The title of Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana. (23rd October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Boter, Gerard
• Is Part Of: Journal of Hellenic studies. Volume 135(2015)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2015-10-23
• Subjects: Philostratus, -- Apollonius of Tyana, -- book title, -- literary genre, -- ambiguity; Greek philology -- Periodicals; Inscriptions, Greek -- Periodicals; Greece -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; 938
• DOI: 10.1017/S0075426915000026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0075-4269

Abstract

Abstract: The title of Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana as it stands in all editions since Kayser's 1844 edition, Tὰ ὲç τòν Tυανέα Ἀπολλώνιοώ is not correct. The genuine title of the work is Eἰç τòν Tυανέα Ἀπολλώνιον. The suggestion by Ewen Bowie, that the title of the work characterizes it as a novel, must therefore be dismissed. The meaning of the title is ambiguous: it means both 'About Apollonius of Tyana' and 'In honour of Apollonius of Tyana'. This ambiguity may very well have been intended by Philostratus.