ABSTRACT
There are philosophers who defy the limits of philosophy, burst open the doors of the traditional understanding of Greek sophia and pose many problems for historians of ancient philosophy. Of them all, Apollonius of Tyana, the Neopythagorean philosopher is perhaps the most outstanding example. Apollonius was born in the Greek city of Tyana, in Cappadocia, and died, almost a centenarian, between 96 and 98 AD. He is handsome and very intelligent, and for this latter reason, at the age of fourteen he goes to study in Tarsus. The comparison of Apollonius with the Asclepiads is relevant. A popular belief was ascribed to the two physicians, Machaon and Podalirius, the sons of Asclepius: both immortality and an itinerant life on the earth as physicians of the ill. In the idea of philosophy as dialogue and cure, Apollonius’ capability to forgive sins is demonstrated in the case of a man who unintentionally killed an inhabitant from Memphis, in Egypt.
