Constantine’s adoption of Christianity and the ramifications of it triggered off a full scale religious crisis in the empire that was to last for the whole of the fourth century. As Julian came to the throne Christians were already fighting other Christians and it was only a matter of time before other religions resorted to

It is hard not to admire the way that the Jews have succeeded in maintaining their culture and identity for many thousands of years. This has been achieved in the face of some pretty big practical difficulties. They have rarely had the support of a state and have often been subject to some pretty severe

Julian the Apostates wrote one of the earliest and most withering take downs of Christianity.

Religion is often accused of causing most of the wars in history.  This is hardly fair.  People are quite capable of picking fights without any divine inspiration, even if religion is a handy justification to cover your true motives.  And religious leaders sometimes take a role in solving problems, which evens up the balance sheet

I have just come across a great documentary on Youtube that explains stoicism clearly and succinctly.  There is a lot more that could be said on the subject, but this covers all the essentials in only seven minutes.  If you just want to know what stoicism is, you’ll know when you have finished watching it. 

Unlike previous emperors, Julian did not spend much time in the Hippodrome Julian managed to get a lot done in his short life.  It’s a shame he didn’t write a book on time management, I’d love to know how he was so productive, but he did write a lot.  Its a shame that more of his