The absence of a trustworthy critical edition of the Greek text of Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana has long been felt, the most recent critical edition being the editio minor prepared by C. L. Kayser, published in 1870.

The present critical edition aims at remedying this defect. It is based on a full evaluation of all available sources, which comprise the extant medieval manuscripts and the complete indirect tradition. The critical apparatus reports all the variant readings of the primary manuscripts and of the indirect tradition. It also contains numerous conjectures made before and after Kayser's edition, both published and unpublished, a number of which have been adopted in the Greek text. With regard to the constitution of the text full account is taken of the idiosyncratic Greek of Philostratus. In addition to the critical apparatus there is an apparatus fontium and an apparatus testimoniorum. The edition is concluded by an index fontium and an index nominum.

This edition caters for the needs of students of Ancient Greek literature and culture in general, and especially of those interested in the Second Sophistic and the works of Flavius Philostratus.