John Malalas, Chronography

This Paris the dancer went away from there and lived outside the same city, having built for himself a suburban house and a bath, which exists to this day, called Paradise and the house; and having died there he lies in a sarcophagus behind the house in his gardens. The same Domitian built in Antioch the Great a public bath called that of Medea, because he set up in it a marvelous statue to Medea; and so the citizens called this public bath and no longer the Domitianon; this public bath was built by the mountain, near the place of single combat and the temple of Aphrodite. The same emperor also built there a temple of Asclepius. In the times of the reign of the same Domitian was the most wise Apollonius of Tyana; and he flourished, traveling about and everywhere making talismans for the cities and for the regions. He, having departed from Rome, arrived at Byzantium; and having entered Byzopolis, now auspiciously called Constanti 264 nople, he also made many talismans there at the request of the Byzantines: that of the storks, and that of the Lycus river which flows through the middle of the city, and that of the tortoise, and that of the horses, and certain other marvelous ones; and then departing from Byzantium the same Apollonius made talismans in the other cities. And he came to Syria from Tyana, and entered Antioch the Great; and the founders of Antioch asked him to make talismans there also concerning the things they needed. And he made one against the north wind, placing this talisman at the eastern gate. Likewise he made a talisman in the same city also for the scorpions, so that they might not dare to approach the region; and he placed this talisman in the middle of the city, having made a bronze scorpion and buried it, setting up a small pillar on top. And the scorpions disappeared from the entire territory of Antioch. And he made many other things there. And the citizens asked him to make a talisman against the gnats, so that the city of Antioch itself would not have gnats. And he did, commanding them that on the seventh of the month of Daisios, also known as June, the hippodrome race from Graste of the same month of Daisios should be held in Antioch of Syria; but having placed the talisman on the new moon of the month of Daisios, on the seventh of the same month he allowed that all on the same day of the hippodrome of Graste should carry upon reeds a solid leaden bust, having 265 a tablet of Ares, and underneath the reed a shield hanging from reddish leather on this side, and on that side a saber hanging from a reed likewise, bound with linen thread, having told them to shout as they ride in and say, 'No gnats for the city,' and after dismissing the hippodrome each one to put it away in his own house. And no gnat appeared any longer in Antioch the Great. And as the same Apollonius of Tyana was going around and investigating the location of Antioch itself with the founders of the city, he saw in the middle of the same city a porphyry pillar standing and not having anything on top, but the pillar itself had been scorched by a whirlwind of fire. And having asked about it, 'What is this?', he learned from them that after the suffering of the city in the time of Gaius Caesar, a certain Debborios, a philosopher and maker of talismans, made this talisman so that the city, when shaken by an earthquake, would not fall, setting up the pillar and above it a marble bust, and on its chest he had written, 'Unshaken, unfallen.' And when a whirlwind of fire from the lightning occurred, the bust on top of the pillar was burned and fell, and we are afraid lest our city suffer again. But be persuaded and you yourself make a talisman, so that the city may no longer suffer when it is shaken. But 266 Apollonius, sighing, refused to make another talisman concerning earthquakes. And having seen him sigh,

ὅστις Πάρις ὀρχηστὴς ἐκεῖ ἀπελθὼν ᾤκει ἔξω τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, κτίσας ἑαυτῷ οἶκον προάστειον καὶ λουτρόν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἕως τῆς νῦν, τὸ λεγόμενον Παράδεισος καὶ ὁ οἶκος· κἀκεῖ τελευτήσας κεῖται ἐν σορῷ ὄπισθεν τοῦ οἴκου ἐν τοῖς κήποις αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς ∆ομετιανὸς ἔκτισεν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τῇ μεγάλῃ δημόσιον λουτρὸν τὸ λεγόμενον τῆς Μηδείας, διότι ἄγαλμα ἔστησεν ἐν αὐτῷ θαυμαστὸν τῇ Μηδείᾳ· καὶ οὕτως αὐτὸ τὸ δημόσιον λουτρὸν ἐκάλουν οἱ πολῖται καὶ οὐκέτι τὸ ∆ομετιανόν· τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ δημόσιον ἦν κεκτισμένον παρὰ τὸ ὄρος πλησίον τοῦ μονομαχίου καὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης. ἔκτισε δὲ ἐκεῖ ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς καὶ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ. Ἦν δὲ τοῖς χρόνοις τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ αὐτοῦ ∆ομετιανοῦ ὁ σοφώτατος Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς· καὶ ἤκμαζε περιπολεύων καὶ πανταχοῦ ποιῶν τελέσματα εἰς τὰς πόλεις καὶ εἰς τὰς χώρας. ὅστις ἀπὸ τῆς Ῥώμης ἐξελθὼν κατέλαβε τὸ Βυζάντιον· καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς Βυζούπολιν, τὴν νῦν λεγομένην εὐτυχῶς Κωνσταντι 264 νούπολιν, ἐποίησε καὶ ἐκεῖ πολλὰ τελέσματα παρακληθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν Βυζαντίων, τὸ τῶν πελαργῶν καὶ τὸ τοῦ Λύκου ποταμοῦ τοῦ κατὰ μέσου τῆς πόλεως παρερχομένου καὶ τὸ τῆς χελώνης καὶ τὸ τῶν ἵππων καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ θαυμαστά· καὶ λοιπὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Βυζαντίου ἐξελθὼν ἐποίει εἰς τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις ὁ αὐτὸς Ἀπολλώνιος τελέσματα. καὶ ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν Συρίαν ἀπὸ Τυάνων, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τῇ μεγάλῃ· καὶ ᾔτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς κτήτορες ποιῆσαι κἀκεῖ τελέσματα περὶ ὧν ἐδέοντο. καὶ ἐποίησεν εἰς τὸν βοῤῥᾶν ἄνεμον, θήσας τὸ αὐτὸ τέλεσμα κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολικὴν πόρταν. ὁμοίως δὲ ἐποίησε τέλεσμα ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πόλει καὶ διὰ τοὺς σκορπίους, πρὸς τὸ μὴ τολμᾶν αὐτοὺς πλησιάζειν τῇ χώρᾳ· καὶ ἔθηκε τὸ αὐτὸ τέλεσμα ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πόλεως, ποιήσας χαλκοῦν σκορπίον καὶ χώσας αὐτόν, πήξας ἐπάνω κίονα μικρόν. καὶ ἐγένοντο ἀφανεῖς οἱ σκορπίοι ἐκ τῆς ἐνορίας Ἀντιοχείας πάσης. ἐποίησε δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἐκεῖ. ᾔτησαν δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ πολῖται ἵνα ποιήσῃ τέλεσμα πρὸς τοὺς κώνωπας, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἔχειν κώνωπας τὴν αὐτὴν πόλιν Ἀντιόχειαν. καὶ ἐποίησε, κελεύσας αὐτοῖς ἵνα τῇ ἑβδόμῃ τοῦ δαισίου τοῦ καὶ ἰουνίου μηνὸς ἐπιτελῆται ἐν αὐτῇ Ἀντιοχείᾳ τῆς Συρίας τὸ ἱππικὸν τὸ ἀπὸ Γράστης τοῦ αὐτοῦ δαισίου μηνός· ἀλλὰ τῇ νεομηνίᾳ τοῦ δαισίου μηνὸς θήσας τὸ τέλεσμα, τῇ ἑβδόμῃ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνὸς ἐπιτρέψας ἵνα πάντες ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ ἱπποδρομίου τῆς Γράστης βαστάζουσιν ἐπάνω καλάμων ὁλόσφυρον στηθάριν μολιβοῦν, ἔχον 265 τα λεμὶν τοῦ Ἄρεως, καὶ ὑποκάτω τοῦ καλάμου σκουτάριον κρεμάμενον ἀπὸ δέρματος ῥουσίου ἐντεῦθεν, κἀκεῖθεν δὲ παραμῆριν ἀπὸ καλαμίου κρεμάμενον ὡσαύτως, λινῷ ῥάμματι δεδεμένα, εἰρηκὼς αὐτοῖς κράζειν εἰσελαύνοντας καὶ λέγειν, Ἀκώνωπα τῇ πόλει, καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀπολῦσαι τὸ ἱπποδρόμιον ἕκαστον ἀποτίθεσθαι αὐτὸ εἰς τὸν ἰδίον οἶκον. καὶ οὐκέτι ἐφάνη ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τῇ μεγάλῃ κώνωψ. Ἐν τῷ δὲ περιέρχεσθαι τὸν αὐτὸν Ἀπολλώνιον τὸν Τυανέα καὶ ἱστορεῖν τὴν αὐτὴν Ἀντιόχειαν μετὰ τῶν κτητόρων τῆς πόλεως τοποθεσίαν, εἶδεν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως κίονα ἑστῶτα πορφυροῦν καὶ μὴ ἔχοντα ἐπάνω τί ποτε, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν κίονα ὑπὸ τυφωνικοῦ πυρὸς φλογισθέντα. καὶ ἐπερωτήσας περὶ αὐτοῦ, τί ἐστι τοῦτο, ἔμαθε παρ' αὐτῶν ὅτι μετὰ τὸ πάθος τῆς πόλεως τὸ ἐπὶ Γαΐου Καίσαρος ∆εββόριός τις φιλόσοφος τελεστὴς ἐποίησε τὸ τέλεσμα τοῦτο ὥστε δονουμένην τὴν πόλιν ὑπὸ σεισμοῦ μὴ πίπτειν, στήσας τὸν κίονα καὶ ὑπεράνω αὐτοῦ στηθάριν μαρμάρινον, καὶ ἐν τῷ στήθει αὐτοῦ ἔγραφεν, Ἄσειστα, ἄπτωτα. καὶ τυφωνικοῦ πυρὸς ὑπὸ τῆς ἀστραπῆς γενομένου, καυθὲν τὸ ἐπάνω τοῦ κίονος στηθάριν ἔπεσε, καὶ δεδοίκαμεν μὴ πάλιν πάθῃ ἡ πόλις ἡμῶν. ἀλλὰ παρακλήθητι καὶ ποίησον σὺ αὐτὸς τέλεσμα, ἵνα μὴ πάθῃ ἔτι ταρασσομένη ἡ πόλις. ὁ δὲ 266 Ἀπολλώνιος στενάξας ἀνεβάλετο τοῦ ποιῆσαι ἄλλο τέλεσμα περὶ σεισμῶν. καὶ ἑωρακότες αὐτὸν στενάξαντα,