Julian the Apostate

Julian (331–363), known to Christian history as 'the Apostate,' was the last pagan emperor of Rome and one of the most fascinating figures of late antiquity. Raised as a Christian after his family was massacred by his cousin Constantius II, Julian secretly converted to traditional Greco-Roman religion as a young man and, upon becoming emperor in 361, launched an ambitious program to restore paganism as the empire's dominant faith. He died just two years into his reign, killed during a campaign against Persia, and his religious revolution died with him. His surviving letters — over 80 in this collection — reveal a complex, intensely intellectual ruler who combined genuine philosophical commitment with sharp political instinct. He writes about theology, governance, education policy, and military affairs with equal facility. His famous letter banning Christian teachers from teaching classical literature is here, as are his attempts to create a pagan charitable infrastructure modeled on (and meant to compete with) Christian institutions. He corresponded with philosophers, priests, governors, and generals. Julian's letters are historically significant because they show us what a pagan restoration might have looked like — and why it failed. His vision of a reformed, philosophical paganism was too intellectual, too dependent on one man's will, and too out of step with the direction of late Roman society. But the letters are compelling reading: the voice is that of a brilliant, passionate, slightly lonely man who believed he could turn back the tide of history through sheer force of conviction.