Julian

Set in the fourth-century Roman Empire during the final struggle between classical paganism and Christianity, the novel reconstructs the life of Emperor Julian, the last non-Christian ruler of Rome, through three interlocking voices: Julian's own unpublished memoir and private journal, and the commentary of two elderly Greek philosophers preparing the papers for publication nearly two decades after his death.

The framing narrative begins in 380 AD. The rhetorician Libanius, a renowned teacher in Antioch and Julian's former mentor, writes to the philosopher Priscus in Athens proposing they publish Julian's private papers. The Emperor Theodosius has just issued an edict declaring heretic all who do not follow the Nicene Creed, which Libanius sees as Christianity's final triumph and a mortal threat to the Hellenistic tradition. Priscus, who took possession of Julian's memoir after his death during the Persian campaign of 363, agrees to sell a copy but insists his name never be connected to the project. Over several letters, the two negotiate terms and debate their civilization's prospects, while Priscus annotates Julian's text with skeptical commentary.

Julian's memoir opens with a formal imitation of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, listing what he learned from key figures: from his uncle Constantine, the danger of aligning with Christians; from his eunuch tutor Mardonius, devotion to Homer and self-discipline; from his cousin the Emperor Constantius, the necessity of dissembling. Julian recounts how Constantius ordered the massacre of most of the imperial family in 337, shortly after Constantine's death. Julian, then six, and his older half-brother Gallus were spared only because of their youth. Raised as Christians under Bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, Julian nonetheless absorbs a classical education from Mardonius that plants the seeds of religious doubt.

Around age 11, Julian and Gallus are sent to the remote imperial estate of Macellum in Cappadocia, where they live as virtual prisoners for six years. Bishop George of Cappadocia drills Julian in Arian theology, a doctrine disputing Christ's full equality with God, and grooms him for the priesthood. Julian outwardly complies but privately devours the works of Plotinus and Porphyry, whose arguments against Christianity form the intellectual basis for his later rejection of the faith. He also witnesses Gallus's emerging sadism, a trait that will define his brother's brief reign.

Gallus is named Caesar, the junior imperial title subordinate to Augustus, and sent to rule the East from Antioch, while Julian continues his education in Constantinople, Nicomedia, and Pergamon. He befriends the physician Oribasius of Pergamon, who becomes his most trusted companion, and encounters the philosopher Maximus of Ephesus, a theurgist who seeks contact with the gods through ritual ceremony. Maximus challenges Julian's Christian faith and draws him toward the sun god Helios and the mystery cult of Mithras. In March 351, Julian is secretly initiated into the Mithraic rites in a cave beneath Mount Pion, where he experiences a mystical vision of Helios that he considers the defining spiritual event of his life.

Gallus's rule degenerates into tyranny, and Constantius has him arrested and beheaded in December 354. Julian, now the sole surviving male of the imperial house, faces execution. The Empress Eusebia intercedes, arguing that Julian is indispensable because Constantius has no heir. Julian is spared and granted permission to study in Athens, where he spends 47 days studying philosophy, befriending Priscus, having a love affair with Macrina, the freethinking niece of the rhetorician Prohaeresius, and being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. Priscus later reveals that Macrina bore Julian a son he never knew about. Julian's stay is cut short by an imperial summons: On 6 November 355, he is invested as Caesar, married to Constantius's sister Helena, and dispatched to Gaul with only 300 soldiers.

Julian's five years in Gaul transform him from a scholar into a formidable military commander. He defeats the Germanic tribes, winning the decisive Battle of Strasbourg in 357, reforms taxation, and earns the fierce loyalty of his troops. Constantius takes credit for Julian's victories and plots to strip him of his army. Helena, on her deathbed, reveals that Eusebia poisoned both their children and urges Julian to seize the throne. The crisis comes in February 360, when Constantius orders Julian's best legions transferred east. Julian warns the transfer will provoke mutiny, and he is proved right: The troops surround the palace in Paris and demand Julian accept the title Augustus, the senior imperial rank. After a night of agonized indecision and a dream-vision of the guardian spirit of Rome, Julian accepts. Civil war never materializes; on 3 November 361, Constantius dies of fever and names Julian his legitimate heir.

Julian enters Constantinople as sole emperor and begins reshaping the empire. He purges the bloated palace staff, issues an edict of universal religious tolerance that strips Christian clergy of their privileges, forbids Christians from teaching the classics, and attempts to build an organized Hellenist priesthood. Maximus arrives at court and is given extravagant honors. When Julian sends Oribasius to consult the oracle at Delphi, the Pythoness, the priestess who channels the god's prophecy, delivers a devastating final message: The temple is ruined, the sacred springs are silent, and nothing remains for the god.

Julian moves to Antioch to prepare for his Persian invasion, but famine and religious conflict turn the city against him. The burning of the Temple of Apollo at Daphne escalates tensions. Julian also attempts to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to disprove Jesus's prophecy of its permanent destruction, but the project fails when mysterious fires erupt during construction. The Antiochenes compose savage satires mocking Julian, and he responds with Beard-Hater, a self-satirizing pamphlet that is unprecedented for an emperor and politically disastrous.

In the spring of 363, Julian launches his Persian campaign. His army wins several victories, including a battle outside the capital Ctesiphon, but Julian secretly rejects a generous peace offer from the Persian King Sapor, persuaded by Maximus that he is destined to conquer all of Asia like Alexander the Great. He orders the Roman fleet burned on the Tigris, cutting off any retreat. When the Persians scorch the countryside and expected reinforcements fail to arrive, Julian is trapped with a starving army. His private journal entries reveal a man in despair, suspecting assassination plots among his Christian officers and tormented by the silence of his gods.

On 26 June 363, Julian rides into battle without armor and is struck by a spear that penetrates his liver. He dies shortly before midnight after refusing to name a successor and spending his final hours discussing Plato's Phaedo with Maximus and Priscus. Priscus later reveals the spear was Roman: Julian's servant Callistus eventually confesses to the assassination, recruited by the general Victor and a cabal of Christian officers. Victor then engineers the elevation of Jovian, a Christian general, who immediately cedes five Roman provinces to Persia.

The framing narrative closes with Libanius petitioning Theodosius for permission to publish Julian's biography and being refused. In a final scene, Libanius encounters his former student John Chrysostom, the rising Christian orator, and they debate Julian's legacy. Retreating to his study, Libanius puts away Julian's papers and reads Plotinus for consolation, likening the end of classical civilization to a lamp guttering out in a darkening room.