Eliana Yonan and Joseph L. Rife (eds.), "Apollonius of Tyana, Letters 11" in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/48
  
    
      
        https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/48
      
      
        Καισαρέων, and Caesarea are directly attested at Apollonius of Tyana, Letters 11. This passage was written ca. 45-90 C.E. possibly in Asia Minor.
      A collection of over 50 letters from various sources is associated with
        the name of Apollonius of Tyana. He was the celebrated Neopythagorean teacher of the late
        1st century C.E. whom Philostratus portrayed colorfully as a pagan holy man and thaumaturge
        in his biography of the early 3rd century. This body of correspondence mixes fictitious and
        authentic documents on a range of topics. This document is a genuine letter from Apollonius
        to the councillors of Caesarea that praises their city, noting in particular its “Greek
        customs” (ἤθεσιν Ἑλληνικοῖς).
      
        [Ἀπολλώνιος]
          Καισαρέων προβούλοις. Πρῶτον εἰς πάντα θεῶν ἄνθρωποι δέονται καὶ
        περὶ παντός, ἔπειτα πόλεων, τιμητέον γὰρ δεύτερον πόλεις μετὰ θεοὺς καὶ τὰ πόλεως προκριτέον
        παντὶ νοῦν ἔχοντι. εἰ δὲ μὴ πόλις μόνον εἴη, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεγίστη τῆς Παλαιστίνης, ἀρίστη τε τῶν
        αὐτόθι μεγέθει καὶ νόμοις καὶ ἐπιτηδεύμασι, καὶ προγόνων κατὰ πόλεμον ἀρεταῖς, ἔτι τε ἤθεσι
        κατ᾿ εἰρήνην, καθάπερ ἡ ὑμετέρα πόλις, μάλιστα πασῶν τῶν ἄλλων ἐμοί τε θαυμαστέα τιμητέα τε
        καὶ ἄλλῳ δὲ ὁμοίως παντὶ νοῦν ἔχοντι. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐκ λόγου κοινοῦ τὸ προκριτικὸν ἂν εἴη,
        τὸ κατὰ σύγκρισιν τῶν πολλῶν. ὅταν δὲ καὶ ἄρχῃ πόλις ποτὲ τῆς πρὸς ἕνα τιμῆς ἄνδρα, ποιοῦσα
        τοῦτον ἑαυτῆς ξένον καὶ ἄποθεν, τί ἢ τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς πρὸς ἀμοιβὴν ἢ ὑμῶν πρὸς τίσιν ἄξιον
        εἴη; τοῦτο μόνον ἴσως, εἰ θεοφιλής τις ὢν τύχοι διά τινα φύσεως ἐπιτηδειότητα, τὸ εὔχεσθαι
        τῇ πόλει τὰ ἀγαθὰ τυγχάνειν τε τῆς εὐχῆς, ὅπερ ἂν διατελέσαιμι κἀγὼ πράττων ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν,
        ἐπείπερ ἥσθην ἤθεσιν Ἑλληνικοῖς φαίνουσι τὸ ἴδιον ἀγαθὸν καὶ διὰ γραμμάτων κοινῶν.
        Ἀπολλωνίδην δὲ τὸν Ἀφροδισίου, νεανίαν ἐρρωμενεστάτης φύσεως ἀξίας τε τοῦ ἡμετέρου ὀνόματος,
        πειράσομαι χρήσιμον ὑμῖν παρασκευάζειν εἰς ἕκαστα μετὰ καὶ τύχης τινὸς ἀγαθῆς.
      
        
        
        Ed. Kayser 1870
        Minor corrections (punctuation)
      
      
        Apollonius to the
        councilors of Caesarea: Above all humans need gods, for every purpose
        and above every thing, and secondly they need cities, for cities should be honored next
        after the gods, and every sensible person must give priority to the affairs of his city. But
        if it is not just a city, but the greatest one in Palestine, and the best of those there in
        respect of size, laws, and customs, and in its ancestors’ bravery in war and their morals in
        peacetime as well, as your city is, then I must both admire and honor it above all others,
        and so also must every other sensible person. This then by common consent is the ground for
        preferring it—the comparison of it with the majority. But whenever a city actually takes the
        first step to honor a man, making him its own guest even from a distance, what would be a
        worthy return from such a man or a worthy payment to you? Perhaps only this: if he happens
        to have the gods’ favor because of a certain fitness of character, that he should pray for
        blessings on the city and have his prayer granted. That I could constantly do for you, since
        I was delighted by your Greek customs, which reveal your particular excellence by means of
        your public letter. As for Apollonides the son of Aphrodisius, a young man possessing a very
        firm nature and one worthy to share my name, I shall try to make him serviceable to you in
        every respect, with the help of some good fortune.
      
        
        
        Trans. Jones
          2014
      
      
        Works Cited
        
          
          11
        
        
          
          11
        
      
      
        Additional Bibliography
        
          
          11
        
      
    
        Josephus, Jewish War 3.9.1
      
      
        Palestine
      
      
        Apollonides
        Apollonius of Tyana
      
      
        Government and Law
        Paganism
        Roman History
        Society and Culture