martyrs of Rome were the city’s glory (Const. Imp. Or. ad sanct.22.2). The new
basilical monuments of victory functioned even more as such since they stood like
a majestic rampart before the gates of Rome (for a later testimony, see ICUR NS
2.4107), where god had led Maxentius – it was none other than he who had raised
the Aurelian city wall to almost double its former height! – to seek battle and lose
(Or. ad sanct.22.2; Eus. Praeparatio evangelica13.11.1–2, HE9.9.4; cf. Panegyrici
latini12 [9].15.1). Eusebius gushed about “royal Rome,” whose resting places of
the martyrs made the city on the mountain rise like a single monument of victory
at the center of the globe (Eus. Theoph. syr.4.7).
Large-scale monuments of victory were the pride of a city (see in general
McCormick 1986), and every visitor to Rome wished to see them. Ideologically
Constantine’s monuments belong to the period before 325, when it was yet impos-
sible to envisage relocating the capital away from Rome to Constantinople with last-
ing effect. As imperial monuments they expressed Rome’s claim to be and remain
the imperial city par excellence. For Constantine the church now became the vehicle
precisely of this restoration. By honoring his divine companion in battle and the
martyrs, the church brought fortune and victory to Rome (cf. Const. Imp. Or. ad
sanct.26). While it had so far maintained a watchful attitude toward the Roman
state, the church was now set on the way to becoming itself the carrier of the idea
of Rome through Constantine’s massive intervention. Rome’s church entered into
this new task in the most visible and effective manner through the cult of the martyrs.
The church was sustained by conservative values and thus could not resist the idea
of a Christian Rome. It was precisely this which facilitated the entry of the Roman
aristocracy into the church. The quick spread of Christianity amongst the Roman
upper classes can only be explained by the fact that the aristocracy’s conservative
values were shared by the church. The veneration of the martyrs contained key
Roman ideals. The martyr is of noble birth (Or. ad sanct.12.4). He faces struggles
and suffering safe in the knowledge of victory and pays no heed to wounds and
setbacks (Dörries 1954: 134 –5). A sense of morality and prudence renders the martyr
strong (Or. ad sanct.17.3 – 4). Eusebius’ encomium on the wife of Rome’s prefect,
Sophronia, who committed suicide in order to escape the attentions of Maxentius,
provides an obvious example of the transference of the strict morality of ancient Rome
to the Christian notion of martyrdom (Eus. HE8.14.16 –17, Vita Constantini1.34).
The Annual Cycle of Victory Celebrations
The emperor’s portrayal of victory required public demonstrations, as frequent and
regular as possible, in addition to eye-catching monuments. Contests in the arenas
were most successful in presenting this image of the invincible emperor, and they
secured lasting memory within the cycle of annual celebrations (Curran 2000: 223).
The emperor was able to establish new festivities and games at will in order to keep
the myth of his victory alive. The athletes gained victory through his favor. His
victory in turn was the victory of Rome. Constantine employed this tool to reach at
least the pagan population. He renovated the Circus Maximus, possibly also because416 Stefan Heid