The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the

The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World

A history of Julian, the grandson of Constantine, and his failed attempt to reverse the Christian tide that swept the Roman Empire

â€¢ Portrays the â€œApostateâ€ as a poet-philosopher, arguing that had he survived, Christianity would have been checked in its rise

â€¢ Details reforms enacted by Julian during his two-year reign that marginalized Christians, effectively limiting their role in the social and political life of the Empire

â€¢ Shows how after Julianâ€™s death the Church used paganism to represent evil and opposition to God, a tactic whose traces still linger

The violent death of the emperor Julian (Flavius Claudius Julianus, AD 332-363) on a Persian battlefield has become synonymous with the death of paganism. Vilified throughout history as the â€œApostate,â€ the young philosopher-warrior was the last and arguably the most potent threat to Christianity.

The Last Pagan examines Julianâ€™s journey from an aristocratic Christian childhood to his initiation into pagan cults and his mission to establish paganism as the dominant faith of the Roman world. Julianâ€™s death, only two years into his reign, initiated a culture-wide suppression by the Church of all things it chose to identify as pagan. Only in recent decades, with the weakening of the Churchâ€™s influence and the resurgence of paganism, have the effects of that suppression begun to wane. Drawing upon more than 700 pages of Julianâ€™s original writings, Adrian Murdoch shows that had Julian lived longer our history and our present-day culture would likely be very different.
Country USA
Brand Inner Traditions
Manufacturer Inner Traditions
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9781594772269
ReleaseDate 2008-04-18
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9781594772269

Country	USA
Brand	Inner Traditions
Manufacturer	Inner Traditions
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9781594772269
ReleaseDate	2008-04-18
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9781594772269

The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World

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