This paper aims to analyze again the ancient traditions about Constantine's murder of Crispus and Fausta. As Eutropius maintains, Crispus was executed because of political reasons: in my opinion Constantine trusted Fausta's accusations against his son as he had trusted similar accusations against her father Maximian in 310. However the official justification for the two murders was not a political, but a moral one, that is incestuous adultery, as it was usual since Augustus. Zosimos could thereafter develop his version on this 'sexual' basis.
Zecchini, G., Costantino e la morte di Crispo, in V.Neri, B. (ed.), La storiografia tardoantica. In memoria di A.Baldini, LED Edizioni Universitarie, Milano 2017: 127- 138 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/105089]
Costantino e la morte di Crispo
Zecchini, GiuseppePrimo
2017
Abstract
This paper aims to analyze again the ancient traditions about Constantine's murder of Crispus and Fausta. As Eutropius maintains, Crispus was executed because of political reasons: in my opinion Constantine trusted Fausta's accusations against his son as he had trusted similar accusations against her father Maximian in 310. However the official justification for the two murders was not a political, but a moral one, that is incestuous adultery, as it was usual since Augustus. Zosimos could thereafter develop his version on this 'sexual' basis.
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