Mardonius (philosopher)

• 1. Introduction

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  Mardonius offered the young Julian a choice. "Do you long for horse races?" he asked. "There is one very cleverly described in Homer. Take up the book and study it!" Born a Goth and raised in slavery, Mardonius became a philosopher, rhetorician, and educator. He rose to shape the inner life of one of the 4th century's most consequential rulers. His name runs through Julian's own writings like a thread. What drew this man so deeply into Homer and the ideal of simplicity? How did he plant the seeds of an emperor's character? And what became of their bond long after Julian claimed the throne?

• 2. From Slave to Scholar

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  Julius Julianus, praetorian prefect of Licinius, raised Mardonius in his household from youth. A eunuch of Gothic origin, Mardonius appears to have been a pagan throughout his life. Julianus trained him deliberately as a scholar, and through that training, Mardonius built broad knowledge of Greek poetry and philosophy. Homer drew him in more than any other text. The epic world Homer depicted stood, in Mardonius's view, against the decadence of the society around him.

  Basilina, the daughter of Julius Julianus, became Mardonius's first student. In 330, she married Julius Constantius, the half-brother of Constantine the Great. Constantine had defeated Licinius and seized control of the entire Roman Empire. Basilina and Julius Constantius had one son. The family would soon be torn apart. Basilina died of natural causes. Julius Constantius was murdered following the death of Constantine the Great, leaving their son an orphan.

• 3. An Imperial Decree Ignored

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  From 338, Julian lived in the household of his grandfather, with Mardonius as his tutor. Emperor Constantius II had issued an imperial decree: Julian was not to be instructed in ancient Greek philosophy. Mardonius paid no attention to this prohibition. Julian came to know Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle through Mardonius, as well as the Homeric epics that became a particular joy to the young orphan.

  Libanius, the rhetorician, called Mardonius "the guardian of his virtue." This was not merely a compliment. Mardonius worked as both academic instructor and moral tutor, shaping Julian's character according to his own conservative principles. Historians believe that Mardonius's influence may have played a role in Julian's later decision to abandon Christianity.

• 4. The Grandeur of Simplicity

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  Mardonius held entertainment in particular contempt. He refused to allow Julian to attend theaters or horse races, and Julian obeyed this restriction well into adulthood. Mardonius also prescribed how Julian was to carry himself in public: the prince was to walk modestly through the streets, eyes fixed on the ground. This stood in sharp contrast to the swagger fashionable among Roman elites. Julian later recalled the regime Mardonius had imposed: "My pedagog taught me to keep my eyes on the ground as I went to school. And I never saw a theater until I had more hair on my chin than I did on my head, and even at that age I never went of my own accord or will."

  Polymnia Athanassiadi described Mardonius's underlying ambition as making "the young prince able to appreciate the grandeur of simplicity." For Mardonius, Homer was not just a literary passion but a moral framework, a complete alternative to the pleasures of contemporary Roman life. Athanassiadi wrote that Mardonius had "sincerely despised all that lay without" the boundaries of that Homeric world. Mardonius would carry this influence far beyond the teaching years, becoming one of the few people Julian ever described as a true friend.

• 5. An Enduring Bond

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  Julian was separated from Mardonius at the age of 11, an event Julian himself called one of the most painful of his life. When Julian came to power as emperor, Mardonius joined his circle in Constantinople. He became one of Julian's advisers and a frequent companion at dinner.

  Julian named Mardonius in several of his own writings, including the satire "Misopogon," which translates as "Beard-Hater." In one passage, he called Mardonius "the most responsible of all for my way of life." Julian wrote that Mardonius had persuaded him that imitating the great philosophers would make him "better than my former self." Libanius, who delivered the funeral oration on Julian, also singled out Mardonius's positive influence on his pupil.

  The historian Giuseppe Ricciotti wrote that Julian, as a mature man, seemed to "grow almost tender when recalling him." In Ricciotti's words, Julian recalled Mardonius "as if he were recalling the fondest remembrance of his childhood." Among all the violence of Julian's life, Ricciotti observed, only the memory of Mardonius arrived "like a beam of light shining in darkness." Julian spoke of him, Ricciotti added, "with the affection which he might have employed in speaking of his mother." In the Misopogon, Julian called Mardonius "this old man." He described how the same philosophers had first convinced Mardonius, who then passed that conviction along to Julian.