- Libri tres contra Galileos
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Libri tres contra Galileos (in brief Contra Galileos; in English. Three Books Against the Galilaeans, (meaning Christians)) was a Greek polemical essay written by the Roman Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, commonly known as Julian the Apostate, during his short reign (361–363). Despite having been originally written in Greek, it is better known under its Latin name, probably due to its extensive reference in the polemical response Contra Julianum by Cyril of Alexandria.
The essay does not survive as a text. It is known only from fragments in the form of unfriendly references and quotations of it in other antique authors. Its contents can be partially reconstructed, as Julian had - as a matter of both policy and personal belief - tried to stop the growing influence of Christianity in the Roman Empire. He believed that both divine truth and national security demanded support for the original pagan imperial cults and ethnic religions of the Empire.
As part of this policy, Julian's governmental policies attempted to throw an unflattering light on ongoing disputes inside the Christian Church. In this essay Julian attempted to point out what he considered to be evidence, especially from these doctrinal disputes, of the mistakes and dangers of the Christian faith.
In one of his most incendiary assertions, Julian portrayed Christians as apostates from Judaism, which the Emperor considered to be a very old and established religion that should be fully accepted. Julian was the last philosemite to lead the Roman Empire or its successor state, the Byzantine Empire.
Julian's death in battle in 363 ended all prospect of the arguments set forth in Three Books Against the Galileans winning widespread acceptance. Instead, the essay was anathematized, and even the text was lost. We only know of Julian's arguments second-hand, through texts written by Christian authors who sought to refute Julian.
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External links
English translations available on the web:
- Against the Galileans: remains of the 3 books, excerpted from Cyril of Alexandria, Contra Julianum. Transl. C.W. King, 1888.
The Greek text and English translations of Julian's writings are available in
- Wright, W.C., The Works of the Emperor Julian, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1913/1980, 3 Volumes. Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, at the Internet Archive
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