Eusebia (empress) - Poisoning of Helena

Poisoning of Helena

Her presence in the following visit is mentioned by Ammianus in another part of the above chapter, in connection to the miscarriages of Helena: "Meanwhile Constantius' sister Helena, wife of Julian Caesar, had been brought to Rome under pretence of affection, but the reigning queen, Eusebia, was plotting against her; she herself had been childless all her life, and by her wiles she coaxed Helena to drink a rare potion, so that as often as she was with child she should have a miscarriage. For once before, in Gaul, when she had borne a baby boy, she lost it through machination: a midwife had been bribed with a sum of money, and as soon as the child was born cut the umbilical cord more than was right, and so killed it; such great pains and so much thought were taken that this most valiant man might have no heir." In the historical study "Ammianus Marcellinus and the Representation of Historical Reality" (1998) by Timothy Barnes, the birth of this stillborn son is estimated to 356. The miscarriage in Rome to 357. Barnes considers the story of the potion-induced miscarriages to be an allegation without further reference. Edward Gibbon had not completely dismissed the report:"even the fruits of his marriage-bed were blasted by the jealous artifices of Eusebia herself, who, on this occasion alone, seems to have been unmindful of the tenderness of her sex, and the generosity of her character" ... "For my own part I am inclined to hope that the public malignity imputed the effects of accident as the guilt of Eusebia." He left the question of the existence of such a poison open and to be determined by physicians rather than historians. "A History of Medicine" (1995) by Plinio Prioreschi dismisses the account as an example of a very common error in accounts of ancient medicine, "the attribution to drugs of properties that they could not have". In this case, a potion which is consumed just once and keeps having effect for years. Prioreschi regards it as "an obvious impossibility in the light of modern pharmacology".

"The Propaganda of Power: The Role of Panegyric in Late Antiquity" (1998) contains a number of essays on the subject of panegyrics. Among them is "In praise of an Empress:Julian's speech of thanks to Eusebia" by Shaun Tougher, discussing a "Panegyric In Honour Of Eusebia" written by Julian himself. Tougher examines the relationship of Julian and Eusebia, commenting on whether Helena was affected by it. The historian considers that the image of a politically influential but "kind-hearted and philanthropic" Eusebia is directly based on her depiction in the works of Julian. According to Tougher, later historians have tended to accept this depictions with little to no questioning of it. He regards Eusebia to be the greatest threat to Julian for the duration of his term as Caesar. This rank effectively made Julian heir presumptive to the imperial throne. His position as such relied solely on Constantius and Eusebia remaining childless. Had an heir been born to the imperial couple, Julian could find himself outliving his usefulness to his imperial patrons. Tougher follows the example of senior historian Noël Aujoulat in considering the story of Helena's miscarriages being the result of abortifacients to be entirely plausible. Both historians consider Ammianus' allegations, casting Eusebia as the orchestrator of such a plot, should be taken into consideration and "not be lightly dismissed".