Helena

Helena Alypia (Greek: Ελένη Αλυπία, Eleni Alypia; 960s? – ?) was a Byzantine empress consort as the wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine VIII. Life Very little is known about her, as she is only briefly mentioned in the Chronographia of Michael Psellos, followed by the works of John Skylitzes and Zonaras. Psellos writes of her only that: "Constantine while still a young man, had married a lady called Helena. She was a daughter of the renowned Alypius, then the leading man in the city and member of a noble family held in high repute. This lady, who was not only beautiful but also virtuous, bore him three daughters before she died." Apart from this reference in Psellos, her father Alypius (Αλυπίος) is otherwise unknown. The marriage probably took place ca. 976, and Helena died at some unknown point, apparently long before her husband became sole emperor in 1025. The historian Gunther G. Wolf theorized that she died ca. 989, possibly during the birth of her third daughter.