Maria's pendant, now on display at the Louvre. The names of Maria's parents and husband are arranged to form the Chi Rho. The pendant reads, around a central cross (clockwise) on the obverse: HONORI MARIA SERHNA VIVATIS STELICHO. and on the reverse, STELICHO SERENA EUCHERI THERMANTIA VIVATIS
Maria (died 407) was a Roman empress as the first wife of the Western Roman EmperorHonorius. She was the daughter of the general Stilicho. It is uncertain when she was born, but she must have been no older than fourteen at the time of her marriage. Maria had no children, and died in 407. After her death, Honorius married her sister Thermantia.
Her maternal grandfather was an elder Honorius, a brother to Theodosius I and son of Count Theodosius.[2] Genealogists consider it likely that Maria was named after her maternal grandmother, tentatively giving said grandmother the name "Maria".[3]
Marriage
In c. February, 398, Maria married Honorius, a cousin of her mother.[4] In the Epithalamion written in their honor, the poet Claudian places his flattering description of Maria in the mouth of Venus, a Romangoddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility.[5]
The date of her parents’ marriage is usually given as the year 384,[6][7][8] meaning that Maria would be, at most, 14 years old at the time of her marriage.[3]
Empress
Although Claudian expressed hope that Maria would have a child,[9] that did not happen.[10] Some ancient sources attributed the couple’s childlessness to underhanded tactics. Zosimus blamed Serena,[11] while Philostorgius blamed Stilicho.[12] Doyle characterized Zosimus’ report of Serena administering drugs to her son-in-law for years as “outlandish.”[13] After her death in 407,[14] her sister Thermantia went on to marry Honorius.
Italics indicates a consort to a junior co-emperor, underlining indicates a consort to an emperor variously regarded as either legitimate or a usurper, and bold incidates an empress regnant.
