Alexander of Abonutichus in Paphlagonia
Popular cult-founder hostile to Christians in Pontus. He is described as a charlatan by the apostate satirist Lucian of Samosata. His oracles relied on glossolalia, extrasensory perception and trickery; staged “theophanies” established his revival of Aesculapius in the form of a new “god” Glycon; elaborate ritual acted out the mythical claims of the prophet, whose clientèle came from Bithynia, Galatia, and Thrace.