The Emperor Julian

This paper will assess Julian in the context of fourth-century literature and history by addressing perceptions of Julian among his contemporaries, specifically in the West. It will reveal the particular (and generally overlooked) view of Julian that was available in the West before Ammianus Marcellinus wrote his dominating narrative of Julian’s reign in Rome in the late 380s.

Julian's Misopogon has proved difficult to categorize with certainty. While Hunger tentatively classified the work as invective (Hunger 1978), others have suggested that it is an inverted panegyric or an attempt to subvert fourth-century rhetorical practice (Marcone 1981; Quiroga 2009). As Elm has recently shown, it is a work that combines many of these elements, written as if it were an invective in se ipsum (Elm 2012: 327-335).

In his Oration Against the Uneducated Cynics (Oration 6), Julian attacked “false” Cynics who adopted the external features of Cynic philosophers (clothing, hairstyle, wallet, and staff) while eschewing more “ascetic” behaviors like taking cold baths and eating raw meat. My paper situates Julian’s rhetoric against “false” Cynics (Orations 6 and 7) within a wider fourth-century concern of both Christians and non-Christians to identify and delegitimize rival intellectual ascetics as impostors.

This paper argues that Julian’s succession to the purple in November 361 was a more contentious proposition than is usually assumed and should not be seen as a simple dynastic transition.