The Emperor Julian with Jeremy Swist
We are thrilled to welcome Assistant Professor Jeremy Swist back to the show to discuss all things emperor Julian! Julian’s rule as Roman emperor was short, but it also created quite a stir because Julian was keen to turn Rome away from Christianity and to bring back the paganism. How did he do it? Why did he do it? And what’s the legacy that he left behind? We consider the details.
Jeremy Swist has a PhD in Classics from the University of Iowa, and his research interests include imperial Greek and Roman historiography and rhetoric, late antiquity, classical reception in heavy metal music. He is currently Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Michigan State University. Jeremy has published and presented extensively, and he has a particular interest in the intersection of heavy metal music and the classical world - we suggest you check out his blog, Heavy Metal Classicist, or our previous episode with him to find out more. In 2024, he translated and produced a dramatic reading of the Emperor Julian's Symposium of the Caesars, which starred some of the finest podcasters and actors in the WORLD! (Maybe us)
The Emperor Julian, who ruled Rome between 361 and 363 CE, is one of Jeremy’s great passions, and we are thrilled to talk to him about his new volume on this unusual ruler. The book is published by Oxford University Press and is entitled Julian Augustus: Platonism, Myth, and the Refounding of Rome.
Abstract from Oxford University Press
“The Roman emperor Julian employed both words and deeds to return the empire to paganism and reverse Christianization, inspired by his conversion to the Neoplatonic philosophy and radical pagan Hellenism of Iamblichus, and promoted by his own production of Greek literature. These works present a coherent vision of the providentially guided history and destiny of Rome as a series of (re)foundations enacted by rulers such as Romulus, Numa, and Augustus. Julian offers an Iamblichean approach to interpreting Roman legends, Platonic allegories, and myths of his own creation to articulate his own role in the refounding of the empire. Approaching the wider examination of Julian’s imperial self-image on these terms ends up nuancing and challenging common assumptions influenced by the rhetoric of his contemporary proponents. In his reverence for the gods and for philosophy, the emperor’s self-construction embraces the identities of a statesman and solider more than philosopher, Roman more than Greek, and mere human rather than semi-divine being. Julian’s unique positionality as emperor let him invert the conventions of panegyric whereby rulers equal and surpass the demigods and heroes of myth and history. While distancing himself from the ideal models of virtue and founding that inspire him, he adopts a different set of exemplary figures as mirrors of himself. Statesmen such as Pericles and Scipio, and especially Augustus, serve as precedents for Julian’s more realistic conception of his role in refounding the empire, as student and champion of philosophers, guardian of law and tradition, and servant of the gods.”
The return to the old gods
Julian's rule was short but it left quite an impact. We chat with Jeremy about some of the ideas Julian put forward about Rome, the foundation stories that underpinned its self-definition, and what might have been if weren't for an unfortunate spear that wounded Julian and ended his life just two years into his reign.
Sound Credits
Our music is by the superb Bettina Joy de Guzman.
For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/
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