Emperor Julian and education

I read that Julian perceived the condition of the empire to be a primary problem of his reign, a major cause of which was education, hence he had a strong policy on education as he believed that education would play a significant role in the rise of paganism and the decline of Christianity. However, would education not only affect the young aristocrats? They maybe influential secular/religious rulers in the future, but only affects a minority in the short term.

What/who was responsible for Julian’s paganism?

If Christianity was the new ‘trend’ of religion, and Julian’s upbringing was closely monitored and isolated from most people, how did Julian pick up paganism? I read that he was placed under the care of Eusebius, who was a Christian and (as he claims) very close to Constantine. With this sort of influence on Julian’s young mind, how did he end up being a dedicated pagan?

Julian Psychological state?

I read a short article mentioning Julian’s psychological state and how he was known to be a little unbalanced and I wondered if there was any significance in it, or if there was any impact of his psychological state upon his policy making especially in relation to paganism.

Res Gestae by Ammianus Marcellinus

Good account of a soldiers life (Ammianus) which contains details of the time he served under Julian in Gaul and Persia. It is pro-Julian in sentiment, but gives a good impression of why Julian was popular with soldiers for his effective command and handling of men. Goes on to detail his reign as Emporer and actions taken during this time. Number 871.9 in the information commons, only books 14-26 survive, so dont spend ages looking for the first ones.

Julian’s chances of Success

How could Julian ever have expected to unite the Empire under such a fragmented and varied relgion as paganism? All the different gods, approaches and personal preferences on rituals/practices stacked the odds heavily against him. So why did he attempt it? Was he aware of the challenges?

The Later Roman Empire A.D. 284-430. By Averil Cameron.

Chapter 6 covers the reign of Julian ^AD 361-^AD 363 who was the only pagan Emperor of the fourth century. This chapter discusses Julian’s success as a general, his attempt to revive the pagan religion in the Roman Empire, the banning of Christians from teaching in ^AD 362, and his final demise in battle against the Persian army.