Aelia Eudocia

Aelia Eudocia Augusta /ˈiːli.ə juːˈdoʊʃə ɔːˈɡʌstə/ (Late Greek: Αιλία Ευδοκία Αυγούστα; c. AD 401 – 460), also called Saint Eudocia, was the wife of Theodosius II, and a prominent historical figure in understanding the rise of Christianity during the beginning of the Byzantine Empire. Eudocia lived in a world where Greek paganism and Christianity existed side by side with both pagans and non-Orthodox Christians being persecuted. Although Eudocia's work has been mostly ignored by modern scholars, her poetry and literary work are great examples of how her Christian faith and Greek upbringing were intertwined, exemplifying a legacy that the Byzantine Empire left behind on the Christian world.

Early life

Aelia Eudocia was born around AD 400 in either Athens or Antioch into a family of Greek descent. Her father, a Greek philosopher named Leontius, taught Rhetoric at the Athenian Academy, where people from all over the Mediterranean came to either teach or learn. Eudocia's given name was Athenais, chosen by her parents in honour of the city's protector, the pagan goddess Pallas Athena. Her father was rich and had a magnificent house on the Acropolis, with a large courtyard in which young Athenais frequently played as a child.