apollonius king of tyre - a synopsis of the plot

of 8 – Apollonius King of TyreA Synopsis of the Plot

(57>)

A Summary in English

The History of Apollonius, King of Tyre

According to the Latin original edited by Markus Velser (1558-

1614), German humanist, historian and publisher, in 1595 at

Nuremberg

In the city of Antioch there once lived a king called

Antiochus: his queen died in giving birth to a daughter, who grew

up to be a very great beauty, and for whose hand many princes

came to sue. But an unholy love sprang up in the breast of her

father, and one day he went into her chamber and, forgetting that

he was her father, usurped the rights of a husband.

The princess confessed this to her nurse: but the unnatural

father continued enjoying what ought never to have been his, and

in order to secure his (58>) daughter to himself, he put difficult

questions to the suitors who came for her; if they could not answer

them, they were beheaded and their heads put on the gates of the

city to frighten others.

Nothing daunted, Apollonius of Tyre, a rich and noble youth,

resolved to try his fortune. The king asked him the following riddle,

'I pursue crime, I feed on my mother's flesh, I seek my brother, the

husband of my mother, but do not find him.'

Apollonius found the answer. "You are right," said he, "you

do pursue crime — only think of yourself; you do feed on your

mother's flesh — only think of your daughter." The king was

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


surprised and angry, but yet more afraid that his wickedness would

become known; so he answered, "You have not given the right

answer: go and take thirty days to consider; if you do not find it

then, prepare for death." Apollonius saw now that the king meant

to kill him if he could, and he hastened to Tyre.

The king sent one of his confidential servants, Thaliarchus,

to pursue and kill Apollonius. He, however, arrived in Tyre before

Thaliarchus, loaded a ship with corn, gold, and silver, and put to

sea. The next day Apollonius was missed by the citizens, who

mourned for him. Thaliarchus also arrived and heard of his

escape. This news induced King Antiochus to proclaim a reward

of fifty talents of gold to anyone who should bring him Apollonius,

dead or alive.

The fugitive had meanwhile landed at Tarsus; but a Tyrian

called Hellanicus saw him there and warned him of the danger he

was running on account of the said proclamation. Then Apollonius

saw a man called Strangulio, who told him that there was a great

famine at Tarsus. Apollonius relieved the inhabitants by

distributing his corn among them.

By the advice of Strangulio and his wife, Dionysias,

Apollonius resolved to go to Pentapolis in Cyrenaica; in a fearful

storm his ship sank, and he alone escaped. Naked and poor did

he find himself on the shore of Pentapolis: a poor fisherman took

pity on him, shared his frugal meal with him, and even gave him

one half of his ragged garment. He then showed Apollonius the

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


way to the town, saying as they parted, "If ever you regain your

former honour, think of the poor fisherman.' (59>)

When Apollonius entered the city, he heard a boy calling out,

"Whoever has a mind to bathe, let him come; the bath and the

gymnasium are open." Apollonius went in and excelled all there in

symmetry. Alcistrates, the king of Pentapolis, happened to come

to the same bath, and Apollonius attracted his notice by his skill in

a game at ball, and by his attendance on him while in the bath.

The king gave Apollonius a new suit and invited him to dinner. But

the sight of royal splendour reminded the shipwrecked prince of his

own former state, and tears came into his eyes.

The king's daughter could not help noticing him, and,

questioned by her, he confessed the truth about his noble birth and

former greatness. The princess assured him of her own and the

king's protection, and then proceeded to play on the lyre and sing.

But Apollonius showed himself superior to her in this art. Taking

the lyre, he stood there with a wreath on his head, so that the

guests and the king thought he was Apollo, not Apollonius. As for

the princess, she fell in love with him. A magnificent present was

given him by the king at her request, and Apollonius was ordered

to instruct her in music and other arts. But her love was so

excessive that she fell ill, though the physicians could not tell the

nature of her disease.

About this time three princes sued for the hand of the king's

daughter; they wrote their names down and the king despatched

Apollonius to his daughter with the injunction that she was to

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


decide on a husband. She wrote back that the shipwrecked man

was her choice; but this answer was not understood by the king

and the three suitors. She then explained to the king that she

wanted to have Apollonius for a husband. Her father consented,

and the nuptials were celebrated with great rejoicings.

Six months after this Apollonius saw a ship near the shore

which he recognized as having come from Tyre, and from the

captain he learned the joyful news that King Antiochus had been

killed by lightning and that the citizens of Antioch wanted

Apollonius for their king. He resolved to go, and his courageous

wife, though with child, decided to accompany him. The king's

consent having been obtained, they put to (60>) sea; but the winds

being unfavourable, the lady, confined as she was of a daughter,

lay like one dead. The captain refused to keep the body on board,

out of superstition; a chest was made and well secured against the

water, then the lady was put into it with many treasures, and it was

lowered into the sea. The little girl to whom she had given birth

was now the only comfort left to the poor husband.

On the third day the chest drifted to the shore near Ephesus,

and was found by a physician called Chaeremon. In Chaeremon’s

house a youth found out that the lady was not really dead, and

recalled her to life. To his and Chaeremon's endeavours she owed

her complete recovery; after which she became a priestess in the

temple of Diana.

Apollonius himself landed at Tarsus, and there entrusted his

daughter to his friends Strangulio and Dionysias, to be educated

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


with their daughter Philomatia. He gave her the name of Tarsia,

and left with her his nurse Ligoris. Then he set out for Egypt.

His daughter Tarsia grew up, and when she was fourteen

years old, her nurse Ligoris died; but before her death, she

disclosed to Tarsia her parentage. Tarsia erected a beautiful

monument to her nurse’s memory and often went there to spend

some time in solitary meditation.

But Dionysias grew jealous when she heard that the citizens

praised Tarsia's beauty more than that of her own daughter,

Philomatia. She bribed one of her slaves from a farm to kill Tarsia;

he laid himself in ambush near the monument of her nurse, and

when she had come there, prepared to kill her, but moved by her

tears, he allowed her time to pray. Suddenly pirates appeared and

carried her off. Dionysias, however, and her family, put on black

garments and mourned for Tarsia as if she were dead; they even

built a tomb and placed an inscription on it.

The pirates offered Tarsia for sale in the market-place of

Mitylene; a rich pimp bought her and took her to his house, where

he ordered her to worship a statue of Priapus. She said, "I have

never worshipped a statue like this; pray, master, are you from

Lampsacus?" The pimp said, "Why?" She answered, "Because

the citizens of Lampsacus worship Priapus." He then said, (61>)

“Wretched girl, do you not know that you have come into the house

of a rich pimp?" She threw herself at his feet and said, "O master,

have pity on my virginity, and do not prostitute my body." But he

made it publicly known that he who deprived her of her

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


maidenhood should pay half a pound, after which she should be

prostituted to all people at a moderate price.

Athenagoras, a noble youth, came first, and to him Tarsia

related her misfortunes and he made her a great present without

violating her virginity, and others did the same: in the evening the

girl gave the money to the pimp, and so also on the following day.

The pimp at last found out that Tarsia was still a virgin, and now

the inspector of public brothels heard the case of Tarsia; she gave

him an account of her accomplishments and obtained permission

to gain money by them rather than by prostituting herself. But

above all others was Athenagoras kind to her.

In the meanwhile Apollonius returned to Tarsus to claim his

daughter. The story of her death was related to him, and why

should he doubt it? In utter despair he set out for Tyre, but his

ship was by adverse winds driven to Mitylene, where the citizens

were just engaged in celebrating the festival of Poseidon.

Apollonius gave his sailors the gratification of taking part in the

merry-making, though he remained buried in his despondency. By

chance Athenagoras also came to his ship, and, asking for the

master of it, was informed of the cause of his grief. He desired to

see Apollonius, but his request was refused: when, however, he

heard Apollonius’s name, he went down to him and invited him to

come and dine at his table; but Apollonius refused.

Tarsia was now sent for and ordered to try her best to induce

him to leave his retreat. She went to Apollonius and her singing

induced him to present her with one hundred ducats; but to come

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


he refused. Athenagoras promised her two hundred ducats, if she

could persuade him to come up. She now tried her riddles on

Apollonius; he solved them, but when she attempted to lead him

on deck, he became angry and kicked her with his foot, so that she

fell bleeding to the ground. Weeping, she cried out, "This then is

my (62>) fate! That I should be saved from Strangulio and

Dionysias to live here in this misery! When will God restore me to

my father, Apollonius?"

Then Apollonius recognised his daughter, and his grief was

changed into joy. Athenagoras now asked for Tarsia's hand; but

before she became his wife, the pimp was by the citizens of

Mitylene sentenced to die; the inspector of the brothels was

rewarded for his kindness to Tarsia. After the nuptials of Tarsia

and Athenagoras, when Apollonius was about to return to Tyre, he

had a vision which commanded him to visit the temple of Ephesus

and relate there all he had suffered. This he did, and in the temple

he was received by his wife; not recognizing her, he gave her an

account of his sufferings, when she all of a sudden fell on his neck

and confessed she was the wife whom he thought dead and who

had been saved in such a miraculous manner.

Apollonius now took possession of the kingdom of Antioch

for himself, and gave Tyre to his son-in-law, Athenagoras. He

went also to Tarsus, where Strangulio and Dionysias received their

well-deserved punishment. Thence Apollonius sailed to

Pentapolis, and King Alcistrates saw there once more his daughter

and his son-in-law with a grand-daughter who was already

married. Then the good fisherman who had once shared his

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM


garment with Apollonius received his reward, and Hellanicus also

was rewarded.

Apollonius obtained a son by his wife with whom he had

again been united, and he and his queen lived to a very great age,

in undisturbed happiness. He himself composed a narrative of his

adventures: one copy he deposited in the temple of Ephesus, the

other in his own library.

[Source: “Medieval Greek Texts,” Part 1, ed. Wilhelm Wagner.

Covent Garden, 1870. Pp. 57-62. Electronic copies are stored in

The Open Archive and Google Books.]

10 April 2023 6:46:08 PM

apollonius king of tyre - a synopsis of the plot

Documents