E02781: Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical History mentions stories of visions indicating that the emperor Julian the Apostate was killed by two apostles or prophets. Another vision announced the death to *Didymos the Blind (ascetic and philosopher of Alexandria, S01370). Written in Greek at Constantinople, 439/450.

Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 6.2. 1-8

Having recounted the death of Julian the Apostate during the war in Persia, Sozomen discusses the various explanations circulating with regard to his death. Some claimed that he was killed by a Persian or Saracen, but others insisted that the arrow came from the Romans. Then the author quotes a passage from Libanius (Or. 18 274 f.), stating that those desiring Julian’s death were the Christians (6.1).

(1) Καὶ ὁ μὲν Λιβάνιος ὧδέ πῃ γράφων Χριστιανὸν γενέσθαι ὑποδηλοῖ Ἰουλιανοῦ τὸν σφαγέα· ἴσως δὲ καὶ ἀληθές. οὐ γὰρ ἀπεικός τινα τῶν τότε στρατευομένων εἰς νοῦν λαβεῖν, ὡς καὶ Ἕλληνες καὶ πάντες ἄνθρωποι μέχρι νῦν τοὺς πάλαι τυραννοκτόνους γενομένους ἐπαινοῦσιν, ὡς ὑπὲρ τῆς πάντων ἐλευθερίας ἑλομένους ἀποθανεῖν καὶ πολίταις ἢ συγγενέσιν ἢ φίλοις προθύμως ἐπαμύναντας. (2) σχολῇ γε ἄν τις καὶ αὐτῷ μέμψαιτο διὰ θεὸν καὶ θρησκείαν ἣν ἐπῄνεσεν ἀνδρείῳ γενομένῳ. ἐγὼ δέ, ὅστις μὲν τῇ σφαγῇ ταύτῃ διηκονήσατο, πλὴν τῶν εἰρημένων οὐδὲν ἀκριβῶ. ὡς δὲ συμφωνοῦντες οἱ λέγοντες ἰσχυρίζονται, ἀψευδὴς λόγος εἰς ἡμᾶς ἦλθε κατὰ θεομηνίαν αὐτὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι· καὶ τούτου ἀπόδειξις θεία ὄψις, ἥν τινα τῶν ἐπιτηδείων αὐτῷ ἰδεῖν ἐπυθόμην.

(3) Λέγεται γάρ, ἐπεὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν Πέρσαις ὄντα ἠπείγετο, ἔν τινι χωρίῳ καταλῦσαι τῆς λεωφόρου καὶ ἀπορίᾳ οἰκήματος ἐν τῇ ἐνθάδε ἐκκλησίᾳ καθευδῆσαι, καὶ ὕπαρ ἢ ὄναρ ἰδεῖν, ὡς εἰς ταὐτὸν συνελθόντες πολλοὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν ἀπωδύροντο τὴν εἰς τὰς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ κρατοῦντος ὕβριν καὶ ὅ τι χρὴ ποιεῖν ἐβουλεύοντο. (4) ἐπὶ πολὺ δὲ περὶ τούτου διαλογιζομένων καὶ ὥσπερ διαπορουμένων ἀναστάντες ἐκ μέσων δύο θαρρεῖν τοῖς ἄλλοις παρεκελεύσαντο καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ καθαιρέσει τῆς Ἰουλιανοῦ ἀρχῆς ὁρμῶντες σπουδῇ τὸν σύλλογον κατέλιπον. (5) ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς τῶν παραδόξων τούτων ἐγεγόνει θεατής, τῆς μὲν ὁδοιπορίας ὠλιγώρει λοιπόν· ὀρρωδῶν δὲ πῇ ἄρα τὸ τέλος ἐκβήσεται τῆς τοιαύτης ὄψεως, πάλιν ἐνθάδε καθεύδων τὸν αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν σύλλογον ἐξαπίνης τε ὡς ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ εἰσεληλυθότας, οἳ τῇ προτεραίᾳ νυκτὶ ἐπεστράτευσαν Ἰουλιανῷ, καὶ ἀναγγεῖλαι τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνῃρῆσθαι τοῦτον.

(6) Κατ’ ἐκείνην δὲ τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ Δίδυμος ὁ ἐκκλησιαστικὸς φιλόσοφος ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ διατρίβων, οἷά γε τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς τὴν θρησκείαν διασφαλέντος περίλυπος ὢν διά τε αὐτὸν ὡς πεπλανημένον καὶ διὰ τὴν καταφρόνησιν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, ἐνήστευέ τε καὶ τὸν θεὸν περὶ τούτου ἱκέτευεν. (7) ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς μερίμνης οὐδὲ τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπιγενομένης μεταλαβὼν τροφῆς, ἐπὶ θρόνου καθεζόμενος εἰς ὕπνον κατηνέχθη, καὶ ὡς ἐν ἐκστάσει γεγονὼς ἔδοξεν ὁρᾶν ἵππους λευκοὺς ἐν τῷ ἀέρι διατρέχοντας, τοὺς δὲ ἐπ’ αὐτῶν ὀχουμένους κηρύττειν· «ἀγγείλατε Διδύμῳ σήμερον περὶ τήνδε τὴν ὥραν Ἰουλιανὸν ἀνῃρῆσθαι· καὶ Ἀθανασίῳ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ τοῦτο μηνυσάτω· καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐσθιέτω.» (8) καὶ ἃ μὲν τεθέαντο ὅ τε Ἰουλιανοῦ οἰκεῖος καὶ ὁ φιλόσοφος, ὧδε γενέσθαι ἐπυθόμην. καὶ οὐδέτερος ἐν οἷς τεθέατο τῆς ἀληθείας διήμαρτεν, ὡς ἐμηνύθη ὕστερον.


‘(1) Writing such things, then, Libanius indicates that the slayer of Julian was a Christian – and this may be true. For it is not implausible to suspect one of the soldiers then serving in the army – after all, the Greeks and everyone until this day honour the tyrannicides of the past for having chosen to die in the cause of freedom or for having actively defended their fellow citizens, relatives, and friends. (2) Accordingly, one could hardly blame this man, if he displayed bravery on account of the God and religion he honoured. As for myself, I can find nothing certain with regard to who assisted in this murder beyond the things already set forth. Yet, as all testimonies unanimously assert, the indisputable tradition coming down to us is that he was killed by divine wrath. A proof of this is a divine vision which, I have been told, was seen by one of his associates.

(3) It is related that, as this man was hastening to join Julian in Persia, he stopped on his way and, since there was no other building available, he slept in the local church. There he saw, either in a dream or in a waking vision, many of the apostles and prophets assembled together, bewailing the offence the emperor had inflicted on the churches, and discussing what needed to be done. (4) As they were discussing this at length, failing, as it were, to find a solution, two of them stood up in their midst and called the rest to have courage. Declaring that they were hastening to destroy Julian’s rule, they left the company. (5) The man who saw this wonder hesitated to push on, fearing the outcome of such a vision. And when he lay down to sleep again in the same place, he saw the same assembly and the two individuals who had set off against Julian one night earlier suddenly arriving, as if from a journey, and announcing to the rest that he had been killed.

(6) On that same day Didymos, the ecclesiastical philosopher who lived in Alexandria – distressed by the emperor’s error in religion, both on account of his personal error and of the humiliation of the churches – was fasting and supplicating God about this matter. (7) In his distress, he ate nothing even after the night fell, and he fell asleep while sitting in his chair. And being, as it were, in a trance, he thought that he saw white horses galloping in the air, and their riders declaring: “Announce to Didymos that Julian was slain today, around that hour; let him inform of this Athanasios the bishop too, and let him get up and eat.” (8) So this is how the visions of Julian’s associate and of the philosopher took place, as far as I am informed. And, as it was announced later, neither of them was wrong about the truthfulness of his vision.'

Text: Bidez and Hansen 1995. Translation: E. Rizos.