Olympias was
renowned for her benevolence toward the poor and her constancy to
Chrysostom in his troubles, while her kindness of heart and sweetness of
spirit give her rank among the "good" women of the period. Another
constant friend was a Moorish princess, Salvina, who had been placed as
a hostage in Theodosius's charge by her father, and had been married to
the empress's nephew. In contrast to the restless activity of the ladies
about Eudoxia, she led a quiet and peaceful life devoted to good works,
and Chrysostom, in a "letter to a young widow,"
contrasts the serenity
and happiness she enjoyed with the turbulent life of her father.
Chrysostom's sharp reproofs of the worldly minded, his close friendships
with Olympias and other ladies, whom he at times received alone in his
episcopal residence, and his retired, ascetic life, gave pretext for
unwarranted charges. His enemies even went so far as to assert that
under the cover of his unsocial habits he conducted
"Cyclopean orgies"
in his home.
An official journey which he made for the regulation of the affairs of
the churches, during which he removed many unworthy bishops, aroused
much umbrage against him, and gave his enemies at home an opportunity to
injure him. Severian, whom he left in his place, was an especial
favorite of the empress, and joined the court league against his
superior. Upon his return, Chrysostom acted with his customary decision.
Hearing of the unbecoming conduct of his subordinate, he severely and
openly attacked his time-serving relations with the empress, and, when
Severian grew defiant, promptly excommunicated him.
Owing to the
entreaties of the empress and the emperor, however, he withdrew the ban
and restored Severian to his office.
Soon afterward a louder storm burst, and from a new quarter. Theophilus,
the worldly prelate of Alexandria, was induced by the court ladies to
undertake their cause against the patriarch. He came to Constantinople
and took up his quarters in the palace of Placidia, and from this
centre, as well as from the house of Eugraphia, a violent warfare of
words was waged against Chrysostom.
The emperor was prevailed upon to grant a synod for the trial of the
patriarch, which was held outside the city, owing to the strength of the
latter's adherents. Chrysostom was condemned by the packed assembly,
known as the "Synod of the Oak," and formally deposed.
The city was in
an uproar. Chrysostom retired to Bithynia, but the people demanded his
return, and he was recalled from banishment and restored to his office.
Had he now adopted a policy of quiet tolerance, all would have been
well, but very soon an occasion arose which led him to make a further
attack on Eudoxia. In September, 403, a statue of silver on a column of
porphyry was erected to the empress near the precincts of Saint Sophia.
Chrysostom took occasion to censure severely the adulation of the
populace, and by his remarks he must have mortally offended the pride of
the empress, for henceforth even the mild emperor declined to have any
communication with the patriarch.
The next year a new synod was held, and the action of the Synod of the
Oak was confirmed. The emperor ratified the sentence, and Chrysostom
quietly yielded to the inevitable and retired from the city. As soon as
the people heard of the occurrence, another uproar followed, which
resulted in the conflagration of Saint Sophia and other buildings and in
the persecution of many adherents of the exiled patriarch. Olympias and
many others were condemned to exile. "Among those who anticipated the
sentence by flight was an old maid named Nicarete, who deserves mention
as a curious figure of the time. She was a philanthropist who devoted
her means to works of charity, and who always went about with a chest of
drugs, which she used to dispose of gratuitously, and which rumor said
were always effectual."
Meanwhile, Chrysostom was transported to a remote town among the ridges
of Mount Taurus, in Lesser Armenia. He suffered many hardships, but he
was sustained by the sympathy of his friends, especially Olympias, with
whom he corresponded, and who never told him of the persecutions she
herself underwent in his behalf. Her own last years, however, were
darkened by her afflictions, and Chrysostom tried to lighten her
melancholy by his letters of consolation. Her saintly life cast a halo
about her memory after she passed away, and a legend was current in
later times that her encoffined body had, by her own directions, been
cast into the sea at Nicomedia, whence it was borne to Constantinople,
and thence to Brochthi, where it reposed in the Church of Saint Thomas.
Chrysostom's last years were perhaps his most useful ones, being spent
in regulating by letter the affairs of the churches. The Pope at Rome
never ratified his condemnation, and he was universally beloved as one
subjected to unjust persecution. Owing to his undiminished prominence in
all Church affairs, the ruthless empress pursued him in his exile, and
an order was despatched for him to be transported to Pityus, a desolate
place on the south-eastern coast of the Euxine; but on the way thither
he expired from exhaustion, in the sixtieth year of his age. He was the
last of the patriarchs to stand out against the corruption and the
frivolity of the court, and henceforth the archbishops were but
subservient adherents of the emperor and the empress.
His innocence and merit were acknowledged by the succeeding generation,
and thirty years later, at the earnest solicitation of the people,
Chrysostom's remains were brought to Constantinople. The Emperor
Theodosius advanced to receive them as far as Chalcedon, and implored
the forgiveness of the injured saint in the name of his guilty parents,
Arcadius and Eudoxia.
Less than four years after the birth of her son, Theodosius, Eudoxia, in
the bloom of her youth and the height of her power, came to her end as
the result of a miscarriage; and this untimely death confounded the
prophecy of Porphyrius of Gaza, who had foretold that she would live to
see the reign of her son. Pious Catholics saw in her untimely death the
vengeance of Heaven for the persecution of Saint Chrysostom; and few
save the emperor and her children bewailed the loss of the worldly and
ambitious empress.
X
THE RIVAL EMPRESSES--PULCHERIA AND EUDOCIA Beside the deathbed of the gentle Arcadius, whom destiny snatched from
life in the fulness of manhood, stood four weeping orphans of tenderest
years, three maidens and a little lad--all too young to realize the
greatness of their loss. These were the seven-year-old Theodosius, heir
to the throne, the nine-year-old Pulcheria and her two younger sisters,
Arcadia and Marina. In the orphanage of the children, it was natural
that the eldest daughter should feel that upon herself rested the
responsibility of acting as mother to her brother and sisters; and
Pulcheria possessed the mental endowments and the rapidly developing
nature which peculiarly fitted her for this task.
Fortunately the
administration of the Empire was in the hands of the praetorian prefect
Anthemius, a wise and able counsellor, who acted as the guardian of the
young prince and his sisters and directed their education. He, with the
Patriarch Atticus, who was their religious guide and spiritual adviser,
provided them with every possible advantage for intellectual and
spiritual growth. Pulcheria early exhibited an earnest and almost manly
intelligence. Along with the sympathetic and mystical temperament of a
saint, she possessed the strong, practical sense of her grandfather,
Theodosius the Great. Hence she was quick to turn her attention to
problems of statecraft and displayed a precocious capacity for
administration. Her duties as guardian of her brother and sisters also
developed her innate love of mastery, so that as a child she gradually
conceived a longing for the duties and responsibilities of the imperial
station.
At the tender age of fourteen, Pulcheria began to win influence in state
affairs. Proud and ambitious like her mother Eudoxia, she sought as
rapidly as possible to assert her authority; and, as her power and
influence grew, that of Anthemius gradually ceased to exert itself. By
no other hypothesis can we explain why Anthemius at this time retired
from active duties and did not retain his office as regent at least
until two years later, when Theodosius, in his fifteenth year, should
attain his majority.
On July 4, 414, Pulcheria, the daughter of an emperor, assumed, contrary
to all precedent, the title of Augusta, previously reserved exclusively
for the wives of emperors, and formally took upon herself the honor and
the duties of regent in the name of her brother, who was still a minor.
So thoroughly did she gain the ascendency over the young prince that
even after he was created Augustus two years later she retained her
title and continued to be the real power in the imperial palace; indeed,
she was for forty years virtually the ruler of the Eastern Empire.
The children of Arcadius and Eudoxia inherited the religious temperament
of their father rather than the worldly disposition of their mother.
Consequently, the court of Theodosius the Younger formed a great
contrast to that of Arcadius. Pulcheria determined to embrace a life of
celibacy. Resolving to remain a virgin, she induced her sisters to join
with her in vows of perpetual virginity. They were confirmed in this
step by their spiritual father, Atticus, who wrote for the princesses a
book in which he dwelt on the beauty of the single life.
In the presence
of the clergy and the assembled people of Constantinople the three
daughters of Arcadius dedicated their virginity to God; and their solemn
vows were inscribed on a tablet of gold and jewels, which was publicly
offered in the Church of Saint Sophia. Pious souls saw in this vow of
Pulcheria only the natural result of her strict piety and her unselfish
love for her brother; but profane historians attributed it to her
extraordinary prudence, which was with her a gift of nature, and to her
unbounded ambition--on the ground that she could thus maintain
permanently her ascendency over the young prince, and, by controlling
his marriage, share his power.
In her manner of life, however, Pulcheria emphasized the genuineness of
her piety. The imperial palace, as says a contemporary, assumed the
character of a cloister. All males, except saintly men who had forgotten
the distinction of sexes, were excluded from the holy threshold.
Pulcheria and a chosen band of Christian damsels formed a sort of
religious community. Spiritual practices were carried on, with strict
punctuality, from morning till evening. Whereas richly clad senators and
officers in sumptuous raiment had earlier passed in and out of the
palace, so now the black robes of priests and the dark cowls of monks
were to be seen thronging the entrance, and in place of the joyous songs
of banquetings and festivities, one could hear the monotonous intoning
of psalms. The vanity of dress which had scandalized the court of
Eudoxia was discarded, and the simple garb of nuns was the prevailing
fashion of the palace. The princesses did not employ themselves in
personal adornment or in the many vanities of royal station, but spent
much of their time at the loom, weaving garments for the poor and needy.
A frugal diet was adopted, and even this was interrupted by frequent
fasts. Thus Pulcheria and her maidens wearied not in their saintly life
and in the performance of deeds of mercy.
These outward exercises of piety were attended by sumptuous beneficences
for the spread of the Christian religion. Magnificent churches were
built in various parts of the Empire at the expense of Pulcheria;
charitable foundations for the benefit of the poor and the unfortunate
were established in Constantinople and elsewhere, and ample donations
were given by her for the perpetual maintenance of monastic societies.
This imperial saint, who thus devoted a large part of her time and
energies to the performance of religious duties and of charitable
undertakings, naturally enjoyed the peculiar favor of the Deity. There
is a tradition that the knowledge of the location of sacred relics and
intimation of future events were communicated to her in dreams and
revelations. The common people attributed healing power to her.
Pulcheria's virtues aroused in the populace a feeling of admiration, and
the saintly life of the palace awakened and spread a deep spiritual
influence throughout the Empire.
Religion, however, was accompanied with culture, and Pulcheria, with the
aid of the best masters, had her brother and sisters trained in all the
various branches of knowledge acquired up to that time.
Under her
direction Theodosius became a student of natural science; and so great
was his skill in writing and in illuminating manuscripts that he
received the name of Calligraphus. Pulcheria acquired an elegant and
familiar command of both Greek and Latin; and she displayed her
intellectual discipline, and gift of expression on the various occasions
of speaking or writing on public business.
Yet Pulcheria's devotion to religion and to learning never diverted her
indefatigable attention from public affairs. She strengthened the
influence of the senate and supported it in the reform of many abuses
which had crept in during the ascendancy of the eunuchs of the palace
and the struggles with the German party; but her energies were chiefly
directed toward acting as counsellor to the emperor, and protecting him
from the intrigues of court officials, to which his weak character made
him an easy victim. She instructed her brother in the art of government,
yet the tenderness of her discipline seems to have made him rather a
willing instrument in her own hands than an independent monarch.
Possibly she realized that the elements which go to form a great ruler
were lacking in his character; possibly her own love of power blinded
her to the right course of action toward her confiding ward. At any
rate, "her precepts may countenance some suspicion of the extent of her
capacity or the purity of her intention. She taught him to maintain a
grave and majestic deportment; to walk, to hold his robe, to seat
himself on his throne in a manner worthy of a great prince; to abstain
from laughter; to listen with condescension; to return suitable answers;
to assume, by turns, a serious or a placid countenance; in a word, to
represent with grace and dignity the external figure of a Roman
emperor."
Though so careful and systematic in her training of the young prince,
Pulcheria did not deprive his boyhood of those companionships which add
zest to youthful pursuits and recreation and stimulate the growth of
manly qualities. She gave him as comrades two bright and spirited
youths, Paulinus and Placitus, with whom he associated in open-hearted
intimacy and who were destined to play a prominent part in his reign.
Paulinus especially became his most trusted friend, and the two were
united for many years by bonds which resembled those of Damon and
Pythias. Amid such surroundings and under such influence, Theodosius
grew up. The product of Pulcheria's instruction, however, was a ruler
who descended below even the weakness of her father and uncle. Chaste,
temperate, merciful, superstitious, pious, he was rich in negative
qualities; but, being feeble in energy and lacking all initiative, he
became merely a good-hearted and well-meaning, instead of active and
courageous, ruler. Consequently in every official act it was Pulcheria
who supplied the wisdom and the energy which made the earlier years of
Theodosius's reign such happy and peaceful ones.
Pulcheria, however, was
content to keep her power in the background and to attribute to the
genius of the emperor the smoothness with which the wheels of government
turned, as well as the mildness and prosperity of his reign.
The choice of a wife for Theodosius naturally lay in the hands of
Pulcheria. The young prince, influenced by the example of his father,
had expressed to his sister his preference for rare physical perfection
and high intellectual endowments over exalted station and royal blood in
the choice of a consort; and Pulcheria, in conjunction with his boyhood
friend Paulinus, set herself to the task of finding in the capital or in
the provinces an ideal corresponding to the wishes of the imperial
youth. Yet, while they were engaged in the search, by happy chance a
wonderful concatenation of events in the pagan city of Athens determined
the destiny of the nineteen-year-old ruler.
In the story of Athenais we have the beautiful romance of a maiden of
modest station raised by destiny to the exalted dignity of a throne. She
was the favorite child of Leontius, an Athenian philosopher, who devoted
most of his time to training his daughter in the religion and philosophy
of his native city, and who sought to cultivate in her all that charm of
manner and richness of temperament which characterized the Greek women
in the best days of ancient Athens. The story goes that the old
philosopher was so confident that, because of her beauty and
intellectual gifts, a high destiny awaited his daughter, that he
bequeathed her as a legacy only a hundred pieces of gold, while he
divided the bulk of his estate between his two sons, Valerius and
Genesius. The brothers, being avaricious by nature and jealous of the
superior qualities of their sister, treated her with neglect and cruelty
in her distress. Athenais implored them to repair the obvious injustice
and to grant her her rights, representing to them how she did not
deserve this disgrace and that the indigence of their sister would be to
them, if not a cause of grief, yet certainly a continual reproach; but
her brothers would not listen to her appeals, and finally drove her from
the paternal mansion. Fortunately, a maternal aunt resided in Athens,
who received the disinherited maiden into her home and warmly espoused
her cause. She brought Athenais to Constantinople, where another aunt
dwelt, and made arrangements for the maiden to bring suit against the
hard-hearted brothers. To influence the decision, Athenais and her aunt
obtained audience with Pulcheria, and thus the link was formed which
joined the destinies of the young emperor and the hapless orphan.
The youthful plaintiff was her own advocate, and so effectually did she
argue her case that the Augusta, charmed by the penetration and
cleverness which her speech revealed, as well as by the wonderful beauty
and modest demeanor of the maiden, was irresistibly forced to the
conviction that this girl was the very one who embodied the ideals and
longings of the young prince. And, in fact, Athenais was physically and
intellectually endowed in a manner seldom equalled.
Imagine a maiden of
tall and slender proportions of figure, of rare perfection of form, of
fair complexion, of dark and luminous eyes which revealed the sweetness
and subtlety of the spirit within, while the perfect outline of the
countenance was framed by a luxuriant abundance of golden locks,--and
you have some conception of the stranger who stood with queenly grace
before the proud Augusta. Furthermore, every word that she uttered
revealed the rare subtlety of understanding or warmth of sensibilities
of the petitioner, who was in every regard the perfect picture of a
symmetrically developed maiden. So soon as Pulcheria ascertained that
Athenais was of good family and was still unmarried, she began to carry
out her plans as a royal matchmaker. She aroused the curiosity of her
brother by her account of the charms of the Greek maiden, and the
recital inspired in the young prince a lively impatience to see
Athenais. He besought his sister to arrange an opportunity for him,
unobserved, to see the maiden, and Pulcheria readily devised a plan.
After having concealed Theodosius and Paulinus behind the tapestries in
her apartment, she summoned Athenais to come to her for a further
interview. Athenais entered the room, and the young men were so charmed
by the view that Theodosius, enamored of the maiden at first sight,
desired to make her his bride.
What must have been the emotions of the disinherited orphan, when the
Augusta, instead of granting her petition, told her that she was chosen
to be the bride of an emperor? Only one obstacle to the union presented
itself,--the pagan faith of the beautiful Athenian.
While winning her
heart for himself, the pious Theodosius longed to win her soul for the
Saviour. To the patriarch Atticus was assigned the pleasing task of
convincing the beautiful maiden of the errors of paganism and of guiding
her spirit into the ways of eternal truth. The pure heart of the gentle
Athenais proved readily susceptible to the beauties of Christian
teaching; the waters of baptism were supposed to remove from her nature
the last vestiges of pagan unbelief; and in accordance with the wishes
of her betrothed, the converted Athenais received the baptismal name of
Eudocia.
Finally, on June 7, 421, the royal nuptials were celebrated with great
pomp, amid the rejoicings of the populace. The prudent Pulcheria,
however, withheld from the bride of the emperor the title of Augusta
until the union was blessed by the birth of a daughter, who was named
Eudoxia, after her grandmother, and who, fifteen years later, became the
wife of Valentinian III., ruler of the Western Empire.
The brothers of Eudocia richly deserved the resentment of the new
empress. They had fled from Athens when they heard of the elevation of
their despised sister, but she had them sought out and brought to
Constantinople. They entered into her presence trembling and
disconcerted; but instead of punishing them, as they felt they well
deserved, Eudocia received them in a friendly manner and forgave them
for their base conduct. Regarding them as the unconscious instruments of
her elevation, the new empress gave them part in some of the highest
offices of state.
Having become a Christian, Eudocia dedicated her talents to the honor of
religion and to the glory of her husband. She indited religious poems
which were the admiration of the age. She composed a poetical paraphrase
of the five books of Moses, of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, and of the
prophecies of Daniel and Zechariah. She devoted three books of verse to
the legend of Saint Cyprian, who was a martyr in the persecution
inaugurated by Diocletian. She wrote a panegyric on the Persian
victories of Theodosius; and there is extant from her pen a cento of
Homeric verse treating the life and miracles of Christ.
She also
manifestly exerted a strong influence in the founding of the University
of Constantinople, if we judge from the preponderance of Greek chairs.
She also encouraged in every manner the cultivation of Greek letters;
and the support she gave to Greek poets and litterateurs gave umbrage to
the narrow religionists, who regarded everything Greek as pagan.
Eudocia, by her beauty and s