Nothing remains but to let the darkness come La memoria del emperador Juliano en tres novelas del siglo XX

Abstract

This contribution analyses the representation of the Roman emperor Julian (360–363) in three novels from the second half of the 20th century and the early decades of the 21st century: Julian, by Gore Vidal (1964), Gods and legions, by Michael Curtis Ford (2002), and Draco. L’ombra dell’imperatore, by Massimiliano Colombo (2012). Although these works come from very different contexts and styles, they share some points of view on Julian’s life and government. Over the next few pages, we will explore some of the elements of the reception of Julian’s figure in the selected texts, relating the characteristics of this reception to the discourses on Late Antiquity that can be found in other cultural productions of the last fifty years.