She was a daughter of the Greek
sebastokrator John I Doukas, ruler of
Thessaly in ca. 1268–1289, and a
Greek princess of
Aromanian origin, known only by her
monastic name, Hypomone. In 1275, the
Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos sent a large army to subdue her recalcitrant father. The Byzantine army besieged John's capital of
Neopatras, but he managed to flee and seek the aid of the
Duke of Athens,
John I de la Roche (r. 1263–1280). John I gave the necessary aid to the
sebastokrator, in exchange for the marriage of Helena to his brother,
William I de la Roche, the future Duke of Athens (r. 1280–1287). The Duchy also acquired the towns of
Siderokastron,
Zeitounion,
Gravia, and
Gardiki as her dowry. The couple had a son,
Guy II de la Roche (r. 1287–1308). Following William's death, Helena served as
regent for her underage son until his coming of age. In 1289, she refused to recognize the
suzerainty of the new
Prince of Achaea,
Florent of Hainaut, and the
Angevin King of Naples,
Charles II, as the common liege-lord of all Frankish states in Greece, had to force her to submit. In 1291 she married
Hugh of Brienne,
Count of Lecce, who became the
bailli of the Athenian duchy. This allowed Helena once again to challenge Achaen suzerainty, and insist on her right to do
homage directly to the King of Naples. Charles II vacillated, but in the end Florent of Hainaut prevailed, and when Guy II of Athens came of age in 1296, he recognized Florent and his wife,
Isabella of Villehardouin, as his liege-lords. ==References==