the celebrated wife of Theodosius II., was the daughter of the Athenian sophist Leontius, or Leon, and was called Athenais prior to her conversion to Christianity. By her father she was carefully instructed in literature and the sciences; and so high an estimate did the philosopher make of her beauty and merit, that he divided his whole patrimony between his two sons. Athenais, however, resented the injustice, and carried her plea to Constantinople before the emperor. Here she gained access to Pulcheria, the sister of Theodosius, and by her she was secretly destined to be his wife. Before her elevation to the throne, she renounced Paganism and was baptized. It was not, however, till the birth of a daughter that she received the title of Augusta (A.D. 423). Her brothers she not only forgave, but raised to the dignity of consuls and prefects. About A.D. 438, Eudocia made an ostentatious pilgrimage to the Holy Land, distributing alms and donations for pious purposes, with a munificence which exceeded that of the great Helena, and returned to Constantinople with the precious relics of St Stephen, St Peter, and the Virgin. Her peace, however, was soon after disturbed by the jealousy of her husband, who happened to receive from Paulinus, his master of the offices, a beautiful apple which he had presented to his wife. The execution of the favourite, and the retreat of Eudocia to the solitude of Jerusalem, did not appease the anger of the emperor, who dispatched a messenger for the purpose of putting to death two ecclesiastics who had gained her confidence. The assassination of his envoy provoked the emperor still further, and Eudocia was stripped of her royal honours, and degraded in the eyes of the nation. Among the monks of Jerusalem she became infected with the Eutychian heresy; but the misfortunes of her daughter Eudoxia led her to obtain a reconciliation with Pulcheria, and through her influence and that of her brothers she was afterwards restored to the communion of the church. She died at Jerusalem about A.D. 460, and was buried in the church of St Stephen. With her latest breath she protested that she had never transgressed the bounds of innocence and friendship. The talents of Eudocia were especially in her later years devoted to the service of the church. She composed a paraphrase on the Oecateuch in heroic verse, a paraphrase of Daniel and Zechariah, and a poem on the martyrdom of Cyprian and Justina. To these are added a poem on her husband's victory over the Persians, and, according to Zonaras, a cento of the verses of Homer applied to the life and miracles of Christ.

EUDOCIA was also the name of several other Roman empresses; the most notable was Eudocia Augusta of Macrembolis, wife of the Emperor Constantine XI., and after his death of Romanus IV. She had sworn to her first husband on his deathbed not to marry again, and had even imprisoned and exiled Romanus, who was suspected of aspiring to the throne. Perceiving, however, that she was not able unaided to avert the invasions which threatened the eastern frontier of her empire, she revoked her oath, married Romanus, and with his assistance dispelled the impending danger. She did not live very happily with her new husband, who was warlike and self-willed, and was ultimately compelled to vacate the throne in favour of her son Michael. She retired to a convent, where she died at an advanced age.