THE SUN’S CITY — HOW ROMAN EMPERORS SAW IT We also learned that Emperor Hadrian, who placed great importance on the influence of the heavens and stars, built a magnificent structure in Jerusalem (named by him Aelia, derived from the combination of the name of the Sun and his own name Aelius), commonly called the “Dodecapylon,” or a temple with twelve gates, which is undoubtedly related. He also divided the city into seven parts — in analogy with the number of planets and planetary spheres. The New Jerusalem also has twelve gates, twelve foundations, and twelve angels at each gate. It was astrology that served as the basis for creating the plan of this fantastic city; it was also the inspiration behind the concept of the new city built by Hadrian.
Although Hadrian himself engaged in astrology and magic to expand the horizons of his knowledge with their help, he still believed that people should not learn about their fate through these sciences. It is now generally believed that it was thanks to the prophetic waters of the Castalian spring that he ascended the throne of ruler. “One can recall,” writes W.R. Halliday, “the attitude of Roman emperors toward astrology. If the stars simply reveal the future, what harm can astrology do? However, prophecies about the death of rulers were considered a crime punishable by death. Queen Elizabeth also saw a similar decree in England. It is said that Hadrian, having punished the closure of the Castalian spring, because in its waters he read his share of ruler and feared that others might obtain such information through it” (see Greek Divination).
Emperor Julian acknowledged his fascination with “almost all pagan prophecies.” This noble Roman, who was said to have been called the Apostate, despite not actually being one, declared the Sun the supreme deity among the intelligible gods, for it occupies the central place among the planets. To confirm his point, he even cited the well-known words of Aristotle that “man and the Sun gave birth to man.” Then Julian turns to Mercury, whom he calls the “ruling deity of orators,” and writes a rather lengthy passage about celestial harmony: just as the Sun divides the three worlds (celestial, ethereal, and material), represented in the zodiac, into four parts, he again divides the zodiac into twelve parts, resulting in a total of thirty-six parts (the decans of Ptolemy). Thus, as it seems to me, three gracious Graces descend to us from the Heavens. Therefore, by the nature of this man, we can perfectly understand why he proposed that the Castalian spring be cleared again, so that its prophetic waters could serve the state after Julian became emperor. It is believed that it was Julian who said that most civilizations arose with the help of the oracles of Apollo, for they revealed the will of the gods in both religious and political matters and helped wisely govern those states that heeded their advice.
