Abstract:
This thesis analyses the religious activities of imperial women in the fourth century in the form of two case studies. Chapter One focuses on the empresses Helena, Constantia, Eusebia, and Justina, the latter three of whom are presented as Arian within the ancient sources. My analysis aims to look beyond the concerns of piety, heresy, and emotion that apparently motivated these women in their religious activity, and to highlight the broader political and familial contexts that influenced their actions. I argue that empresses became involved in religious activity in response to a range of imperial interests; in particular, I discuss the extent to which the implementation of religious policy, the volatility of ecclesiastical affairs, and concerns for the stability of the emperor’s reign affected their involvement in religion. Through their actions, imperial women from the fourth century helped establish religion as a key arena for later empresses to exercise power and influence in the new Christian empire. In Chapter Two, I turn my attention to the influence that imperial women had on the religious activities of other women. I focus on the examples of Helena and Constantina in Rome, and demonstrate the similarities and differences between their religious activities and those of Roman aristocratic ascetics Melania the Elder, Marcella, and Paula. My analysis indicates that while the religious conduct of imperial women provided a significant example to aristocratic ascetic women on how to engage in their endeavours, imperial women had limited influence on the specific practices of these ascetics. This, I argue, relates to the differing types of authority that imperial and aristocratic women sought to achieve through their constructions of piety. Overall, my research provides insight on how imperial women influenced and responded to the practice of Christianity during a time of significant religious change.