View source for Helena, mother of Constantine I

{{Short description|Roman empress and saint (c. 246–c. 330)}}
{{Redirect|Flavia Julia Helena|her granddaughter|Helena (wife of Julian)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Helena
| title        = [[List of Augustae|Augusta]]
| image        = Elena Colosseo Rome Italy.jpg
| caption      = Statue of Helena in the [[Musei Capitolini]], [[Rome]]
| succession   =
| spouse       = [[Constantius Chlorus]]
| issue        = [[Constantine I]]
| birth_name   =
| full name    = Flavia Julia Helena
| birth_date   = {{c.}} AD 246–248
| birth_place  = Drepanon (later [[Helenopolis (Bithynia)|Helenopolis]]), [[Bithynia]], in [[Asia Minor]]
| death_date   = AD 330 (aged 82–84)
| death_place  = [[Rome]], [[List of Late Roman provinces#Diocese of Italia suburbicaria|Tuscania et Umbria]]
| place of burial = [[Mausoleum of Helena]]
| dynasty      = [[Constantinian dynasty|Constantinian]]
| religion     = [[Nicene Christianity]]
| regnal name  = Flavia Julia Helena Augusta
| house-type   = Imperial Dynasty
}}
{{Constantinian dynasty}}
'''Flavia Julia Helena'''{{Efn|Her full name is not attested until 324, when she received the honorific '''''Augusta'''''. Her birth name was probably just "Helena".{{sfn|Hillner|2023|pp=17, 198}}}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɛ|l|ə|n|ə}}; {{langx|grc|Ἑλένη}}, ''Helénē''; {{c.|AD 246/248}}&nbsp;– 330), also known as '''Helena of Constantinople''' and in Christianity as '''Saint Helena''',{{Efn|Spelling variations include '''Saint Helen''' and '''Saint Helene'''.}} was a [[Greeks|Greek]] [[List of Augustae|Augusta]] of the [[Roman Empire]] and mother of Emperor [[Constantine the Great]]. She was born in the lower classes<ref name="Valesiani">''[[Anonymus Valesianus]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Excerpta_Valesiana/1*.html#2b 1.2], "Origo Constantini Imperatoris".</ref> traditionally in the city of Drepanon, [[Bithynia]], in [[Asia Minor]], which was renamed [[Helenopolis (Bithynia)|Helenopolis]].

Helena ranks as an important figure in the [[history of Christianity]]. In her final years, she made a religious tour of [[Syria Palaestina]] and [[Jerusalem]], during which ancient tradition claims that she discovered the [[True Cross]]. The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], [[Anglican Communion]], and the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran Church]] revere her as a [[saint]].
[[File:Trier fresco, 310 CE.jpg|thumb|A fresco from [[Trier]], [[Germany]], possibly depicting Helena, c. 310]]

== Early life ==
Though Helena's birthplace is not known with certainty,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Helena Augusta: The mother of Constantine the Great and the legend of her finding of the true cross |last=Drijvers |first=Jan Willem |publisher=BRILL |year=1991 |isbn=9789004246768 |chapter=Helena's position at the court of Constantine |pages=9–17 |series=Brill's Studies in Intellectual History| quote= "...lack of clarity about Helena's birthplace..."}}</ref> [[Helenopolis (Bithynia)|Helenopolis]], then Drepanon, in [[Bithynia]], following [[Procopius]], is the one supported by most secondary sources,{{sfn|Drijvers|1992|p=9}} and by far the most likely candidate for her place of origin. If so, it would make her a [[Ancient Greek|Greek speaker]] or possibly bilingual.{{sfn|Hillner|2023|pp=19–20}} Her name is attested on coins as Flavia Helena, Flavia Julia Helena and sometimes Aelena.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Helena Augusta: The mother of Constantine the Great and the legend of her finding of the true cross |last=Drijvers |first=Jan Willem |publisher=BRILL |year=1991 |isbn=9789004246768 |chapter=Helena's position at the court of Constantine |pages=41 |series=Brill's Studies in Intellectual History}}</ref>{{Efn|It has been speculated that the name "Aelena" is the result of poor minting, with ''H'' turning into ''A''. Nonetheless the 5th-century Latin text ''Acta Cyriaci'' (based on an earlier Greek text)<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Text as Revelation: Constantine's Dream in "Elene" |journal=Neophilologus |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/d9478649c6b3bc72067c270da4189c99/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1817933 |last=Harbus |first=Antonina |date= October 1, 1994 |issue=4 |volume=78 |pages=645–653 |doi=10.1007/BF01003514 |s2cid=161998085 |id={{ProQuest| <!-- Insert ProQuest data here -->}}|url-access=subscription }}</ref> also refers to her as ''Aelena''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Accommodated Jew: English Antisemitism from Bede to Milton |last=Lavezzo |first=Kathy |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-5017-0615-8 |pages=28–63 |language=en |publication-place=Ithaca |chapter=1 Sepulchral Jews and Stony Christians: Supersession in Bede and Cynewulf |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/cornell-scholarship-online/book/21546/chapter-abstract/181380787?redirectedFrom=fulltext}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Anglo-saxon self-consciousness in language |journal=English Studies |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00138388708598490?journalCode=nest20 |last=Bodden |first=Mary Catherine |date= 1987|issue=1 |volume=68 |pages=24–39 |doi=10.1080/00138388708598490 |via=Tandfonline|url-access=subscription }}</ref>}} [[Joseph Vogt]] suggested that the name Helena was typical for the [[Greek East and Latin West|Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire]] and that therefore her place of origin should be looked for in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.<ref name="Drijvers1992a">{{harvnb|Drijvers|1992|p=12}}</ref> No Greek inscriptions have been attested dedicated to Helena during her lifetime, which may be because her fame was not as great in the Greek East as in the Latin West where she resided as empress.<ref name="Drijvers1992b">{{harvnb|Drijvers|1992|p=53}}</ref> The 6th-century historian [[Procopius]] is the earliest authority for the statement that Helena was a native of Drepanon, in the province of [[Bithynia]] in [[Asia Minor]]. The name Helena appears in all areas of the Empire, but is not epigraphically attested in inscriptions of Bithynia (Helena's proposed region of origin) and it was also common in Latin-speaking areas. Procopius lived much later than the era he was describing and his description may have been actually intended as an etymological explanation about the toponym ''Helenopolis''.<ref name="Drijvers1992b" /> On the other hand, her son Constantine renamed the city "[[Helenopolis (Bithynia)|Helenopolis]]" after her death around AD&nbsp;330, which supports the belief that the city was indeed her birthplace.<ref name="Harbors, 12">Harbus, 12.</ref>{{sfn|Hillner|2023|pp=19–20}} The historian [[Cyril Mango]] has argued that Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around Constantine's new capital in [[Constantinople]], and was renamed simply to honor Helena, not to necessarily mark her birthplace.<ref>Mango, 143–58, cited in Harbus, 13.</ref> However, according to historian [[Julia Hillner]], Constantine's nephew, [[Emperor Julian]], granting city status to a nearby village in Bithynia and naming it [[Basilinopolis]] in honor of his own mother, [[Basilina]], who was undoubtedly from Bithynia, provides solid evidence that the renaming to Helenopolis marked Helena's birthplace.{{efn|Hillner argued that: "Julian was famously disgruntled with Constantine and Helena on account of Helena's grandsons' complicity in the murder of his father and generally keen on stressing his own lineage. He must in this way have been seeking to allow his mother's birthplace, now Basilinopolis, to rival nearby Helenopolis."{{sfn|Hillner|2023|pp=19–20}}}} Constantine named two other locations after Helena: [[Helenopolis (Palestine)|Helenopolis in Palestine]],<ref>Günter Stemberger, ''Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century'', 2000, p. 9 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=tu7esOXinfkC&pg=PA9 full text]).</ref> apparently due to Helena's renowned pilgrimage to the Holy Land,{{sfn|Hillner|2023|pp=19, 219, 259}} and the province of [[Helenopontus]] in the Pontus, which was in the same region as Drepanon, but further to the east.<ref name="Harbors, 12"/>{{sfn|Hillner|2023|pp=19–20}} Two other locations have been named after Helena: a ''[[vicus]]'' Helena in northern France, and an ''[[oppidum]]'' Helena in the [[Pyrenees]], which took its name due to [[Emperor Constans]], a grandson of Helena, being murdered there, and corresponded with a prophecy which predicted that Constans would die in the arms of his grandmother.<ref name="Drijvers1992a" /> Other suggestions about her birthplace, without strong documentation, are [[Naissus]] (central Balkans), Caphar or [[Edessa]] ([[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]]), and [[Trier]].<ref name="Drijvers1992b" />

The bishop and historian [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] states that Helena was about 80 on her return from Palestine.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 3.46.</ref> Since that journey has been dated to 326–28, she was probably born around 246 to 249.<ref name="Harbus, 13">Harbus, 13.</ref>{{sfn|Drijvers|1992|p=15}} Information about her social background universally suggests that she came from the lower classes. Fourth-century sources, following [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]]' ''Breviarium,'' record that she came from a humble background. Bishop [[Ambrose]] of Milan, writing in the late 4th century was the first to call her a ''stabularia'', a term translated as "stable-maid" or "inn-keeper". He makes this comment a virtue, calling Helena a ''bona stabularia'', a "good stable-maid",<ref>Ambrose, ''De obitu Theodosii'' 42; Harbus, 13.</ref> probably to contrast her with the general suggestion of sexual laxness considered typical of that group.<ref>Drijvers. 1992. pp. 12–18</ref> Other sources, especially those written after Constantine's proclamation as emperor, gloss over or ignore her background.<ref name="Harbus, 13"/> Some ancient historians, "[[pagan]] and therefore hostile to the family ... suggested that as a girl she had been one of the supplementary amenities of her father's establishment, regularly available to his clients [[prostitution|at a small extra charge]]."<ref>{{cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |author-link=John Julius Norwich |date=1990 |title=Byzantium: The Early Centuries |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |page=33 |isbn=0-14-011447-5}}</ref>

Both [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] and [[Henry of Huntingdon]] promoted a popular tradition that Helena was a British princess and the daughter of "[[King Cole|Old King Cole]]" from the area of [[Colchester]]. This led to the later dedication of 135 churches in England to her, many in around the area of [[Yorkshire]],<ref>John Munns, ''Cross and Culture in Anglo-Norman England: Theology, Imagery, Devotion'', p245</ref> and revived as a suggestion in the 20th century in the novel by [[Helena (Waugh novel)|Evelyn Waugh]].

== Marriage to Constantius ==
It is unknown where she first met [[Constantius Chlorus|Constantius]].<ref name="Lieu and Montserrat, 49">Lieu and Montserrat, 49.</ref> The historian [[Timothy Barnes (classicist)|Timothy Barnes]] has suggested that [[Constantius Chlorus|Constantius]], while serving under Emperor [[Aurelian]], could have met her while stationed in Asia Minor for the campaign against [[Zenobia]]. A legend has it that upon meeting they were wearing identical silver bracelets; [[Constantius Chlorus|Constantius]] saw her as his divinely-sent soulmate.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Barnes calls attention to an epitaph at [[Nicomedia]] of one of Aurelian's protectors, which could indicate the emperor's presence in the Bithynian region soon after AD&nbsp;270.<ref>''[[Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae]]'' 2776, cited in Barnes, "New Empire," 36.</ref> The precise legal nature of the relationship between Helena and [[Constantius Chlorus|Constantius]] is also unknown. The sources are equivocal on the point, sometimes calling Helena Constantius' "wife", and sometimes, following the dismissive propaganda of Constantine's rival [[Maxentius]],<ref>Paul Stephenson, ''Constantine, Roman Emperor, Christian Victor'', 2010:126f.:130.</ref> calling her his "[[concubine]]".<ref name="Lieu and Montserrat, 49"/> [[Jerome]], perhaps confused by the vague terminology of his own sources, manages to do both.<ref>Hieronymus, ''Chronica'', ''s.a.'' 292, p. 226, 4 and ''s.a.'' 306, p. 228, 23/4, cited in Lieu and Montserrat, 49.</ref>

Some scholars, such as the historian Jan Drijvers, assert that Constantius and Helena were joined in a [[common-law marriage]], a cohabitation recognized in fact but not in law.<ref>Drijvers, ''Helena Augusta'', 17–19.</ref> Others, like Timothy Barnes, assert that Constantius and Helena were joined in an official marriage, on the grounds that the sources claiming an official marriage are more reliable.<ref>Barnes, ''New Empire'', 36.</ref>

Helena gave birth to the future emperor [[Constantine I]] on 27 February of an uncertain year soon after 270<ref>Barnes, ''CE'', 3, 39–42; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 17; Odahl, 15; Pohlsander, "Constantine I"; Southern, 169, 341.</ref> (probably around 272).<ref>Barnes, ''CE'', 3; Barnes, ''New Empire'', 39–42; Elliott, "Constantine's Conversion," 425–6; Elliott, "Eusebian Frauds," 163; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 17; Jones, 13–14; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59; Odahl, 16; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 14; Rodgers, 238; Wright, 495, 507.</ref> At the time, she was in Naissus ([[Niš]], [[Serbia]]).<ref>Barnes, ''CE'', 3.</ref> In order to obtain a wife more consonant with his rising status, Constantius divorced Helena some time before 289, when he married [[Flavia Maximiana Theodora|Theodora]], [[Maximian]]'s daughter under his command.<ref>Barnes, ''CE'', 8–9.</ref> The narrative sources date the marriage to 293, when Constantius was appointed ''[[Caesar (title)|caesar]]'' (heir-apparent) of Maximian, but the [[Panegyrici Latini|Latin panegyric]] of 289 refers to the new couple as already married.<ref>''Origo'' 1; Victor, ''Caes''. 39.24f; Eutropius, ''Brev''. 9.22.1; ''Epitome'' 39.2; ''Pan''. ''Lat''. 10(2).11.4, cited in Barnes, ''CE'', 288 n.55.</ref> Helena and her son were dispatched to the court of [[Diocletian]] at Nicomedia, where Constantine grew to be a member of the inner circle. Helena never remarried and lived for a time in obscurity, though close to her only son, who had a deep regard and affection for her.

== After Constantine's ascension to the throne ==

Constantine was proclaimed ''[[Augustus (title)|augustus]]'' (emperor) in 306 by Constantius' troops after the latter had died, and following his elevation his mother was brought back to the public life in 312, returning to the imperial court. She appears in the [[Eagle Cameo]] portraying Constantine's family, probably commemorating the birth of Constantine's son Constantine II in the summer of 316.{{efn|The cameo was incorporated in the rich binding of the [[Ada Gospels]]; the year 316 is argued in Stephenson 2010:126f.}}

She lived in the [[Horti Spei Veteris]] in Rome which she converted into an even more luxurious palace.

According to Eusebius, Helena was converted to Christianity by Constantine.{{sfn|Young|2006|p=6|loc=n. 24}}

She was first given the title of ''nobilissima femina''. He later appointed her as ''[[List of Augustae|Augusta]]'' in 324, following the defeat of his rival [[Licinius]].<ref name=Drijvers1997>[https://roman-emperors.sites.luc.edu/helena.htm Jan Willem Drijvers, "Helena Augusta (248/249–328/329 A.D.)"]</ref> According to Eusebius, he gave her unlimited access to the imperial treasury.<ref>Eusebius, ''Life of Constantine'' 3.47</ref>

== Pilgrimage and relic discoveries ==
{{See also|Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem}}
[[File:Rare solidus of Helena, RIC VII 60.jpg|thumb|Coin of Helena as Augusta, minted in [[Sirmium]] in AD 324.]]
[[File:Agia Eleni Sille.jpg|thumb|The church of the Archangel Michael founded by St. Helen in [[Sille, Konya]] in Asia Minor in 327]]
[[File:St Helena finding the true cross.jpg|thumb|Helena finding the [[True Cross]], Italian manuscript, {{c.}} 825]]
[[File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_130v_1..jpg|thumb|St Helena in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'', 1493]]

In AD 326–328 Helena undertook a trip to Palestine.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Byzantium |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |year=1996 |isbn=0394537785 |edition=First American |location=New York |publisher=Knopf|pages=68–69 |oclc=18164817}}</ref> According to [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], who records the details of her [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] to Palestine and other eastern provinces, and [[Socrates of Constantinople|Socrates Scholasticus]], she was responsible for the construction or beautification of the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]], and the [[Church of the Pater Noster|Church of Eleona]] on the [[Mount of Olives]]; sites of Christ's birth and ascension, respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Socrates |first=Scholasticus |url=http://archive.org/details/ecclesiasticalh00valogoog |title=The ecclesiastical history of Socrates, surnamed Scholasticus, or the Advocate : comprising a history of the church, in seven books, from the accession of Constantine, A.D. 305, to the 38th year of Theodosius II, including a period of 140 years |date=1853 |publisher=London : H. Bohn |others=Harvard University |oclc=1066392182}}</ref> Local founding legend attributes to Helena's orders the construction of a church in Egypt to identify the [[Burning Bush]] of Sinai. The chapel at [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]]—often referred to as the Chapel of Saint Helen—is dated to the year 330. However, a number of modern scholars believe this trip also had a political purpose, in addition to pilgrimage.<ref name=Drijvers1997/> Scholars believe that Eusebius' account led to later legends connecting her with the True Cross.<ref name=Drijvers1997/>

{{anchor|True Cross}}

=== The True Cross and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ===
[[File:Helena of Constantinople (Cima da Conegliano).jpg|thumb|''Helena of Constantinople'' by [[Cima da Conegliano]], 1495 ([[National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C.)]]
[[File:Lucas Cranach the Elder - Saint Helena with the Cross - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''Saint Helena with the Cross'', [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], 1525 ([[Cincinnati Art Museum]])]]

She is most famous for the discovery of the [[True Cross]], for which she was not responsible.<ref name=Drijvers1997/> Emperor [[Hadrian]] had built during the 130s a [[Temple of Venus (Aelia Capitolina)|temple to Venus]] over the supposed site of [[Jesus]]' tomb near [[Calvary]], and renamed the city [[Aelia Capitolina]]. Accounts differ concerning whether the temple was dedicated to [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] or Jupiter.<ref>Stephenson 2010:252.</ref> According to Eusebius, Constantine destroyed the temple of Venus and discovered the burial site of Jesus in the spot.<ref>Eusebius, ''Life of Constantine'' 3.26–28</ref> Later legends had Helena destroying the temple.<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iv.iii.iv.viii.html Philip Schaff, "Chapter 4, Mythical Constantine" in ''Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine''. From ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'']</ref>

According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and, according to the legend that arose at the end of the 4th century, chose a site to begin excavating, which led to the recovery of three different crosses. The legend is recounted in [[Ambrose]], ''On the Death of Theodosius'' (died 395) and at length in [[Tyrannius Rufinus|Rufinus]]' chapters appended to his translation into Latin of Eusebius's [[Church History (Eusebius)|''Ecclesiastical History'']], the main body of which does not mention the event.{{efn|Noted in Stephenson 2010:253f, who observes "None of this is true", noting Rufinus' source in a lost work of [[Gelasius of Caesarea]].}} Then, Rufinus relates, the empress refused to be swayed by anything short of solid proof and performed a test. Possibly through Bishop [[Macarius of Jerusalem]], she had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered,{{efn|There are actually several different accounts: [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04517a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix]: "Following an inspiration from on high, [[Macarius of Jerusalem|Macarius]] caused the three crosses to be carried, one after the other, to the bedside of a worthy woman who was at the point of death. The touch of the other two was of no avail; but on touching that upon which Christ had died the woman got suddenly well again. From a letter of St. Paulinus to Severus inserted in the Breviary of Paris it would appear that St. Helena herself had sought by means of a miracle to discover which was the True Cross and that she caused a man already dead and buried to be carried to the spot, whereupon, by contact with the third cross, he came to life.<br />From the 1955 Roman Catholic Marian Missal: St. Helen, the first Christian Empress, went to Jerusalem to try to find the True Cross. She found it in AD 320 on 14 September. In the eighth century, the feast of the Finding was transferred to 3 May and on 14 September was celebrated the "Exaltation of the Cross," the commemoration of a victory over the Persians by [[Heraclius]], as a result of which the relic was returned to Jerusalem.<br />From yet another tradition, related by [[St. Ambrose]] following Rufinus, it would seem that the [[Titulus Crucis|titulus]], or inscription, had remained fastened to the Cross."; see also [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202.ii.iv.xvii.html Socrates' ''Church History'' at CCEL.org: Book I, Chapter XVII: ''The Emperor's Mother Helena having come to Jerusalem, searches for and finds the Cross of Christ, and builds a Church.'']}} and Helena declared the cross with which the woman had been touched to be the True Cross.

On the site of discovery, Constantine ordered the building of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]. Churches were also built on other sites detected by Helena.

The "Letter From Constantine to Macarius of Jerusalem", as presented in Eusebius' ''Life of Constantine'', states:
{{blockquote|Such is our Saviour's grace, that no power of language seems adequate to describe the wondrous circumstance to which I am about to refer. For, that the monument of his [Christ's] most holy Passion, so long ago buried beneath the ground, should have remained unknown for so long a series of years, until its reappearance to his servants now set free through the removal of him who was the common enemy of all, is a fact which truly surpasses all admiration. I have no greater care than how I may best adorn with a splendid structure that sacred spot, which, under Divine direction, I have disencumbered as it were of the heavy weight of foul idol worship [the Roman temple]; a spot which has been accounted holy from the beginning in God's judgment, but which now appears holier still, since it has brought to light a clear assurance of our Saviour's passion.<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iv.vi.iii.xxx.html Eusebius, ''Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine''. From Philip Schaff, ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'']</ref>}}

[[Sozomen]] and [[Theodoret]] claim that Helena also found the [[Holy Nail|nails of the crucifixion]]. To use their miraculous power to aid her son, Helena allegedly had one placed in Constantine's helmet, and another in the bridle of his horse. According to one tradition, Helena acquired the [[Holy Tunic]] on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to [[Trier]].

=== Cyprus ===
Several relics purportedly discovered by Helena are now in [[Cyprus]], where she spent some time. Among them are items believed to be part of Jesus Christ's tunic, pieces of the holy cross, and pieces of the rope with which Jesus was tied on the Cross. The rope, considered to be the only relic of its kind, has been held at the [[Stavrovouni Monastery]], which was also said to have been founded by Helena. According to tradition, Helena is responsible for the large population of cats in [[Cyprus]]. Local tradition holds that she imported hundreds of cats from Egypt or Palestine in the fourth century to rid a monastery of snakes. The monastery is today known as "St. Nicholas of the Cats" (Greek {{lang|el|Άγιος Νικόλαος των Γατών}}) and is located near [[Limassol]].<ref name="stnicholas of the cats RoughGuide">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetocypr01dubi |title=The Rough Guide To Cyprus |last=Dubin |first=Marc |publisher=Rough Guide |year=2009 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetocypr01dubi/page/135 135–136] |isbn=9781858289939 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

=== Rome ===

Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces<!-- Eusebius, VC,3, chapter XLIV --> in 327 to return to Rome, her place of residence. Later legends depict her as bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace's private chapel, now the [[Basilica]] of [[Santa Croce in Gerusalemme]], where they can be still seen today. This has been maintained by [[Cistercian]] monks in the [[monastery]] which has been attached to the church for centuries.

== Death and burial ==
Helena died around 330, with her son at her side. She was buried in the [[Mausoleum of Helena]], outside [[Rome]] on the [[Via Labicana]]. Her [[Sarcophagi of Helena and Constantina|sarcophagus]] is on display in the [[Museo Pio-Clementino|Pio-Clementine Vatican Museum]], next to the sarcophagus of her granddaughter [[Constantina]] (Saint Constance); however, in 1154 her remains were replaced in the sarcophagus with the remains of [[Pope Anastasius IV]], and Helena's remains were moved to [[Santa Maria in Ara Coeli]].<ref>Norwich, J.J. (1995) ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'', London: Penguin, pp. 107–108</ref>
[[Socrates of Constantinople]], [[Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos]] and other historians claimed that Helena's body was removed from her sarcophagus two years after her death and translated to the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]] in Constantinople.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bardill |first1=Jonathan |title=Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=186}}</ref> [[Stephen of Novgorod]] describes the tomb of Constantine and Helen and its location as being east of the sanctuary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Majeska |first1=George P |title=Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection |pages=304-305}}</ref>  

<gallery widths="160" heights="160">
File:Helena tomb.jpg|[[Sarcophagi of Helena and Constantina|Helena's sarcophagus]] in the Museo Pio-Clementino, [[Vatican Museums]], Rome
</gallery>

== Sainthood ==
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
|name            = Helena of Constantinople
|birth_date      =
|death_date      =
|feast_day       = {{plainlist|
* 18 August (Catholic Church)
* 21 May (Orthodox and most Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
* 19 May (some Lutheran Churches)
* 22 May (Episcopal Church)
* Tuesday after third Sunday of Pentecost (Armenian Apostolic Church)
* [[Pashons 9 (Coptic Orthodox liturgics)|9 Pashons]] ([[Coptic Orthodox Church]])
}}
|venerated_in    = {{plainlist|
* [[Catholic Church]]
* [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]]
* [[Oriental Orthodoxy]]
* [[Anglicanism]]
* [[Lutheranism]]
* [[Church of the East]]
}}
|image           = Saint Helena.jpg
|caption         = Statue of Saint Helena in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy
|birth_place     =
|death_place     =
|titles          = Empress, Mother of Saint Constantine, [[Equal to the Apostles]], Protector of the Holy Places
|beatified_date  =
|beatified_place =
|beatified_by    =
|canonized_date  = [[Pre-Congregation]]{{efn|Her [[canonization]] pre-dates the practice of formal canonization by the [[Holy See]] and by the relevant Orthodox Churches.{{cite web |url = http://www.germanculture.com.ua/august/august18.htm |title = August 18 in German History |publisher = TGermanCulture.com.ua |access-date = 2016-10-16 |quote = Her designation as a saint precedes the practice of canonization by the Pope. |archive-date = 17 March 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150317092638/http://germanculture.com.ua/august/august18.htm |url-status = dead }}}}
|canonized_place =
|canonized_by    =
|attributes      = crown, cross, nails
|patronage       = archaeologists, converts, difficult marriages, divorced people, empresses, new discoveries, [[Saint Helena|Saint Helena Island]], [[Noveleta, Cavite]], [[Hagonoy, Bulacan]]
|major_shrine    = The shrine to Saint Helena in [[St. Peter's Basilica]]
|issues          =
|prayer          =
|prayer_attrib   =
}}
[[File:Brosen icon constantine helena.jpg|thumb|[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] [[Bulgaria]]n [[icon]] of Saint Constantine and Saint Helena]]

Helena is considered by the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]], [[Catholic Church]], [[Anglicanism]], and [[Lutheranism]] as a saint.{{cn|date=October 2025}} She is sometimes known as Helen of Constantinople to distinguish her from [[Saint Elen|others with similar names]].

Her feast day as a saint of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] is celebrated with her son on 21 May, the "Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helena, [[Equal to the Apostles]]".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/constantineandhelen/learn/ |title=May 21: Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal to the Apostles |publisher=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107082709/http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/constantineandhelen/learn/ |archive-date=7 November 2007 |access-date=2008-03-28 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church and in [[Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate]] falls on 18 August.<ref name="drevo-info">{{Cite web |title=ЕЛЕНА РАВНОАПОСТОЛЬНАЯ – Древо |url=http://drevo-info.ru/articles/1189.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=drevo-info.ru |language=ru}}</ref> Her feast day in the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] is on [[Pashons 9 (Coptic Orthodox liturgics)|9 Pashons]].
Some Anglican and Lutheran churches keep the 21 May date. Helena is honored in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] on 21 May but in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on [[May 22|22 May]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |year=2019 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:BnF_MS_Gr510_folio_440_recto_-_detail_-_Helena_and_the_Invention_of_the_True_Cross.jpg|thumb|Saint Helena retrieving the true cross, miniature from the 9th century [[Paris Gregory]]]]

In the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]]es, the feast of [[Meskel]], which commemorates her discovery of the cross, is celebrated on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or on 28 September in leap years). The holiday is usually celebrated with the lighting of a large [[bonfire]], or ''Demera'', based on the belief that she had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she should make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried. So she ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood and make a huge pile. After adding [[frankincense]] to it, the bonfire was lit and the smoke rose high up to the sky and returned to the ground, exactly to the spot where the Cross had been buried.<ref name="walta">{{Cite web |url=http://www.telecom.net.et/~walta/ennews/html/sep/ed270900/html/newsitem_2.html |title=Walta Information Center |website=Meskel Being Celebrated Across The Nation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319160802/http://www.telecom.net.et/~walta/ennews/html/sep/ed270900/html/newsitem_2.html |archive-date=March 19, 2006 |access-date=September 14, 2005}}</ref>

[[Feast of the Cross#Related Observances|Uncovering]] of the [[True Cross|Precious Cross]] and the [[Holy Nail|Precious Nails]] ([[Roodmas]]) by [[Empress]] Saint Helen in [[Jerusalem]] falls on [[6 March]].<ref name="drevo-info" />

She is also [[Calendar of saints|commemorated]] every [[Bright Week|Bright Wednesday]] along with the saints from [[Saint Catherine's Monastery|Mount Sinai]], by the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and the [[Orthodox Church in America]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=СОБОР СИНАЙСКИХ ПРЕПОДОБНЫХ – Древо |url=http://drevo-info.ru/articles/13678408.html |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=drevo-info.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bright Wednesday |url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/04/22/30-bright-wednesday |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=[[Orthodox Church in America]]}}</ref>

[[File:Satue of Saint Helen.jpg|thumb|Baroque statue of "Santa Liena" in the 2011 village festa procession of Birkirkara, [[Malta]]]]

==Relics==
Her alleged skull is displayed in the east crypt of the [[Cathedral of Trier]], in [[Germany]].<ref>{{aut|Prof. Dr. Franz Ronig}}: ''Trier Cathedral'', information brochure published by Trier Cathedral (2017).</ref> Portions of her relics are found at the basilica of [[Santa Maria in Ara Coeli]] in [[Rome]]. Relics were also enshrined at the [[Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers]] and subsequently translated to the [[Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-25 |title=The reliquary crypt of Saint Helena at the Church of Saint-Leu-Saint-G |url=https://relics.es/en/blogs/relics/the-crypt-reliquary-of-sainte-helene-at-the-church-of-saint-leu-saint-gilles |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=RELICS |language=en}}</ref> in [[Paris]].

The church of [[Sant'Elena, Venice|Sant'Elena]] in [[Venice]] claims to have the complete body of the saint enshrined under the main altar. In 1517, the English priest, Richard Torkington, having seen the relics during a visit to Venice described them as follows: "{{lang|en-emodeng|She lith in a ffayr place of religion, of white monks, ye may see her face perfythly, her body ys covered with a cloth of whith sylke ... Also there lyes upon her breast a lytell crosse made of the holy crosse ...}}"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mark-patton.blogspot.com/2015/08/ancient-skulls-and-medieval.html|title=Time Present and Time Past: Ancient Skulls and Medieval Skullduggery - the Mysterious Afterlives of Saint Helena|date=9 August 2015}}</ref> In an ecumenical gesture, these relics visited the [[Church of Greece|Orthodox Church of Greece]] and were displayed in the church of Agia Varvara (Saint Barbara) in [[Athens]] from 14 May to 15 June 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailyhellas.com/2017/05/15/the-holy-relics-of-saint-helen-came-to-greece-for-the-first-time-since-1211/|title=The Holy Relics of Saint Helen came to Greece for the first time since 1211|date=15 May 2017}}</ref>

Smaller relics of Saint Helena are found in Orthodox monasteries and churches in Greece, Cyprus and Romania.<ref>{{cite web |title=517 - Το ιερό σκήνωμα της Αγίας Ελένης (8) |url=https://leipsanothiki.blogspot.com/2017/02/517-8.html |website=η λειψανοθήκη |access-date=9 August 2025 |language=Greek |date=9 February 2017}}</ref>

<gallery widths="160" heights="160">
File:CaputSHelenae 0578a.jpg|Helena's skull relic in the crypt of [[Cathedral of Trier|Trier Cathedral]]
File:2018 Trier, Domschatzkammer, Helena-Trinkschale 2.jpg|So-called "cup of Saint Helena" in the [[Treasury of Trier Cathedral]]
</gallery>

== Later cultural traditions ==
=== In British folklore ===
In Great Britain, later legend, mentioned by [[Henry of Huntingdon]] but made popular by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]], claimed that Helena was a daughter of the King of [[Roman Britain|Britain]], [[Coel Hen|Cole]] of [[Camulodunum|Colchester]], who allied with Constantius to avoid more war between the Britons and Rome.{{efn|The purely legendary British connection is traced by A. Harbus, ''Helen of Britain in Medieval Legend'', 2002.}} Geoffrey further states that she was brought up in the manner of a queen, as she had no brothers to inherit the throne of Britain. The source for this may have been Sozomen's ''[[Eusebius|Historia Ecclesiastica]]'', which, however, does not claim Helena was British but only that her son Constantine picked up his Christianity there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-02/Npnf2-02-19.htm#P2958_1190344 |title=Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories |publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |access-date=2008-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518070918/http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-02/Npnf2-02-19.htm#P2958_1190344 |archive-date=18 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Constantine was with his father when he died in [[Eboracum|York]], but neither had spent much time in Britain.

The statement made by English chroniclers of the Middle Ages, according to which Helena was supposed to have been the daughter of a British prince, is entirely without historical foundation. It may arise from the similarly named Welsh princess [[Saint Elen]] (alleged to have married [[Magnus Maximus]] and to have borne a son named Constantine) or from the misinterpretation of a term used in the fourth chapter of the panegyric on Constantine's marriage with Fausta. The description of Constantine honoring Britain ''oriendo'' (<small>lit.</small>&nbsp;"from the outset", "from the beginning") may have been taken as an allusion to his birth ("from ''his'' beginning") although it was actually discussing the beginning of his reign.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07202b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Helena}}</ref>

At least twenty-five [[holy well]]s currently exist in the United Kingdom dedicated to a Saint Helen. She is also the [[patron saint]] of [[Abingdon, Oxfordshire|Abingdon]] and [[Colchester]]. [[St Helen's Chapel, Colchester|St Helen's Chapel]] in Colchester was believed to have been founded by Helena herself, and since the 15th century, the town's [[coat of arms]] has shown a representation of the [[True Cross]] and three crowned nails in her honour.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.h.britnell/Portrait%204.htm |title=Colchester In The Early Fifteenth Century |website=Dur.ac.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229131327/http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.h.britnell/Portrait%204.htm |archive-date=29 December 2008 |access-date=2013-03-26 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Colchester#Colchester Town Hall|Colchester Town Hall]] has a Victorian statue of the saint on top of its {{convert|50|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} tower.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/188789 |title=Colchester Town Hall:: OS grid TL9925 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |website=Geograph.org.uk |access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref> The arms of [[Nottingham]] are almost identical because of the city's connection with Cole, her supposed father.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-06-01 |title=Nottinghamshire history > Articles > Articles form the Transactions of the Thoroton Society > An itinerary of Nottingham: St Mary's churchyard |url=http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/articles/tts/tts1928/itinerary1928p3.htm |access-date=2013-03-26 |publisher=Nottshistory.org.uk |doi=10.5284/1112038}}</ref>

=== Filipino legend and tradition ===
[[Flores de Mayo]] honors her and her son Constantine for finding the True Cross with a parade with floral and fluvial themed parade showcasing her, Constantine and other people who followed her journey to find the True Cross. Her discovery of the Cross along with Constantine is dramatised in the ''[[Santacruzan]]'', a ritual pageant in the [[Philippines]]. Held in May (when [[Roodmas]] was once celebrated), the procession also bears elements of [[May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary|the month's Marian devotions]]. A ''Santacruzan'' procession is also held by the Filipino community of [[Jersey City, New Jersey]].<ref>[https://www.santacruzanfestivaljc.com/about "The Meaning Behind Our Traditions Santacruzan and Flores de Mayo Street Festival", Santacruzan Festival JC]</ref>

=== Medieval legend and fiction ===
In medieval legend and [[chivalric romance]], Helena appears as a persecuted heroine, in the vein of such women as ''[[Emaré]]'' and ''[[The Man of Law's Tale|Constance]]''; separated from her husband, she lives a quiet life, supporting herself on her embroidery, until such time as her son's charm and grace wins her husband's attention and so the revelation of their identities.<ref>Laura A. Hibbard, ''Medieval Romance in England'' p. 29 New York: Burt Franklin, 1963</ref>

=== Modern fiction ===
Helena is the protagonist of [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s 1950 novel ''[[Helena (Waugh novel)|Helena]]''. She is also the main character of ''[[Priestess of Avalon]]'' (2000), a [[fantasy]] novel by [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]] and [[Diana L. Paxson]]. She is given the name Eilan and depicted as a trained [[priest]]ess of [[Avalon]].

Helena is also the protagonist of [[Louis de Wohl]]'s novel ''The Living Wood'' (1947) in which she is again the daughter of King Coel of Colchester. In the 2021 novel Eagle Ascending by Dan Whitfield she is depicted as having lived to age 118 as result of the powers of the True Cross.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Whitfield|first=Dan|title=Eagle Ascending|publisher=Touch Point Press|year=2021|isbn=978-1-952816-51-2|location=United States}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Notre Dame de la Garoupe]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
* Barnes, Timothy D. ''Constantine and Eusebius'' (''CE'' in citations). Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]], 1981. {{ISBN|978-0-674-16531-1}}
* Barnes, Timothy D. ''The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine'' (''NE'' in citations). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1982. {{ISBN|0-7837-2221-4}}
* {{Cite book|last=Drijvers|first=Jan Willem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50ZmimTfp0YC|title=Helena Augusta|date=1992|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-09435-2|language=en}}
* Drijvers, Jan Willem. "[http://www.classicsireland.com/2000/drijvers.html Evelyn Waugh, Helena and the True Cross] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323170815/http://www.classicsireland.com/2000/drijvers.html |date=23 March 2019 }}." ''Classics Ireland'' 7 (2000).
* Elliott, T. G. "Constantine's Conversion: Do We Really Need It?" ''Phoenix'' 41 (1987): 420–438.
* Elliott, T. G. "Eusebian Frauds in the "Vita Constantini"." ''Phoenix'' 45 (1991): 162–171.
* Elliott, T. G. ''The Christianity of Constantine the Great'' . Scranton, PA: [[University of Scranton Press]], 1996. {{ISBN|0-940866-59-5}}
* Harbus, Antonia. ''Helena of Britain in Medieval Legend''. Rochester, NY: D.S. Brewer, 2002.
* {{Cite book |last=Hillner |first=Julia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nWVEAAAQBAJ |title=Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-087529-9}}
* [[Arnold Hugh Martin Jones|Jones, A.H.M.]] ''Constantine and the Conversion of Europe''. Buffalo: [[University of Toronto Press]], 1978 [1948].
* Hunt, E.D. ''Holy Land Pilgrimage in the Later Roman Empire: A.D. 312–460''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982.
* Lenski, Noel. "The Reign of Constantine." In ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine'', edited by Noel Lenski, 59–90. New York: [[Cambridge University Press]], 2006. Hardcover {{ISBN|0-521-81838-9}} Paperback {{ISBN|0-521-52157-2}}
* Lieu, Samuel N. C. and [[Dominic Montserrat]]. ''From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views''. New York: [[Routledge]], 1996.
* Mango, Cyril. "The Empress Helena, Helenopolis, Pylae." ''Travaux et Mémoires'' 12 (1994): 143–58.
* Odahl, Charles Matson. ''Constantine and the Christian Empire''. New York: Routledge, 2004.
* Pohlsander, Hans. ''The Emperor Constantine''. London & New York: Routledge, 2004. Hardcover {{ISBN|0-415-31937-4}} Paperback {{ISBN|0-415-31938-2}}
* Rodgers, Barbara Saylor. "The Metamorphosis of Constantine." ''The Classical Quarterly'' 39 (1989): 233–246.
* Wright, David H. "The True Face of Constantine the Great." ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 41 (1987): 493–507
* {{cite book |first=Frances M. |last=Young |editor1-first=Margaret M. |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor2-first=Frances M. |editor2-last= Young |title=Origins to Constantine |series=The Cambridge History of Christianity|chapter=Prelude: Jesus Christ, Foundation of Christianity |pages=1–34 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-107-42361-9}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |title=Historia and fabula: myths and legends in historical thought from antiquity to the modern age |last=Bietenholz |first=Peter G. |publisher=Brill |year=1994 |isbn=90-04-10063-6 |location=Leiden}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Age of Constantine the Great |last=Burckhardt |first=Jacob |publisher=Pantheon Books |others=Moses Hadas, trans |year=1949 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/constantinegreat00gran |title=Constantine the Great: the man and his times |last=Grant |first=Michael |publisher=Scribner |year=1994 |isbn=0-684-19520-8 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |title=Helena: empress and saint |last=Pohlsander |first=Hans A. |publisher=Ares Publishers |year=1995 |isbn=0-89005-562-9 |location=Chicago}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
{{Portal|Saints}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryYaoPYrFXY From Here to Eternity: Fact and Fiction in the Empress Helena's Travels to the Holy Land] Lecture by Professor [[Julia Hillner]] to the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, 23 November 2023

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helena}}
[[Category:Helena, mother of Constantine I| ]]
[[Category:240s births]]
[[Category:330 deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century Roman empresses]]
[[Category:4th-century Romans]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Augustae]]
[[Category:British folklore]]
[[Category:Byzantine female saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine royal saints]]
[[Category:Constantine the Great]]
[[Category:Constantinian dynasty]]
[[Category:Flavii]]
[[Category:Julii]]
[[Category:Ancient Christian female saints]]
[[Category:People from Bithynia]]
[[Category:Saints from Roman Anatolia]]
[[Category:Calvary]]
[[Category:Mothers of Byzantine emperors]]