Pre-Christian Reminiscences from the Cult of Emperor Constantine I the Great

Authors:

Pages: 74-91
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/RNRA7705

Abstract:

The aim of the report is to present an analysis of the information from the early Byzantine authors on the cult of Emperor Constantine I the Great, which precedes the chronologically and typologically Christian cult of St. Constantine and Helena, but not without connection with it. Historical sources can be grouped into at least two groups organized around the events related to the consecration of Constantinople in May 330, in which two remarkable ritual and cult centers stand out: 1) The Constantine Forum: the consecration of the solar statue of Emperor Constantine at the newly constructed Constantine Forum on the famous porphyry column brought from Egyptian Thebes, the day before or on the first day of the 40-day celebrations, accompanied by numerous additional ceremonies and rituals; 2) Hippodrome: The ceremony of the Hippodrome on the first day of the 40-day celebrations in which the gilded xoanon of Constantine, holding a small sculpture of Tyche on the city in his right hand, was carried in the “Helios Chariot”. In the worship of the Emperor Constantine I the Great two important religious ideas were intertwined as central: – Preserving and resurrecting the solar cult context in the architectural and artistic design of the new political centers of the Constantine’s city, inherited from the ancient Byzantion; – Reviving and incorporating the ancient mythological tradition of the founding Byzantion in the new context and traditions of Constantinople.

Keywords:

Emperor Constantine I the Great; the Constantine Forum; the Hippodrome; Byzantion; Constantinople.

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