Julian's Against the GalileansFlavius Claudius Julianus, better known to history by the name imposed by his Christian opponents, Julian "the Apostate," was a nephew of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I. Julian is one of the most fascinating figures of late antiquity. More information is available about him from both pagan and Christian sources than about any other emperor. His reign inspired both admiration and contempt.Julian''s ambitious program was to reinstate the religion of his ancestors and, in the process, to subdue the growth of the Christian church, which had achieved legitimacy under the reign of his uncle. Once in power, he immediately sought to revive the religion of classical Rome, to reform the pagan priesthood, revitalize training in classics and pagan philosophy and -- as an affront to Christian prophecy -- to rebuild the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.This is the first translation into modern English of the complete corpus of Julian''s Against the Galileans and related writings. It not only puts the work of the philosopher-emperor into historical perspective but offers important insights into the waning days of pagan philosophy and the growth of the Christian church against the background of intellectual and religious opposition. The translations are supported by a full historical introduction to the life of Julian and a detailed treatment of his religious philosophy, including the origins of his understanding of the Christian faith.The work is essential reading for anyone interested in the religions of late antiquity, the growth of the Christian church, and the final phase of the conflict between paganism and Christian teaching. |
Contents
List of Abbreviations | 9 |
A Note on Text and Translation | 87 |
FRAGMENTS OF THE CONTRA GALILAEOS | 143 |
LETTERS CONCERNING ATHANASIUS | 165 |
JULIAN AND THE JEWS | 177 |
LIVES OF JULIAN | 185 |
211 | |
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Abraham Alexandria Ammianus Antioch Apostate Arian army Athanasius Athanassiadi augustus believe bishop caesar Celsus Chris Christ Christian Christian teachers church commanded concerning Constantinople Constantius creator cult Cybele Cyril death divine doctrine emperor Empire especially Eunapius Eusebius faith father Galatia Galilaeos Galileans Gallus George George’s Gnostic God’s Greek Gregory Naziazen heaven Hebrews Helios Hellenic Hertlein Hymn Iamblichus Iamblichus’s intellectual Jerusalem Jesus Jewish Jews Judaism Julian seems Julian the Apostate Julian’s Gods letter Libanius Lord Maximus Misopogon Mithraic Mithraism Mithras moral Moses myth Neoplatonic Nicene offer ofthe Oracles Oration pagan Paul’s Persian philosophical Plato Plotinus political Porphyry Porphyry’s priests prophecy prophets reason reference reign religion religious restore rites ritual Roman sacrifice scripture Socrates Socrates Scholasticus soul Sozomen stantius story suggests that Julian teaching temple theology theurgy things tian tion tradition troops words worship writings Zeus