Libanius on Julian's Alleged Murder of His Wife Helena
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9665995 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Woods (0000-0002-9125-4158, University College Cork, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 660-666 |
| Publication date | 2018-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8388 • E-ISSN: 1471-6844 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0009838818000526 |
| OpenAlex | W2910279361 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
In a speech addressed to Polycles sometime after c .365, Libanius preserves the otherwise unattested claim that the Emperor Julian paid an unnamed doctor to kill his wife Helena, the sister of his cousin and Eastern rival at the time, Constantius II. However, he does so only in order to refute this charge which his former friend Polycles had made against Julian during a conversation concerning his reign. According to Libanius, Polycles had initially criticized Julian for being too generous to his favourites, and had cited his gift of certain villages to some eunuchs in proof of this allegation ( Or . 37.2). He had also made some vague insinuations about the reasons for this generosity, but Libanius says that he was prepared to overlook this, knowing that they were not true and that Julian had made larger gifts to others. However, Polycles then claimed that Julian had contrived at the death of his wife Helena also ( Or . 37.3)
Allegation · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Conversation · Cousin · Emperor · Genealogy · Generosity · Order (exchange · Political science · Reign · Sister · Theology · Wife · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Byzantine Studies and History · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Law · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |