An illustrated biography and a publication which, through a close examination of contemporary literary and iconographic sources, reveals Helena's 'true face'.
The book describes Helena through the few images with which she wished to be depicted in her lifetime, and throws new light on the Augusta, the Emperor Constantine’s mother, who remained in the shadow of a power that she could possibly never imagine, and to which she only gained full access in her dotage.
The figure of Helena is fascinating when set against the background of her own time, the Late Antique period, an age which has become increasingly popular with the public at large in recent years, precisely because of the complex characters it produced, and the many similarities it bears to our own time, with its superlatives and excesses, arrogance and anxieties, outrageous luxury and indescribable poverty. Helena is a symbol of this feeling, a presence who, for a long time, remained at a discreet distance.