Due to its historical importance, the process of sanctification of Byzantine Empresses of the Iconoclast and post-Iconoclast period (Irene, Theodora, Theophano, etc.) has been studied in detail. However, that is not the case of their masculine counterparts. What is their role in hagiographical texts? Far from being always the antagonists of the saint, Satan’s representatives, heretics and villains par excellence, the image of the Iconoclast Emperors is much richer, more varied and complex. Let us take the example of Emperor Theophilos, evolving from a mistreated character into a protagonist also beloved by iconodule authors, who absolved him of his crimes and empathically valued his good deeds. This paper aims to clarify this aspect of the literary representation of the Iconoclast Byzantine Emperor in hagiographical texts and its contribution to the cultural creation of the Imperial image.
