Ariadne

Ariadne was empress of Byzantium, daughter of Emperor Leo I, wife of Zeno and then of Anastasius I, and mother of Leo II. She was born around 450 and died in 515. She remained faithful to Orthodoxy, and in Constantinople she had a local veneration; the Church remembers her on 22 August, in some Greek synaxaria on 23 August.

Family and marriage Ariadne was the eldest daughter of Leo I and Verina, the sister of Basiliscus. Her mother saw that she received a good education. She was first betrothed to Ardabur the Younger, son of the general Aspar, but the betrothal was ended on account of his treason. In 466 or 467 she was married to Tarasicodissa, an Isaurian chieftain and commander of the imperial guard, who changed his name to Zeno. In 467 their only known son, Leo II, was born.

Years on the throne Leo I died on 18 January 474, and his grandson Leo II succeeded him. At the urging of Ariadne and Verina, the child made Zeno co-⁠emperor on 9 February 474. Leo II died after some months, in November, and Zeno was left sole ruler, with Ariadne as empress. The reign was not loved: Zeno was of foreign origin, and part of the army and the people looked on him with suspicion. In 475 Verina and her brother Basiliscus started a revolt, and Zeno and Ariadne fled from Constantinople with part of the treasury. Basiliscus was proclaimed emperor. In 476 the usurper was overthrown, and Zeno and Ariadne returned to the capital.

In 478 to 479 Ariadne intrigued against the Isaurian general Illus, tried to bring her mother back from exile, and arranged an attempt on Illus's life which did not succeed. Zeno did not punish her, which angered Illus; his revolt was put down by 480.

Anastasius Zeno died on 9 April 491. After his death Ariadne was the only one in the family to keep the title of augusta. She, the senate and the army chose Anastasius, a high palace official, as emperor, and his claim to the throne was supported by his marriage to Ariadne, held after forty days. Ariadne gradually lost influence. Unlike Zeno, who had drawn close to the monophysites, she remained loyal to the true faith.

Death and veneration She died in 515 and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. She had a local veneration in the capital: the Typikon of the Great Church (ninth to tenth century) and the Synaxarion of Constantinople (tenth century) record her name on 22 August, and other synaxaria on 23 August.