SAPERE XXXIX: Of "false dogs" and true myths
Edited by Heinz-Günther Nesselrath. Introduced, translated, and provided with interpretive essays by Bruno Bleckmann, Maria Carmen De Vita, Heinz-Günther Nesselrath, Michael Schramm, Jan R. Stenger, and Ilinca Tanaseanu-Döbler.
Emperor Julian's invective "Against the Cynic Herakleios" offers a good insight not only into Julian's active participation in the philosophical-religious debates of his time (here with a special focus on the question in which way myths can contribute to the understanding of our world and its embedding in an overarching divine order), but also into the self-understanding and sense of mission of its author. The volume presented here contains an introduction to the author and his work, a revised Greek text, a new translation with annotations, and six contributions from different disciplines (classical philology, ancient history, ancient philosophy, and religious studies) that seek to comprehensively explore the meaning of this invective in the context of the history, philosophy, and religion of its time.