Emperor Julian, unlike his uncle Constantine the Great, was an opponent of Christianity, earning him the ecclesiastical nickname Apostate, meaning the Renegade. Although he was unable to counteract the religious transformation, he is remembered as an active ruler, a philosopher, and an author of a rich body of work. Now, two of his satirical writings, "The Emperor's Banquet" and "The Beard Hater," are available in a new translation. While the first work presents a imaginative critique of his predecessors, the second served as a self-justification to the citizens of Antioch, who greeted him with mockery and scorn. Both works offer an exciting reading experience filled with wit and irony regarding a personality that continues to fascinate both contemporaries and posterity, whether as an Antichrist or a philosopher-king.