Abstract
Among the first criticisms outlined by the emperor Julian against Christianity is the assimilation of the biblical stories of Genesis 2-3 to myths, therefore devoid of any historical truth. Whether or not Julian has given to Christians the right to use an allegorical reading (depending on the interpretation of the delicate fr. 17), Cyril of Alexandria in his Contra Julianum must defend the historical sense of biblical stories, because of the antiochian criticisms against allegory. The stake of this exegetical debate is the compatibility of Genesis 2-3 with the attributes of divine omnipotence and goodness. To rebut the arguments of Julian, often close to those that Gnostics had developed to prove the inferiority of the demiurge, Cyril accuses him of not knowing its own masters, especially Alexander of Aphrodisias and Porphyry from which he cites fragments (from works otherwise lost) to corroborate his analysis on human freedom and divine providence.
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