Christians today honor Emperor Constantine for "converting Rome" to Christianity; fewer would know of Constantine's nephew Julian, a committed Hellenist who did his best to un-convert the empire and allow freedom of religion (with some minor badgering, if not persecution, for Christians). Julian's reign is very well-documented considering how far back in history we must go - the documents on which Vidal relies are obviously extant 1600 years later.

The book follows Julian from his youth, when his father is killed by a jealous Constantine and Julian and his brother are basically kept in captivity. Julian is bookish, primed as a monk but with a passion for philosophy - hardly an obvious choice for emperor. But his unique passion and charisma work in his favor.

Julian's memoir is often full of wit and sometimes wry affection for his subjects. He seems like such a wonderful leader and person, clever and likeable and unique, and the book is excellent and engaging because of it. ( )

Excellent Novel--my favourite novel by Gore Vidal. Love you Gore!!!

This one dovetails nicely with Vidal's "Creation" in that the main character is also a seeker who believes he has found the right path, then tries to enlighten others, not realizing he is too late. ( )

I've never been particularly interested in historical fiction, but ever since I read this novel in 1984 I have planned to read it again, which must mean that I liked it. The closest literary parallel (as Vidal admits in an introductory note) is Graves' "I, Claudius". I would have to assume that I enjoyed Vidal's novel more, as the Graves novel relied so heavily on already familiar sources (such as Suetonius) that I did not feel compelled to immediately read the sequel, "Claudius the God".

"Julian" is Vidal's historical novel on the life of the last pagan emperor, Julian the Apostate. A relative of Constantine the Great, who, having seen the writing on the wall (or in the sky, in his case) accepted the supreme role of Christianity in the Roman Empire. An isolated youth and surprisingly remarkable military tactician, Julian was secretly steeped in Neoplatonic philosophy as a youth. When he circuitously came to power following the death of Constantine and his nearest kin, Julian renounced Christianity and sought to bring paganism back as the official state religion. By turns heroic, naive, and tragic, Julian met his death on a battlefield in Persia, speared (it is rumored) by a disgruntled Christian soldier within his own ranks. His apocryphal last words, "Galilean, thou has triumphed!" were ultimately prophetic.

Vidal tells his story primarily through Libanius, one of Julian's pagan tutors. The last pages, relating a meeting between Libanius and the Christian John Chrysostom, are moving and melancholy, as Libanius looks up at the image of Christ Pantocrator and sees "the dark cruel face of an executioner". Such was the end of the ancient world.

Ordinary Girl's Essay on Julian ( )