Helena, mother of Constantine I
She was born in the lower classes[2] traditionally in the city of Drepanon, Bithynia, in Asia Minor, which was renamed Helenopolis in her honor, although several locations have been proposed for her birthplace and origin.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.[13][6] 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.He makes this comment a virtue, calling Helena a bona stabularia, a "good stable-maid",[20] probably to contrast her with the general suggestion of sexual laxness considered typical of that group.[18] 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 at a small extra charge."[22] Both Geoffrey of Monmouth and Henry of Huntingdon promoted a popular tradition that Helena was a British princess and the daughter of "Old King Cole" from the area of Colchester.[24] The historian Timothy Barnes has suggested that Constantius, while serving under Emperor Aurelian, could have met her while stationed in Asia Minor for the campaign against Zenobia.[citation needed] 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 270.[27] 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.[32] In order to obtain a wife more consonant with his rising status, Constantius divorced Helena some time before 289, when he married Theodora, Maximian's daughter under his command.[33] The narrative sources date the marriage to 293, when Constantius was appointed caesar (heir-apparent) of Maximian, but the Latin panegyric of 289 refers to the new couple as already married.Constantine was proclaimed 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.[36] Emperor Hadrian had built during the 130s a temple to Venus over the supposed site of Jesus' tomb near Calvary, and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina.[42] 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 Rufinus' chapters appended to his translation into Latin of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, the main body of which does not mention the event.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.[53] Portions of her relics are found at the basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli in Rome, the Église Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles in Paris, and at the Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers.In 1517, the English priest, Richard Torkington, having seen the relics during a visit to Venice described them as follows: "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 ..."[54] In an ecumenical gesture, these relics visited the Orthodox Church of Greece and were displayed in the church of Agia Varvara (Saint Barbara) in Athens from 14 May to 15 June 2017.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.
Helena (wife of Julian)AugustaMusei CapitoliniHelenopolisBithyniaAsia MinorMausoleum of HelenaConstantius ChlorusConstantine IRegnal nameDynastyConstantinianNicene Christianitymanus DeiVictoryConstantinian dynastyConstantius IConstantine IIConstansConstantius IIJulianTetrarchyJovianValentinianic dynastyAncient GreekRoman EmpireConstantine the Greathistory of ChristianitySyria PalaestinaJerusalemTrue CrossEastern Orthodox ChurchCatholic ChurchOriental Orthodox ChurchesAnglican CommunionLutheran ChurchGermanyProcopiusGreek speakerJoseph VogtGreek-speaking part of the Roman EmpireCyril MangoConstantinopleJulia HillnerEmperor JulianBasilinopolisBasilinaHelenopolis in PalestineHelenopontusoppidumPyreneesEmperor ConstansNaissusEdessaMesopotamiaEusebius of CaesareaEutropiusAmbroseat a small extra chargeGeoffrey of MonmouthHenry of HuntingdonOld King ColeColchesterYorkshireEvelyn WaughConstantiusTimothy BarnesAurelianZenobiaNicomediaMaxentiusconcubineJeromecommon-law marriageSerbiaTheodoraMaximiancaesarLatin panegyricDiocletianaugustusHorti Spei VeterisLiciniusSille, KonyaNuremberg ChroniclepilgrimageSocrates ScholasticusChurch of the NativityBethlehemChurch of EleonaMount of OlivesBurning BushSaint Catherine's MonasteryCima da ConeglianoNational Gallery of ArtLucas Cranach the ElderCincinnati Art MuseumHadriantemple to VenusCalvaryAelia CapitolinaRufinusEcclesiastical HistoryMacarius of JerusalemChurch of the Holy SepulchreSozomenTheodoretnails of the crucifixionHoly TunicCyprusStavrovouni MonasteryLimassolBasilicaSanta Croce in GerusalemmeCistercianmonasteryVia LabicanasarcophagusPio-Clementine Vatican MuseumConstantinaPope Anastasius IVSanta Maria in Ara CoeliHelena's sarcophagusVatican MuseumsEqual to the ApostlesRoman Catholicism