21. Karma Catches Up With Fausta
While Crispus went from success to success and cemented his claim to imperial succession upon his father’s death, his half-brothers, Fausta’s sons, were in no position to don the purple. The eldest of them was only ten years old at the time. In order for any of Fausta’s sons to succeed Constantine, something would have to happen to Crispus. So Fausta saw to it that something did. She reportedly tried to seduce Crispus, but he balked, and hurriedly left the palace.
Undaunted, she lied to Emperor Constantine and told him that Crispus did not respect his father since he was in love with and had tried to rape his father’s wife. Constantine believed her, and had his eldest son executed. A few months later, however, karma caught up with Fausta when Constantine discovered how she had manipulated and got him to kill Crispus. As punishment, he had her boiled alive. He then issued a damnatio memoriae (“condemnation of memory”) to erase her from official accounts – a form of dishonor issued against traitors and those who brought discredit to the Roman state.