True Cross (356 x 747 cm). Helena, Constantine's mother, finds the cross in Jerusalem. It was not easy to get information and "when the queen had called them and demanded them the place where our Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified, they would never tell... her. Then commanded she to burn them all" or cast them into a dry pit for seven days and there torment them with hunger. The Jew is shown in one fresco being pulled from the pit by a rope, whereupon he confessed that Jesus was his lord and where the cross was located. The proof of the cross was that it was used to resurrect a dead man. Battle between Heraclius and Khosrau (329 x 747 cm). The cross played a role in battles during the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire (early 7th century). Piero diverged from his source material in a few important respects, including the story of King Solomon's meeting with the Queen of Sheba in a chronologically inaccurate place and giving greater emphasis to the two battles in which Christianity triumphs over paganism. The cycle ends with a depiction of the Annunciation, not strictly part of the Legend of the True Cross but probably included by Piero for its universal meaning. References Turner, Jane (ed.) (1996). The Dictionary of Art, Grove Belton, R. & Kersten, B. (2010). Vision and Visions in Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross, Glimpse. In Project Gutenberg. Bertelli, C., Maetzke, A. M., & Lavin, M. A. (2001). Piero della Francesca: The legend of the true cross in the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo. Skira. External links All images in series and interactive model Institute for Advanced Studies web site. The Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle on YouTube (in Italian): here and here. Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle at art-threads. 1460s paintings Paintings by Piero della Francesca Fresco paintings in Arezzo Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve Paintings depicting the Annunciation