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'''Irene of Athens''' was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor [[Leo IV the Khazar|Leo IV]] and mother of [[Constantine VI]], both strong [[iconoclast]]s. She ruled jointly with her son, Constantine, after the death of her husband Leo. Irene was a strong [[iconodule]]. She arranged the convening of the [[Seventh Ecumenical Council|Second Council of Nicea]] in 787 that restored the practice of veneration of icons. In 802 Irene was deposed and exiled to Prinkipo (now Büyükada) and then to [[Metropolis of Mytiline|Lesbos]], where she died [[August 9]], 803.
==Life==
Irene was born in Athens about the year 752. Her family background is not known. It is believed that she was born of a Greek noble family. She apparently was a beautiful but orphaned girl who at the age of seventeen was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor [[Constantine V]] to be married to his son Leo in November 769. She gave birth to a son, Constantine, on [[January 14]], 771. Leo, however, was a steadfast [[iconoclast]] who, according to tradition, found that Irene possessed icons and thereafter would no longer share their marriage bed.