Helena Augusta (248/249-328/329 A.D.)
Chris & Tom Tinney, Sr.
http://www.roman-emperors.org/helena.htm
"The most memorable event of Helena's life
was her journey to Palestine and the other
eastern provinces in 327-328. Because of
Eusebius' description of this journey
(VC, 3.42-47), it is generally looked upon
as a pilgrimage. Eusebius only has eyes
for the religious aspects of her journey."
However, as noted in Judea Magazine,
No. 1.6, [In Hebron on the way to Kiryat
Arba is Alonei Mamre (the oaks of Mamre).
Here Abraham was promised the Land
and here he pitched his tent.
"Lift up your eyes and look north, south,
east, and west, for all the land that you see
I will give to you and to your seed forever.
And I will make your seed as the dust of the
earth, so that if a man can number the dust
of the earth, then shall your seed also be
numbered. Arise, walk through the land,
through its length and its breadth, because
to you will I give it." And Abram moved
his tent, and came and lived by the oaks
of Mamre which are in Hebron and built
there an alter unto the Lord
(Gen. 13:14-18).
At the site may be seen the remains of
the huge stone walls built by King Herod,
of the same type as are found in the Western
Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem and the
walls at the Tombs of the Patriarchs and
Matriarchs at the Cave of Machpelah in
Hebron.]
http://www.crosswinds.net/~judea/jm16.htm
There is validation "that her journey to the
East was a political act", instead, questioning
the motives in the writings of Eusebius.
Helena arose, walked "through the land,
through its length and its breadth,"
politically taking over -in other words,
"because to you will I give it." Her actions
imply that she must have considered herself,
(or may have actually known her humble origins),
that she was of the seed of Abraham, or of
Jewish origins. [That she once was Jewish,
as suggested by the Actus Sylvestri and
taken seriously by J. Vogt . . .]
Eusebius in his LIFE OF CONSTANTINE,
additionally states "Constantine's mother-
in-law was restoring the sites at Hebron".
"The role of Eutropia (of Syrian extraction
and married to Maximianus Herculius),
http://www.roman-emperors.org/maxherc.htm#Note 1
as a Christian is quite remarkable because
her husband, the (co-)emperor Maximian
(ruler in the western Empire while
Diocletian ruled the eastern empire) was
perhaps the most notorious persecutor
of Christians in the decades just prior to
the rule of Constantine. Moreover, it is
strange to consider that Helena and
Eutropia may have been acting as a team.
Eutropia was not only (second) mother-
in-law to Constantine, but also the
(second) mother-in-law of Constantine's
father, Constantius, who after divorcing
Helena married (Eutropia's daughter)
Theodora. And finally, Eutropia's
Christian mission would seem altogether
most unlikely because her husband
Maximian and her son, the usurptive
emperor Maxentius, both died
trying to resist Constantine."
http://www.quondam.com/01/0008.htm
REFERENCE:
"By the initiative of Eutropia, Constantine's
mother-in-law, a church was also built at
Mamre, . . ."
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,117744+4+109633,00.html?query=eutropia
{MESSAGE:
Sozomenos, [Historia Ecclesiastica, II, 4, 5,
in: Kirchengeschichte, eds. J. Bidez and
G. C. Hausen, GCS 50, Berlin 1960, p. 55],
"relates the custom of throwing various
offerings, including coins, into the well
of Mamre."
The "well of Mamre (the Oak of Abraham
near Hebron)", is referred to in "the visit
of Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, to
the Holy Land in the early fourth century . . ."
"The excavations near the well of Mamre {28}
[Mader 1957: 166-180.] yielded many coins,
ranging from the time of Herod the Great to
Anastasius I (first century BCE to early sixth
century CE)."
"The custom of throwing coins into a water
source as an offering is well known in
antiquity . . . " "In several European countries
(France, England, Germany, Italy, Spain)
there is archaeological evidence for this
custom. " . . . Other sites indicate that
"such amounts of coins were not accidentally
. . . but were intentionally thrown into
the water." "Maraval's review of the
Christian sites in the Galilee during the
Byzantine period indicates a peak in
pilgrimage in the sixth century CE."
Validating evidence for historical figures,
(in this case Helena, mother of Constantine
the Great), is thus found in Ramat Hanadiv
Excavations, Final Report Of The 1984-
1998 Seasons, by Yizhar Hirschfeld;
Published by The Israel Exploration Society;
Jerusalem; Copyright 2000;
ISBN 965-221-039-0.
Also, Part I, Chapter 7, reviews Medieval
and Post-Medieval Finds. Items of interest
throughout include data on page 544:
"In thirteenth-century France, armorial
seals were exclusively used by knights
of small local seigneuries and by simple
miles owing military service, as opposed
to equestrian seals that remained in the
realm of the great feudatories and high
dignitaries (Bedos-Rezak
1982:728-29)."}
Respectfully yours,
Tom Tinney, Sr.
Genealogy and History Internet Web Directory
http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~vctinney/
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