Helena

246 – 330 · Generation II · Empress · Constantinian

Helena (AD 246 – 330). Empress. Married Constantius; the marriage was dissolved in AD 289. First consort of Constantius I; mother of Constantine I; venerated as St Helena. She was of humble birth, traditionally at Drepanon in Bithynia, later renamed Helenopolis; Ambrose called her a stable-maid, and whether her union with Constantius was a formal marriage is still debated. She bore Constantine at Naissus, probably around 272, and after Constantius set her aside for Theodora, daughter of Maximian, mother and son were sent to Diocletian’s court at Nicomedia. Once Constantine ruled, he brought her back to court in 312, named her augusta in 324 and, according to Eusebius, gave her free access to the treasury. On a tour of Palestine in 326–328 she was credited with building or embellishing the churches of the Nativity and of Eleona, though the legend that she found the True Cross arose only late in the fourth century. She died around 330 with her son at her side and was buried on the Via Labicana outside Rome.

Place in the family

Helena was the mother of Constantine I.
The archive records 6 of her descendants, across 3 generations.

One of 11 people of Constantinian (246–366) in this archive. The house that founded Constantinople and ruled from it.

Partners

Married Constantius I (250 – 306); the marriage was dissolved in 289 — one child together

Children

Constantine I (272 – 337)

Life

246 — Born
289 — Parted from Constantius
330 — Died