Greek literature in a time of conflict: the Emperor Julian as a writer of polemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article argues that the writings of the Emperor Julian show that he was engaged in sustained polemic with a number of opponents: Cynic philosophers, the people of Antioch, Christian teachers who criticized Hellenic religion, a Roman senator posing as an outspoken philosopher, and even, posthumously, with members of his own family (especially Constantine and Constantius). In this war of words, Julian employed his considerable erudition, which ranged from the Homeric epics and the interpretation of myth to Classical and Neoplatonic philosophy, in an attempt to refute his enemies and to halt what he perceived as an erosion of Hellenic literature, philosophy, and religion.