmegen in 1993. I have added references to the literature which has appeared since
then, corrected a number of errors, and rewritten a few passages, but in terms of content
and structure this English translation does not differ in essentials from the Dutch
original. The individuals and institutions to whom thanks are due are thus more or less
the same ones to whom I acknowledged my gratitude in 1993. Prof. G.J.D. Aalders
H.Wzn., former Professor of Ancient History at the Free University Amsterdam, who
passed away in 1987, was my first introduction to the Greek world of the Roman
empire. Prof. L. de Blois, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Nijmegen,
supervised the research which resulted in the present study in a stimulating and efficient
manner. Various friends and colleagues have given generously of their time and
attention in perusing the manuscript or early drafts. I would like to single out three of
them in particular, whose comments gave m~ much food for thought: Mrs. E.A. Hemel
rijk, Mr. J. Lendering, and Dr. L. de Ligt. The members of the manuscript commission,
Dr. A.J.L. van Hooff, Prof. D.M. Schenkeveld and Prof. H.S. Versnel, also made a
number of helpful suggestions.
Over the years I have presented parts of the material discussed in the present work in
various settings: the staff symposium of the History Department of the University of
Nijmegen, the Ancient History working group of the Foundation for Historical Research,
the departments of Ancient History of the Universities of Groningen and Amsterdam,
and the Corpus Christi Classical Seminar (Oxford). I am grateful to the organisers of
these events for offering me the opportunity to present my ideas, and to those present
for their willingness to subject my opinions to critical scrutiny. Since 1984 I have been
associated with three departments of Ancient History. My colleagues in the University
of Nijmegen, the Free University Amsterdam and the University of Utrecht guaranteed
an enjoyable cooperation in a stimulating atmosphere. The criticisms which I have
received from various quarters have undoubtedly improved the quality and the
readability of this book; the shortcomings it displays are solely due to my own
stubbornness.
The research on which this study is based was carried out in the period I 986-1989,
when I was appointed a researcher by the Foundation for Historical Research of the
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. The translation was made possible
thanks to a grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research. The
translator Dr. P. Mason combined an astonishing tempo with painstaking accuracy,
imagination and a wide knowledge of Greco-Roman antiquity. Mr. J. Lendering helped
me considerably in compiling the indices.
Like its Dutch-language predecessor, this book is dedicated to the memory of my
father and to my mother in gratitude for their moral and material support.
Amsterdam, June 1995 Jaap-Jan Flinterrnan

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION [I]
CHAPTER I. THE WRITER [5]
The Philostrati and their literary production [5]
The problems [5]; The corpus [5]; Philostratus I [6]; Philostratus of Lemnos (III) [10];
Philostratus IV [I I]; W. Schmid's hypothesis [11]; K. MUnscher's hypothesis (11]; The
views of F. Solmsen and G. Anderson [12]; The letters (12]; Conclusions [13]
Biographical information (15]
Youth and education [15]; Hoplite general in Athens (16]; The Roman years [19]; Julia
Domna [22]; Travelling with the Severan court [24]; The date of the VA [25]; Philo
stratus after Julia Domna's death [26]; The date of the VS [26]; Summary [27]
Paideia and political power: the mentality of a sophist [29]
Philostratus' cultural ideal [29]; The beginning of the Second Sophistic in Philostratus'
view [32]; Sophists in public functions [34]; Philostratus' mentality: sophistic, social
status and political activities [35]; Philostratus' mentality: sophists and emperors (38];
Culture and politics: transgressing the dividing line [45]; The Classical themes of
historical meletai: the self-awareness of the Greek elites and their attitude towards Rome
[48]; Greek identity between politics and culture (50]
CHAPTER 2. THE MAIN CHARACTER (52]
Introduction: Apollonius as Proteus [52]
The Vita Apollonii: a survey of the contents (54]
Philostratus' Apollonius (60]
The apologetic programme of the VA [60]; The ontological status of the main character
[62]; Philostratus' attitude towards magic (64]; Philostratus' attitude towards his hero
[65]
The sources of the Vita Apollonii [67]
Local traditions [67]; Maximus of Aegae (68]; Moeragenes [69]; Apollonius' letters (70];
The contacts of the main character with Musonius Rufus, Demetrius and Scopelian (74];
Other writings by Apollonius (76]; The hypothetical biography of Pythagoras by Apollo
nius (77]; 'Damis' (79]; Conclusions (88]
Table of contents
CHAPTER 3. GREEK SELF-AWARENESS IN THE VITA APOLLONII [89]
Introduction [89]
Greek identity [90]
The contents of Greek identity [90]; Admonitions to maintain Greek identity [92];
Wisdom and the love of freedom [98]; References to the Classical past (99]
The omnipresence of Greek civilisation [101]
The Hellenizing view of India [ IOI]; Criticisms of Greek culture by non-Greeks [103]
Problems of civic life [107]
The stasis typology of the author of the VA [107]; Objections to public entertainment
(107]; Objections to unwarranted pride in urban appearances (108]; Intervening in
situations of acute conflict: baths and bread [ I 09); Disquisitions on civic life [ 112]
Greek self-awareness and Roman rule [ 117]
The VA on Roman rule [I 17]; Acceptance and appreciation of Roman rule, no identifica
tion with Rome [ 118]; Criticisms of the exercise of Roman rule at the provincial level
[120); The selection of governors [1221; Nero's 'liberation of Greece' [124)
CHAPTER 4. PHILOSOPHERS AND RULERS lN THE VITA APOLLONII [128]
Introduction [ 128]
Roman emperors in the Vita Apollonii [ 130]
Nero [ I 30]; The end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the year of the three emperors
[134]; The establishment of the Flavian dynasty: Yespasian in Alexandria [136); Titus in
Tarsus (145); The Domitian episode [147]; Conclusions I 157]
Philosopher and ruler: two complementary roles [162]
Philosopher and ruler in the VA (162); The conception of the philosopher as an opponent
of the tyrant: a historical sketch (165]; The conception of the philosopher as an opponent
of the tyrant in the Apollonius tradition and in the VA (169]; The conception of the
philosopher as a counsellor of the good monarch: a historical sketch [ 171 ); The origin of
the conception of the religious veneration of the sage by the king (176]; Porphyry on
Pythagorean views of the relation between the sage and the king f 181); The ontological
status of the king in Greek political thought of the Hellenistic and Imperial periods
[182); The main character of the VA as a prophet of changes on the throne and as a
'kingmaker' - is there a connection with the religious veneration of the sage by the
Table of contents
king? L1 89]; The conception of the philosopher as a counsellor of the good monarch in
the Apollonius tradition and in the VA [190]; Conclusions L1 93)
Apollonius' recommendations [194]
The constitutional debate before Vespasian (VA 5.33-35) [194); The practical value of a
philosopher's advice for a monarch [205); Apollonius' speech on the exercise of
monarchic power (VA 5.36) [208]
The topicality of Apollonius' recommendations [217]
J. Gottsching's interpretation: advice to Severns Alexander [217); A. Calderini: an
alternative dating [218); F.W. Lenz: a 'Ftirstenspiegel' {219); Topical allusions in the VA
[220); E.M. Schtajerman's interpretation: Die Krise der Sk[avenhalterordnung [221 ];
L. de Blois: The third-century crisis and the Greek elite in the Roman empire [224];
Conclusion: Philostratus' selective perception of contemporary phenomena in connection
with his mentality - the hero of the VA and the Greek self-awareness of the author [227)
CONCLUSIONS [231]
ABBREVIATIONS [241]
EDITIONS OF ANCIENT AUTHORS [242]
BIBLIOGRAPHY [244]
INDEX OF SOURCES [255]
INDEX OF PERSONS [270]

INTRODUCTION
It was probably in the second or third decade of the third century A.D. that the
Athenian sophist Philostratus completed a romanticised biography of Apollonius, a
first-century Neo-Pythagorean philosopher and miracle-worker who was born in
Cappadocian Tyana. The Vita Apollonii (VA) is an important literary text for
historians of the imperial age, not least as a product of and a source for the increas
ing influence of Neo-Pythagoreanism during the Severan period: Philostratus began
work on the VA on the instruction of Julia Dornna, the wife of Septimius Severns and
mother of his successor Caracalla. At the same time, the use of the VA by historians
is not without its problems. These are mainly connected with the question of the
relation of the image of Apollonius presented by the author to more ancient traditions
on the Tyanean sage and to the historical Apollonius himself. The VA is not just the
written record of the tradition associated with a figure who died more than a century
before the activities of his biographer; it is also the product of the creativity of a
literary writer who saw absolutely no need to allow the limitations of his source
material to frustrate the lofty aspirations of his encomium.
One of the most striking aspects of the picture of Apollonius as he is portrayed in
Philostratus' vie romancee is his role as a 'politically active philosopher'. Not only
does the protagonist of the VA regularly intervene in situations of conflict in Greek
cities and instruct their citizens on how they ought to live together, but he also
appears in contact with Parthian and Indian monarchs and Roman emperors, whom
he instructs in the correct way to exercise sole rule or favours with a frank judge
ment of their regime. The present study deals with this prominent facet of Philo
stratus' portrait of the sage of Tyana. The aim is to analyse how this aspect of the
picture of the protagonist of the VA has been constructed by the author, or in other
words, from which elements it is composed. The problem addressed is that of the
relation of Philostratus' image in this respect to older traditions on the Tyanean sage.
This focus implies that the question of the historicity of the actions in cities and
before monarchs which Philostratus ascribes to his hero will be virtually ignored. In
its place, there are three issues which recur regularly in the present study. The first is
the question of the extent to which the Apollonius tradition to which Philostratus had
access provided support for the image of the contacts of the protagonist of the VA
with cities and monarchs. The second is consideration of how the author dealt with
and elaborated these elements in his source material. The third is the question of to
what extent the protagonist of the VA may be regarded as a spokesman for the
explicit political views of Philostratus. In other words, the aim is to analyse the
image of the protagonist of the VA as a 'politically active philosopher' as the result
of the interaction between the traditions associated with a sage and miracle-worker
who was regarded as a representative of Pythagorean wisdom, on the one hand, and
the paideia, cultural baggage and mentality of a sophist, on the other.
An investigation of this aspect of Philostratus' portrayal of Apollonius in line with
the above considerations may further our knowledge of the history of the culture and
mentality of the Roman empire in the second and third centuries A.D., especially in
the East. Firstly, the VA introduces the reader to diverse views, not always easy to
reconcile with one another, on the content of Greek identity entertained by Greek
intellectuals in the eastern part of the empire in the early imperial age. Secondly,
from the classical period onwards, philosophers were permanently obsessed with the