Against the Galileans: the neoplatonic critic of Julian the Apostate to Christianism

Abstract

This article explores the relations between the Neoplatonic criticism of Christian logos in Julian the Apostate and his predecessors, the Christenhasser Celsus and Porphyry. In the first part, we will introduce his motivations for apostasy from the Christian faith, as well as the foundations of his paganism, built on the Neoplatonism and Oriental theurgy of Iamblichus of Calcis. Next, we will endeavor to systematize the key arguments used in his Against the Galileans, emphasizing areas of common ground between it and the previous antichristian tradition, and stressing Julian’s rhetorical and instrumental use of Judaism.