ABSTRACT
Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius of Tyana and Heroicus both present idealised interpreters: the title character in the former text, the Vinetender (or Vinedresser) and the hero Protesilaus in the latter. Beyond this the Life of Apollonius gives readers opportunities to interpret objects and events for themselves by suppressing or passing over in silence the interpretations of Apollonius. The Heroicus, a text closely related to the Life of Apollonius in every respect, plays complex games of simultaneously establishing and undermining the authority of the Vinetender and the dead Protesilaus on whom he depends.
