what he was really looking for – that is, the truth. He hears rumours of a mystic named Maximus, and Julian decides to leave Athens to find him. Act 3 This act takes place in Ephesus, where the mystic Maximus has set up a mysterious symposium for Julian to communicate with the other world and thus find out the meaning of his life. Here Julian first encounters a voice in the light, telling him that he must "establish the kingdom on the freedom road". The voice also states that "Freedom and necessity are one" and that Julian will do "what he will have to do". The voice says no more and Julian is then presented with a vision of the two great deniers, Cain and Judas Iscariot. The third great denier is still in the land of the living and Maximus will show Julian no more. Immediately news arrives that Gallus, heir to the imperial throne, is dead and that Julian has been appointed Caesar of the Roman Empire. Julian takes this as a sign that he will establish the kingdom referred to in the vision. Act 4 This act occurs in Lutetia, where it turns out that Julian has made himself unpopular with the emperor because of a misconception by a local tribal chief who came to pay him tribute as "Emperor". Gallus is suspected of trying to murder the emperor and removed, thus clearing Julian's way to power. He marries Helena, Constantius's sister and Constantine the Great's daughter, but he does not enjoy his family life for long – Constantius' assassins poison Helena in a conspiracy and in her delirious dying moments she reveals to Julian that she had loved his dead brother and that she had committed treason against Constantius. The soldiers backing Julian then convince him to go to Constantinople and seize power. Act 5 The act takes place in Vienne, where Julian is waiting for news of the intrigues around the emperor's sick-bed and updates from the mystic Maximus. The act is a long struggle, which ends in Julian finally making a complete rejection of Christianity in favour of pure neo-Platonism. It ends with him making an offering to Helios as he is proclaimed emperor of the Roman Empire. Part 2 – The Emperor Julian After becoming emperor, Julian reveals his commitment to paganism. He calls for tolerance, but Christians quickly begin to destroy pagan