![]()
PART ONE ā Young Julian
Scene One
Constantinople.
The evening of Easter Sunday. The public square in front of the Hagia Irene, the great temple of the early Holy Roman Empire. Steps lead up to an open doorway, beyond which candles illuminate an altar and a golden dome, adorned with a huge cross. Thereās a palpable and growing sense of expectation.
AGATHON is waiting. GREGORY enters and walks quickly towards him.
GREGORY. Youāre still here?
AGATHON. Of course, where else am I going to go? Well? Did you see him?
GREGORY. No. I canāt even get near him.
AGATHON. Gregory, this is really important.
GREGORY. As youāve said.
AGATHON. Iāve come all this way. Youāre saying you canāt even get a message to him?
GREGORY. Thatās right.
AGATHON. What about Peter?
GREGORY. He went last night but I doubt he did any better than me. I told you. Julianās kept away from everyone at the moment. You canāt just turn up and expect to see him.
AGATHON. I thought we were friends, all of usā¦
GREGORY. Agathon, I know, Iām sorry, but you have to understand, itās different here. In the mountains, when it was just the four of us, we were friends. But itās been three years, here heās a prince. And itās dangerous. Weāre watched constantly. You coming here, waiting outside the Palace like this. Itās put us all in danger. Perhaps you should just go back.
PETER dashes into the square.
AGATHON. Peter!
PETER (shakes his head). Iām sorry. I tried but heās been stuck in that room with the priests all day. Theyāre all on their way here now, with the Emperorā¦
GREGORY (to AGATHON). Youād better go.
PETER. Wait! I have to tell you, both of you, I saw him last night. He wasā¦
GREGORY. What?
PETER. Normally he at least comes down for dinner but I hadnāt seen him all evening so I went to the door of his room. I was about to knock when I heard this noise. Crack. Crack. Over and over. Leather on skin. Crack. Crack.
AGATHON. What did you do?
PETER. I could hear him crying, I shouldāve just opened the door and gone in, put a stop to it, but ā
GREGORY. You were scared.
PETER. I didnāt know ā
GREGORY. Weāve sworn to protect him.
PETER. When he came down, we went out into the gardens and I tried to ask him about itā¦ but he wouldnāt look at meā¦ there was blood seeping through the back of his shirt. You remember the nightmares he had when he was a child? When heād lie there sweating, whispering the names of Christ? Heās like that all the time now.
GREGORY. Heās not a child any more. Itās indulgent.
PETER. All the time, asleep and awake. Doubts, questions, philosophy. He hears the students marching outside and it makes it worse ā
AGATHON. Students?
PETER. Laughing and chattering. Protests and questions. He says that their words seep in, whatever he doesā¦
GREGORY. The students are nothing. Julian needs to forget about them and concentrate on pleasing Christ and pleasing the Emperor. Thatās where the danger is. He shouldnāt waste time dreaming of philosophy.
PETER. He only dreams of it because itās forbidden.
AGATHON. What do you mean, forbidden?
PETER. They say his faith needs protecting, so heās not allowed to even mention the university. It just makes it worse, he wants what he canāt have. It festers, the sore itches.
GREGORY. Two months ago, Julian was the most devout man in Constantinople. Remember him in the old days, Agathon? We thought he was going to become a priest.
AGATHON. Of course. Julianās fai...
