Emperor Constantine had his troops paint the Chi Rho symbol (Greek letters for Christ) on their shields at the battle of Milvian Bridge. Today we are going to make one of those shields (see below for more history facts).
Materials
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Black pain
- Brushes
Shield Directions
- Cut out cardboard in shape of rectangle or circle for a shield.
- Paint the Chi Rho symbol on the shield (see picture). These are the Greek letters for Christ.
- Cut out another piece of cardboard as a strap for the handle. Attach with a stapler. My son decided to get really creative with the strap: he reinforced it with tape and then used a pipe cleaner as a finger grasp…so let your kids get creative 😊
- Pretend to be Emperor Constantine’s troops at the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
Fast Facts
- Emperor Constantine was also known as Constantine the Great.
- He was the first Christian Roman Emperor.
- At first, Constantine was not a Christian and worshipped the Roman god Apollo. Although he did stop persecution of the Christians, he himself wasn’t a Christian.
- Constantine became a Christian at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. He saw a light in the sky in the shape of the cross and the words “In this sign, you will conquer.” He had all his army paint the Greek letters standing for Christ’s name on their shields (Chi Rho) and marched into battle….and won! After this Constantine became a Christian.
- Constantine moved the capitol from Rome to a Byzantium and renamed the city after himself: Constantinople.
- The Eastern Roman Empire then became known as the Byzantine Empire.