Anthousa 2 founded the monastery of Mantineon: Synax. Eccl. Const., 27 July, p. 848. Daughter of pious parents, Strategios 14 and Febronia 1, she lived at Mantineon in the reign of the emperor Constantine V (Konstantinos 7), pursuing the life of a solitary, devoted to religion: Synax. Eccl. Const. 848, 33-849, 5. She modelled herself on a monk who lived nearby, Sisinnios 87, and took instruction from him; he foretold that she would be the founder of a large monastery: Synax. Eccl. Const. 849, 6-16. She received the tonsure and withdrew to a site near to a village called Perkile, and there she founded the monastery: Synax. Eccl. Const. 849, 17-33. The monastery grew in size and consisted of convents for both monks and nuns; Anthousa built a Church of the Theotokos for her nuns and another of the Apostles for her monks: Synax. Eccl. Const. 849, 36-850, 2. After the death of Sisinnios (848, 34-36) she was visited by many penitents who had formerly gone to him: Synax. Eccl. Const. 850, 2-6. Word of her reached the iconoclast emperor Constantine V (Konstantinos 7) and he sent an agent to try to persuade her to oppose icons; she and her nephew (Anonymus 770) were arrested and tortured but refused to condemn the veneration of icons, and Anthousa 2 was exiled; she was visited in exile by the emperor (Konstantinos 7) and empress (Eudokia 1) and on this occasion she told the empress (who was seriously ill) that she would recover and would bear children, a boy and a girl; this prophecy came true and the emperor then ceased to persecute her; her fame spread; when she died she was buried in the same cell in which she had lived: Synax. Eccl. Const. 850-852.

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