I was studying Emperor Julian's writings in the past and consider myself relatively well-versed in what remained of Mithraic mysteries and those few scattered sources on other mystes' traditions. Since I studied middle neoplatonism in depth along with Chaldean theurgical underground - and I still humbly do not consider myself an expert - a friend of mine commended this book to me. He knew that I'm both pro-nobilitas, anti-christian, a history buff and looking at the golden times of high antique through the prism of a tear that was semblant of the one left behind in Alexandria when the "Dionisian company abandoned it", when Hypatia was murdered and Serapeion destroyed. I always found Julian the last hope of pagan Rome, a great potential reformer, unifier and a hope to plant seeds to renew the spirit of Rome. I read this book blushing with joy, like a little child, at times grave, at times uplifting with ethos, at times flirtatious or self-important and thinking "what would I do" from the perspective of each character in the book. Extremely well-researched, visible throughout the captivating narration, excellent grasp of human nature. As a sidenote, it also left a personal mark on me by situationalism. I finished the last two chapters at 4 AM in the morning, when an old acquaintance of mine - an underdeveloped love from years ago - that started blooming only recently was sleeping nearby. I looked at her from time to time with a smile on my face and then after finishing the book joined her in sleep, kissing her gently in the most gracious manner I could conjure with a simple gesture. For that, I will remember this book for the rest of my life. ( )

Una buena novela histórica sobre un personaje atípico en la historia, como se dice en la propia historia luchaba por un objetivo imposible ya había termina aquella era de los viejos dioses. Otro punto a destacar es como muestra como un mismo hecho es visto y recordado de manera diferente por diferentes personajes, como la memoria es moldeable. ( )

We had an unexpectedly lively discussion about this book in one of our reading groups. At least it was unexpected by me, although I liked (didn't love) the novel. But the portrait of a man whose attempts to stay alive in the poisonous Roman Empire of the 4th Century CE, and how he was seduced, or perhaps revealed, as a leader and warrior, was very persuasive. Vidal gives us a very real man faced with the decrepitude of Rome's religious past and the growing power of Christianity. Ultimately his need to believe in the old gods traps him in a kind of vanity that leads to his destruction. Note this is not a spoiler - the Wikipedia page gives the clear history. Vidal gives us a man. ( )

La semblanza del emperador Juliano, quien representa la última tentativa de restaurar el helenismo frente a la hegemonía creciente del cristianismo, es la clave de una época -el siglo IV- en que un viejo mundo agoniza y otro nace, a la sombra de la Cruz.

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