J ’ G u l i a n s o d s Religion and philosophy in the thought and action of Julian the Apostate R O W L A N D S M I T H JULIAN’S GODS Julian’s brief reign (AD 361—3) saw the last attempt ever made by a Roman Emperor to counter the spread of Christianity. His personal repudiation of the faith and his efforts to reinvigorate pagan cult across the Empire made a profound impression on contemporaries, and gave him enduring notoriety as ‘the Apostate’ in later Christian tradition. But Julian was also long revered by nostalgic pagans as a lost champion of classical culture, and their vision of him rested on his own self-image: the last pagan Emperor saw himself as a philosopher as well as a king and military commander, and wrote prolifically on philosophic and theological themes. Most of these writings survive, but the bearing of Julian’s speculative theology on his motivation and aims as a pagan is highly problematic, and the problem impinges on a broader debate about the feasibility of his religious policy at a time of accelerating Christian advance in antique society. Julians Gods examines the intellectual and religious allegiances voiced in Julian’s writings and explores their impact on his religious politics. Julian was a Neoplatonist of sorts, but this book takes issue with recent accounts which view his philosophic monism as the fundamental shaping influence on his plan for a pagan restoration; it aims to show that a long-established pattern of polytheist piety remained central to the religion of both the public and the private man. Julian’s intellectual interests ranged widely, however, and the discussion in Julians Gods extends beyond his devotional practice and theology to review the cultural mentality and political ideals of an ambitious ruler who was also a learned man of letters and a gifted author in his own right. JU L IA N ’S GODS J U L I A N ’S GODS Religion and philosophy in the thought and action of Julian the Apostate Rowland Smith London and New York First published 1995 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1995 Rowland Smith Typeset in Garamond by Ponting-Green Publishing Services, Chesham, Bucks Printed and bound in Great Britain by T.J. Press (Padstow) Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any irtformation storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-415-03487-6 Prayers without sacrifice are only words, prayers with sacrifice are animated words. Sallustius, On the gods and the universe He did not feast some and ignore others, but made libation to all the gods whom the poets have passed down - ancestral parents and their offspring, gods and goddesses, ruling and ruled - and filled the altars of all of them with sheep and oxen. Libanius, Oration XVII How much more individual still was the character they assumed from being designated by names, names that were for them­ selves alone, proper names such as people have. Proust, Du cote de chez Swann, trans. C.K. Scott Moncrieff To Pandora CONTENTS Abbreviations ix Preface xi 1 INTRODUCTION: THE EMPEROR AND THE WRITER 1 The life and reign of Emperor Julian 1 Julian in his writings and the enquiry of Julian’s Gods 9 2 JULIAN’S EDUCATION AND PHILOSOPHIC IDEAL 23 An education in Greek culture 23 The philosophic ideal 36 3 PHILOSOPHY IN PRACTICE: THE INVECTIVES AGAINST CYNICS 49 The cultural setting of the polemics 52 The arguments of Against the Uneducated Cynics 62 Cynics and the programme of Hellenism 79 4 THE CHALDAEAN ORACLES AND NEOPLATONIST THEURGY 91 The composition and intellectual milieu of the Chaldaean Oracles 92 Doctrines and rituals of salvation in the Chaldaean Oracles 96 Iamblichan theurgy 104 5 THE MYSTERIES I: JULIAN AS INITIATE 114 Mystery cults and their appeal 117 Julian as initiate: the Mysteries of Mithras and Cybele 124 Vll 6 THE MYSTERIES II: DOCTRINE IN THE HYMNS AND THE PIETY OF PUBLIC CULT 139 The doctrines of To King Helios and To the Mother of the Gods 139 The cults of Mithras and Cybele and the gods of the Roman State 163 7 THE APOSTATE AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS 179 Julian’s conversion 180 The anti-Christian critique: Against the Galilaeans 189 The anti-Christian politics of Julian 207 ENVOI 219 Notes 225 Select bibliography 286 Index 294