Unus Deus, Unus Imperator: Giuliano e la sfida neoplatonica al monoteismo

This article explores the solar theology of Emperor Julian within the philosophical and religious landscape of the post-Constantinian era. Its central aim is to show how Julian’s project of pagan restoration was intellectu-ally underpinned by a systematic reorganisation of tra-ditional polytheistic cults. This theological framework drew heavily on Iamblichus’ Neoplatonism and was consciously articulated as a deliberate counterpoint to Judeo-Christian monotheism. Adopting a philological-historical and comparative methodology, the study of-fers close readings of key passages from Julian’s Hymn to King Helios and the surviving fragments of Against the Galileans. These texts are interpreted against the backdrop of Neoplatonic metaphysics (Iamblichus), earlier anti-Christian polemical traditions (Celsus), and contemporary Christian sources (Eusebius of Cae-sarea). The discussion demonstrates that Julian assigns Helios, in his capacity as Demiurge, an absolutely piv-otal position within his theological system. He care-fully distinguishes this solar deity both from a higher, supreme divine principle and from a subordinate level of divine powers. The selected passages reveal a dy-namic tension: on the one hand, a frontal rejection of Judeo-Christian monotheism as conceptually limited, internally inconsistent, and philosophically untenable; on the other, a competitive appropriation of some of its most potent elements—most notably the idea of a central divine mediator, and the notion of universal providence. Through this dual strategy, Julian sought to construct a philosophically more coherent and cul-turally more inclusive alternative to Christianity.