The transformations in the friendship relations of the Emperor Julian according to his Neoplatonic ideas (4th century AD)

• Grant number: 20/05378-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2020
• End date: July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Margarida Maria de Carvalho
• Grantee: Larissa Rodrigues Alves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In the 4th century AD, the Emperor had a central role in the government of the Empire and needed to deal with different people, mainly with the Roman elites. Because of that, understanding the friendship in Late Antiquity is fundamental to think about the social and power relations of this period. Numerous studies have been dedicated to Emperor Julian, the character of our investigation, over the years. However, until our Scientific Initiation, none of these researches had discussed the theme of friendship. In this sense, we wish to continue this task during our Masters. Analyzing 48 of Juliano's 73 epistles, during the Scientific Initiation, we were able to observe two types of friendships described by this ruler, associating them with the words philía and amicitia, each linked to its respective cultural universe. In our Masters, we propose the hypothesis that Juliano's friendship relations changed between the time when he served as Caesar and when he ruled as Emperor. We mean by this that he began to neglect the type of friendship associated with amicitia, in the time between 358 and 362 AD. These changes are related to his deepening in philosophical studies, characterized by a theurgical neo-Platonicism of Iamblichus current and by the Eastern mysteries. Consequently, the way in which this Emperor governed and conceived his basileia also underwent changes. To carry out our investigation, we will use four speeches written by Julian - from the Greek/French, Greek/English and Spanish translations -, which are as follows: Consolation to yourself on the departure of the excellent Salustio; Hymn to Helios King; Hymn to the Mother of Gods and Letter to Themistius, the philosopher. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ALVES, Larissa Rodrigues. The transformations in the friendship relations of the Emperor Julian according to his Neoplatonic ideas (4th century AD). 2022. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais. Franca Franca.