FAUSTA, FLAVIA MASSIMA. - Daughter of the emperor Massimiano, born probably in Rome in 298. When Galerio set out to suppress the usurpation of Massenzio, and the latter, in order to defend himself, persuaded his father Massimiano to reassume the purple
The wedding ceremony took place in Gaul in 307, and on that occasion Eumenio delivered a panegyric which has been preserved (Paneg. Latini, VI). Naturally, the marriage of the girl, who was not yet ten years old, was symbolic, and the first son, Costanzo II, was not born until ten years later, the two elder sons of Costantino, Crispo and Costantino II, being the children of concubines. Six years later the last son, Costante, was born, and three years afterwards (326) a dark tragedy cast a gloomy shadow over the prosperous empire of Costantino. Within a short interval, the young Crispo and his stepmother F. were killed by imperial order; amid the widespread murmuring that ensued, the two deaths were attributed to a single cause, and the tale of Ippolito and Fedra was too well known among the people for any different explanation of the slaughter to be sought.