Eusebius’ Life of Constantine was a panegyric written to recount and honor the life of Constantine the Great. This writing gives insight into the inner workings and customs of religion at the time. Through the story of Constantine, we see not just his journey but the wider world around him during his reign.
By some measure, the author envisions Constantine as a figure to be praised for his role in ending the persecution of Christians and how he influenced the course of an entire religion. This writing is famous today for how it allows us to better understand how Christianity came to be what it is today.
Perhaps the Life of Constantine’s greatest strength and greatest downfall is its glorification of Constantine to a fantastical extent. Eusebius deifies Constantine, portraying him as a figure larger than life that is simply enacting God’s will.
In the opening, Eusebius describes Constantine as a “soul no longer confined in mortal occupations for long periods of time, but honored with the ever-blooming garland of endless life and the immortality of a blessed eternity.” The way in which he injects a sense of divine into Constantine makes for beautiful writing, but also limits the writer’s ability to be taken at face value as a historical text.
This view of Constantine extends to his feats, with Eusebius going into depth on the many accomplishments of Constantine, most importantly his role in putting an end to the persecution of Christians and uniting them with the Romans.
By all accounts, Constantine is portrayed as a godlike man. When one peels back the layers of the more fantastical elements of this writing, the reader can see the true story that lies at the heart that inspired the Life of Constantine.
This was a tumultuous period full of death and persecution, but this writing hints at the hope that persevered during this trying time. In the end, the Christians and Romans were united and fused together to create something new. Eusebius gives insight into how this unity came to be.
Eusebius. (2013). Life of Constantine. Limovia.net.
