Contra Julianum Of the blessed Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, an address to

 a fine thing for those who will encounter it, and for those who have a heart easily led astray and most readily carried away to things that are not fi

 1.1 Book One The wise and discerning, and those knowledgeable in the sacred doctrines, marvel at the beauty of the truth, and in every discourse have

 those after them would know the things of the first, and not rather those before them the things of the later Therefore, since the sons of the Hellen

 it was necessary to hide in the city of the Sun in Sippar. And Xisuthros, having accomplished these things, immediately sailed to Armenia, and straigh

 he made human affairs a preliminary exercise for more divine ones. Having brought the times down from Abraham to Moses, let us therefore begin here ag

 Azariah, also called Uzziah, governing the affairs of the Hebrews, and Arbaces of the Medes, and Proca Silvius of the Latins. 1.14 Therefore, from the

 coming together into a harmony of sound, Osirapis, so that in the same name Osiris and Apis might be understood. For both of these a death and a buria

 brought to them from Phoenicia, except that the things of Moses had been written And Solon, the discoverer of the laws in Athens, and indeed Plato hi

 stars and the elements of the world, fire and water, air and earth, from which all individual things are said to be composed but others again, having

 a time for the increase of what he had rightly learned sharpened his mind, then indeed, then he was taught the doctrines concerning the divinity more

 but the divine Abraham running up did not speak as to three: Lords, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, but named the

 Upon the Sodomites who had sinned unbearably he sent the fire he rained, it says, upon Sodom fire and brimstone, the Lord from the Lord. 1.29 But to

 of nature and preeminence and worth would be reckoned both creator and creation, generated and ungenerated nature, incorruptible and under corruption,

 we are accustomed to grant the proper place, far from it but we also reckon ourselves among the children of Abraham. For we are the sons according to

 full of various counsels, and likewise that Leto suggests forgetfulness, and Hermes both memory and reason. Then he takes up natural philosophy and ex

 to them, and are some torn apart so as to think and say different things? But I would say, O excellent one, that those who were the first and earliest

 is, being a mixture of all the ages, and light of his own powers and works, the beginning of all things, a luminary in heaven, and father of all, mind

 Indeed, the sun which seems all-shining does not even seem to allow one to see himself, but if anyone gazes upon him shamelessly, he takes away his si

 what has been said by them concerning the Holy Spirit. For Porphyry says, setting forth the opinion of Plato, that the divine substance proceeded as f

 that not a few of the wise men among the Greeks, being self-willed, have gone astray, and have held opinions that rise up against each other, but ther

 found saying, setting this forth both in the middle and at the end, he would show that the arguments of his refutation were not, I suppose, produced i

 they set up their plot for the souls of the more simple. For they deceived those throughout all the earth, saying that the heaven and the other elemen

 having contrasted them with the Greeks' as being superior, how does he demand that we be silent, and make no mention at all of the things among them,

 Then do you think you have deliberated well, and not rather that you will suffer the very worst of all evil reputation? But if he should wish to under

 they reject certain foods, but they fear none of the strange things. And in addition to this they delight the supreme Zeus, having chosen to honor his

 belching forth according to what seems right to each, how could they not be thought to be guessers rather than men of knowledge of the truth? For some

 Of Plato. Consider, then, what he says about the creator and what words he puts in his mouth in the cosmogony, so that we may compare the cosmogony of

 distributed to all upon the earth, Moses was a helper and was shown to be an introducer of the most beautiful teachings to all, first by having cried

 it is not easy even for those who have known him to say he is capable in all things. And again, elsewhere: To this common conception of all men there

 the earth, and Apollo the sun and the golden-spindled, resounding one, that is Artemis, the moon? And simply applying to each of the things made by Go

 The supreme nature is understood and exists beyond all, beyond mind, reason, and wonder, having willed to make the living being like itself, as far as

 I will place upon you who are under me this commandment given to you through my Word for this law you have. For as I said just now, the Creator estab

 proclaimed, and thinks it a small thing to have been given by God to human nature to be made by Him in His image and likeness. And yet how would not a

 Did the Creator of all things entrust to other gods the necessity of laboring over the creation of the three kinds? From indolence, then, they might s

 it will campaign against His glory to think that others are also able to create and to call into existence the things that once were not for it is no

 of all nature. If, then, two things are acknowledged as existing, that which comes into being and that which makes, they are one by union, the one pre

 weave mortal to it? It is clear, then, that the demiurgic gods, having received creative power from their own father, generated the mortal animals upo

 of the ruling substances, and so he says: For Empedocles, Strife divides, and Friendship unites and this is also incorporeal for him, but the element

 of others, whatever things may have been made, and reaching even to the most insignificant of them. Is this not then a joke, tell me, and babbling hen

 if each one should need it, and showing that such a great and immeasurable creation is not without a superintendent, through which things it is well-o

 of God, and the earth his footstool. Rightly so, o noble one for I will recall God himself saying through one of the holy prophets. Heaven is my thro

he made human affairs a preliminary exercise for more divine ones. Having brought the times down from Abraham to Moses, let us therefore begin here again with another starting point of years, placing the birth of Moses before the numbers. In the seventh year of Moses, they say that Prometheus and Epimetheus, and Atlas the brother of Prometheus, and also Argus the all-seeing were born. In the thirty-fifth year of Moses, Cecrops, surnamed the two-formed, was the first to rule in Athens; they say he was the first of men to sacrifice an ox, and to name Zeus the supreme god among the Hellenes, as they themselves say. In the sixty-seventh year of Moses, they say that the flood of Deucalion occurred in Thessaly, and indeed in Ethiopia Phaethon, the son of Helios as they say, was burned up. In the seventy-fourth year of Moses, Hellen, so-called, the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, was the beginning of this appellation for the Hellenes, though formerly they were called Graikoi. 1.12 In the one hundred and twentieth year of Moses, Dardanus founded the city of Dardania, when Amyntas was king of the Assyrians, Sthenelus of the Argives, and Rameses of the Egyptians; he and the brother of Danaus were also called Aegyptus. In the one hundred and sixtieth year after Moses, Cadmus reigned in Thebes, whose daughter was Semele, from whom Dionysus was born of Zeus, as they themselves say; at that time there were also Linus the Theban and Amphion, the musicians. At that time Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, succeeded to the priesthood among the Hebrews, Aaron having obviously died. In the one hundred and ninety-fifth year after Moses, they say the celebrated abduction of the Maiden among the Hellenes by Aidoneus, king of the Molossians, occurred; this man is said to have reared an enormous dog, Cerberus, which he set upon Pirithous and Theseus when they came to carry off his wife; then they say that when Pirithous had been destroyed, Heracles happened by and rescued Theseus; for this reason they tell the myth that he escaped from Hades. In the two hundred and ninetieth year, Perseus slays Dionysus, whose tomb they say is in Delphi beside the golden Apollo. In the three hundred and fifty-fifth year after Moses, Priam reigns after Laomedon. In the four hundred and tenth year after Moses, Ilium was sacked, when Essebon was ruling the Hebrews, Agamemnon the Argives, Uaphres the Egyptians, and Tautanes the Assyrians. 1.13 Therefore, from the birth of Moses until the capture of Ilium, four hundred and ten years are reckoned. And consider again for me those who follow; for I will speak cursorily, not dwelling on the events in between, but rather mooring the account to the essential persons. Accordingly, in the fifth year of the capture of Ilium, Aeneas was king of the Latins, Demophon the son of Theseus of the Athenians, and Samson was judge among the Hebrews. In the sixty-fifth year of the capture of Ilium, the priest Eli died, according to what is written in the first of Kings; and foreigners carried off the ark to their own land, while the blessed Samuel was prophesying, and Saul had now been anointed king. In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year of the capture of Ilium, they say that Homer and Hesiod were born, when Labotes was king of the Lacedaemonians, Laosthenes of the Assyrians, Alba Silvius of the Latins, and Agelaus of the Corinthians. In the two hundred and sixty-eighth year of the capture of Ilium, Elijah and Elisha prophesied, while Joram was governing the kingdom of the Hebrews, and Archelaus that of the Lacedaemonians. In the three hundred and sixty-fifth year of the capture of Ilium, Lycurgus gave laws to the Lacedaemonians, when Agemon was king of the Corinthians, and Procas Silvius of the Latins. In the three hundred and eightieth year of the capture of Ilium, Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, and Jonah prophesied. But some say that Hesiod was not a contemporary of Homer, but was born in these times,

προγύμνασμα τῶν θειοτέρων ἐποιεῖτο τὰ ἀνθρώπινα. Καταγαγόντες τοίνυν ἐξ Ἀβραὰμ τοὺς χρόνους ἐπὶ Μωσέα, ἀρξώμεθα πάλιν ἐνταῦθα ἑτέρας ἐτῶν ἀρχῆς, τὴν Μωσέως γένεσιν προαναθέντες τῶν ἀριθμῶν. Ἑβδόμῳ ἔτει Μωσέως Προμηθέα καὶ Ἐπιμηθέα, Ἄτλαντά τε τὸν Προμηθέως ἀδελφόν, ἔτι δὲ καὶ Ἄργον τὸν πανόπτην γενέσθαι φασί. Τριακοστοῦ πέμπτου ἔτους Μωσέως, πρῶτος βεβασίλευκεν Ἀθήνησι Κέκροψ ὁ ἐπίκλην διφυής· τοῦτόν φασι πρῶτον ἀνθρώπων ἱερεῦσαι βοῦν, ὀνομάσαι τε ∆ία τὸν παρ' Ἕλλησιν ὕπατον τῶν θεῶν, ὡς αὐτοί φασιν. Ἑξηκοστῷ καὶ ἑβδόμῳ ἔτει Μωσέως τὸν ἐπὶ ∆ευκαλίωνος κατακλυσμὸν ἐν Θεσσαλίᾳ γενέσθαι φασί, καὶ μὴν καὶ ἐν Αἰθιοπίᾳ τόν, ὡς αὐτοί φασιν, Ἡλίου παῖδα καταφλεχθῆναι Φαέθοντα. Ἑβδομηκοστῷ τετάρτῳ ἔτει Μωσέως, Ἕλλην οὕτω καλούμενος ὁ ∆ευκαλίωνος καὶ Πύρρας παῖς ἀρχὴ γέγονε τοῖς Ἕλλησι τῆς τοιᾶσδε προσηγορίας, καίτοι πάλαι Γραικοῖς λεγομένοις. 1.12 Ἑκατοστῷ καὶ εἰκοστῷ ἔτει Μωσέως, ∆άρδανος κτίζει πόλιν ∆αρδανίαν, βασιλεύοντος Ἀσσυρίων Ἀμύντα, Ἀργείωνδὲ Σθενέλου, Αἰγυπτίων Ῥαμεσῆ· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Αἴγυπτος καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ ∆αναοῦ ἀδελφός. Ἑκατοστῷ ἑξηκοστῷ ἔτει μετὰ Μωσέα Κάδμος Θηβῶν ἐβασίλευσεν, οὗ θυγάτηρ Σεμέλη, ἐξ ἧς ὁ ∆ιόνυσος, ὡς αὐτοί φασιν, ἐκ ∆ιός· ἦν δὲ τὸ τηνικάδε καὶ Λίνος ὁ Θηβαῖος καὶ Ἀμφίων οἱ μουσουργοί. ∆ιεδέξατο δὲ τὸ τηνικάδε τὴν παρ' Ἑβραίοις ἱερωσύνην Φινεὲς υἱὸς Ἐλεάζαρ υἱοῦ Ἀαρών, τελευτήσαντος δηλονότι τοῦ Ἀαρών. Ἑκατοστῷἐνενηκοστῷ καὶ πέμπτῳ ἔτει μετὰ Μωσέα φασὶ γενέσθαι τὴν παρ' Ἕλλησιν ᾀδομένην τῆς Κόρης ἁρπαγὴν ὑπὸ Αἰδωνέως βασιλεύοντος Μολοττῶν· οὗτος κύνα παμμεγέθη θρέψαι λέγεται τὸν Κέρβερον, ὃν ἐπαφῆκε Πειρίθῳ καὶ Θησεῖ ἀφικομένοις ἐφ' ἁρπαγὴν τῆς αὑτοῦ γυναικός· εἶτά φασιν ὅτι διαφθαρέντος Πειρίθου παρατυχὼν Ἡρακλῆς Θησέα ἐρρύσατο· διὸ καὶ ἐξ ᾅδου φυγεῖν μυθολογοῦσιν αὐτόν. ∆ιακοσιοστῷ ἐνενηκοστῷ ἔτει, Περσεὺς ∆ιόνυσον ἀναιρεῖ, οὗ καὶ τὴν ταφὴν εἶναί φασιν ἐν ∆ελφοῖς παρὰ τὸν χρυσοῦν Ἀπόλλωνα. Τριακοσιοστῷ πεντηκοστῷ καὶ πέμπτῳ ἔτει μετὰ Μωσέα, βασιλεύει Πρίαμος μετὰ Λαομέδοντα. Τετρακοσιοστῷ δεκάτῳ ἔτει μετὰ Μωσέα, πεπόρθηται τὸ Ἴλιον, ἰθύνοντος τὰ Ἑβραίων Ἐσσεβών, τὰ δὲ Ἀργείων Ἀγαμέμνονος, τὰ δε Αἰγυπτίων Οὐαφρῆ, τὰ δὲ Ἀσσυρίων Ταυτάνου. 1.13 Συνάγεται τοίνυν ἀπὸ τῆς Μωσέως γενέσεως μέχρι τοῦ ἁλῶναι τὸ Ἴλιον ἔτη τετρακόσια δέκα. Καί μοι πάλιν ἄθρει τοὺς καθεξῆς· ἐρῶ γὰρ ἐπιδρομάδην, οὐ τοῖς διὰ μέσου γεγονόσιν ἐμφιλοχωρῶν, ἐφορμίζων δὲ μᾶλλον τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις τῶν προσώπων τὸν λόγον. Τοίγαρτοι πέμπτῳ ἔτει τῆς Ἰλίου ἁλώσεως βεβασίλευκε Λατίνων Αἰνείας, Ἀθηναίων δὲ ∆ημοφῶν ὁ Θησέως, κριτὴς δὲ ἦν παρ' Ἑβραίοις ὁ Σαμψών. Ἑξηκοστῷ καὶ πέμπτῳ ἔτει τῆς Ἰλίου ἁλώσεως τετέλευκε μὲν ὁ ἱερεὺς Ἠλεί, κατά γε τὸ γεγραμμένον ἐν τῇ πρωτῇ τῶν Βασιλειῶν· ἀλλόφυλοι δὲ τὴν κιβωτὸν εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀπεκόμισαν, προφητεύοντος μὲν τοῦ μακαρίου Σαμουήλ, κεχρισμένου δὲ λοιπὸν εἰς βασιλέα τοῦ Σαούλ. Ἑκατοστῷ ἑξηκοστῷ καὶ πέμπτῳ ἔτει τῆς Ἰλίουἁλώσεως, Ὅμηρον καὶ Ἡσίοδόν φασι γενέσθαι, βασιλεύοντος Λακεδαιμονίων Λαβώτου, Ἀσσυρίων δὲ Λαοσθένους, Λατίνων Ἄλβα Σιλουίου, Κορινθίων Ἀγελάου. ∆ιακοσιοστῷ ἑξηκοστῷ ὀγδόῳ ἔτει τῆς Ἰλίου ἁλώσεως, προεφήτευον Ἠλίας καὶ Ἐλισσαῖος, διέποντος, τὴν Ἑβραίων βασίλειαν τοῦ Ἰωράμ, Λακεδαιμονίων δὲ Ἀρχελάου. Τριακοσιοστῷ ἑξηκοστῷ καὶ πέμπτῳ ἔτει τῆς Ἰλίου ἁλώσεως, Λυκοῦργος Λακεδαιμονίοις ἐνομοθέτει, βασιλεύοντος Κορινθίων μὲν Ἀγήμονος, Λατίνων δὲ Πρόκα Σιλουίου. Τριακοσιοστῷ καὶ ὀγδοηκοστῷ ἔτει τῆς Ἰλίου ἁλώσεως, προεφήτευον Ὠσηέ, Ἀμώς, Ἠσαΐας, Ἰωνᾶ Φασὶ δέ τινες οὐχ ὁμόχρονον Ὁμήρῳ τὸν Ἡσίοδον εἶναι, ἀλλ'ἐν τούτοις γενέσθαι τοῖς χρόνοις,