Setting the Stage

chapter 2 lays out the Antiochene setting prior to Julian’s arrival there in the late summer of 362. The chapter explores the cosmopolitan nature of Antioch and the embeddedness of Jews within the city and its territory, as well as their interactions with local Christians and Hellenes. Many Christians kept Jewish laws and worshipped in Jewish synagogues. There is also evidence that some Antiochene Hellenes celebrated Jewish holidays with Jews and Christians. Some may have considered the Jewish god to be the highest god. Julian’s arguments about Jews draw on their influential place in Antioch and are designed to interact with Jewish sites in its landscape and to alter how Christians and Hellenes understand these sites and Jewish practices.