Characters and summary of plot - Emperor and Galilean

Characters in Emperor and Galilean

Part I: Caesar's Apostasy

The Emperor Constantius
The Empress Eusebia
Princess Helena, the Emperor's sister
Prince Gallus, the Emperor's cousin
Prince Julian, Gallus's younger half-brother
Memnon, an Ethiopian, the Emperor's personal slave
Potamon, a goldsmith
Phocion, a dyer
Eunapius, a barber
A fruit-seller
A captain of the guard
A soldier
A painted woman
A paralytic
A blind beggar
Agathon, son of a vine-grower from Cappadocia
Libanius, a philosopher
Gregory of Nazianzus
Basil of Caesarea
Sallust of Perusia
Hecebolius, a teacher of theology
Maximus, a mystic
Eutherius, a chamberlain
Leontes, a quaestor
Myrrha, a slave woman
Decentius, a tribune
Sintula, an equerry
Florentius and Severus, generals
Oribases, a doctor
Laipso and Varro, subalterns
Maurus, a standard-bearer
Soldiers, church-goers, pagan spectators, courtiers, priests, students of philosophy, dancing-girls, servants, the quaestor's suite, Gaulish warriors.
Visions and voices.

Part II: The Emperor Julian

The Emperor Julian
Nevita, a general
Potamon, a goldsmith
Caesarius of Nazianzus, physician to the Emperor
Themistius and Mamertinus, orators
Ursulus, Chancellor of the Exchequer
Eunapius, a barber
Barbara
Hecebolius, a teacher of theology
Courtiers and civil servants
Inhabitants of Constantinople
Participants in the procession of Dionysus, flute-players, dancers, acrobats, and women
Envoys from the eastern kings
Eutherius, a chamberlain
Palace servants
Judges, orators, teachers, and inhabitants of Antioch
Medon, a corn-merchant
Malchus, a tax-collector
Gregory of Nazianzus, brother of Caesarius
Phocion, a dyer
Publia
Hilarion, her son
Agathon of Cappadocia
Bishop Maris of Chalcedon
Participants in the procession of Apollo, priests, temple-servants, harpists, and city guards
Agathon's younger brother
The procession of Christian captives
Heraclius, a poet
Oribases, physician to the Emperor
Libanius, orator, and chief magistrate of Antioch
Apollinaris, a hymn writer
Cyrillus, a teacher
An old priest at the sanctuary of Cybele
Women psalm-singers of Antioch
Fromentinus, a captain
Jovian, a general
Maximus, a mystic
Numa, a soothsayer
Two other Etruscan soothsayers
Hormisdas, an exiled Persian prince
Anatolus, captain of the bodyguard
Priscus and Chytron, philosophers
Ammian, a captain
Basil of Caesarea
Macrina, his sister
A Persian deserter
Roman and Greek soldiers
Persian warriors

Source: The Oxford Ibsen, Volume IV, Oxford University Press 1963

Summary of plot

The play covers a period of twelve years, from 351 to 363 A.D., in a time of conflict between Christianity and Hellenism. At the opening of the play Julian is nineteen years old and with his step-brother Gallos, the heir to the throne, he lives in terror of the Christian Emperor Konstanzios, who has had the whole of Julian's and Gallos's family murdered. Julian has been brought up as a Christian, but is haunted by doubt. Under the influence of his tutor, the philosopher Libanios, he goes to Athens to learn about the religion of the heathens. But he is unable to feel at ease with the belief in the old gods either, and he longs for a revelation to show him the way forward. Maximos, the Ephesus mystic, proclaims to him the vision of the "third kingdom", a kingdom to be based on both Christian ethics and heathen wisdom and joy in life. Maximos brings about a "symposium of the spirits" in which he calls upon the three men who have changed the course of history without knowing that they were tools for the "will of the world". The first two are Cain and Judas Iscariot, but the third one does not appear, and Maximos realizes that either Julian or he himself must be the one to play this par t.

Julian has high ideas of his own future, and feels that he is loved by the gods and appointed to carry out great deeds. He believes that he would be able to change the course of history if he could marry a "pure woman". He is informed that Gallos, the heir to the throne, has been killed, and so he receives the title of Cæsar and Helena, the Emperor's sister, becomes his wife. He interprets this as a sign of the mission decided for him by fate. He is sent to Gaul to stop the barbarians, and there he performs feats of war which arouse the suspicion of the Emperor, who sends a tribune to Julian to ensure that he does not proceed towards Rome. The tribune brings poisoned fruit for Helena, who turns out to be with child. Before she dies she hints in delirium that the child is not Julian's. He now abandons all his scruples and leads the army towards Rome. He declares publicly that he is no longer a Christian, and anointed with sacrificial blood he demonstrates his apostasy and his adherence to the old gods: Apollo, Cybele and Dionysos. This marks the end of the first part of the double drama.

It turns out that the Emperor Konstanzios had died before Julian reached Rome, and in the second part of the play Julian has himself become Emperor. He declares freedom of religion for all citizens, and emphasizes that the Christians may retain their faith although he himself is a heathen. But the Christians adopt violent means to combat the re-introduction of heathen religions, and Julian gradually develops into a tyrant who hits back hard at the Christians. With his power diminishing, he goes to war against the Persians, but this time the fortunes of war are against him. He is now regarded more or less as an anti-Christ, and is killed in the desert by a former friend who is a Christian. It becomes evident that his inhuman rule has aroused the Christians and aided their cause. Like Cain and Judas he has served the "will of the world" and changed the course of history – in the opposite direction to his wishes, and without realizing it himself.

Source: Merete Morken Andersen, Ibsenhåndboken, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1995