Libanius on the private life of Constantine the Great
The present article is devoted to a small fragment from the speech of the renowned rhetor Libanius «For Thalassius» (Orat 42.26), dedicated to the career of Flavius Optatus, prominent dignitary of the Constantine’s the Great sole rule epoch (324-337). Some documents and narrative tradition confirm that it was Optatus, who received the honorary title of «patricius» first; also he became the ordinary first consul for 334 A.D. It is remarkable, that he got both of these titles earlier than Constantine’s brother Julius Constantius. Optatus’ career has attracted researchers’ interest from the end of XVII century (e.g. Du Cange); but we still have no satisfactory explanation of the reasons that made such elevation possible. Libanius’ report, which received relatively little attention of researchers, contains a hint that Optatus made his career thanks to the beauty of his wife, who became a royal mistress at the court of Constantine the Great. More importantly, Libanius’ narrative is unique and could not be verified by other sources. Libanius spoke on the question in a deliberately aggressive style. All this allows us to consider this report as the author's invention. In addition, it is worth saying that the available data on the private life of the Emperor Constantine the Great cannot give us any possibility to assume the existence of a mistress at the Emperor’s court. The author of the present article, however, scrutinizes the Libanius’ report in the wide context of the pagan critical tradition of Constantine, which dates back to the IV-V centuries. It is represented by such authors as Emperor Julian (a nephew of Constantine the Great), Eunapius and Zosimus. Thus, the Libanius’ message helps reconstruct a curious detail of the «black legend» about Emperor Constantine, created by pagan authors.