“Those who grovel among tombs.” Julian, Plato, and the Invective against Christian Practices in Cemeteries

During the fourth century, the fanaticism surrounding the veneration of relics ignited complex reactions from both pagan authors and Christian apologists. Emperor Julian elevated the intellectual level of the dispute by weaponizing Platonic thought to delegitimize the worship of relics and to scorn the Christians who performed devotional practices in cemeteries. An overlooked use by Julian of the Phaedo offers a new insight into the emperor’s instrumentalization of Plato to critique Christianity and into his little-known views on the fate of the martyrs’ souls

Christianity · Emperor · Fanaticism · Invective · Veneration · Worship · Classical Antiquity Studies · Globalization, Historical Perspectives, and International Relations · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies