Theodora of Constantinople: Courtesan to Empress

-Shylen Widom-North September 18, 201

!istory 101 Emily !erf September 18, 201

"iblio#raphy
$ro%opius& The Secret History&, ''0 C&E& $& (%)ay, *& !ill, "u%)ler, Cro+ston, Wiesner-!an)s, and ,oe $erry& A History of Western Society. "oston: "edford-St& (artin.s, 2011 /llen E0ans, ,ames& 1Theodora 2Wife of ,ustinian 13&4 5oman-emperors& ,uly 2', 1668& 7ni0ersity of "ritish Colombia& September 18, 201 8 http:--+++&romanemperors&or#-dora&htm9 *ash, (i)e& 1"lue :ersus ;reen: 5o%)in# the "y<antine Empire&4 Smithsonian& (ar%h 2, 2012& September 18, 201 8 http:--blo#s&smithsonianma#&%om-history-2012-0 -blue0ersus-#reen-ro%)in#-the-by<antine-empire-9 1The Ni)a 5iot&4 penelope.uchicago. September 18, 201 8 http:--penelope&u%hi%a#o&edu-=#rout-en%y%lopaedia>romana-%ir%usma?imus-ni)a&html9 Thayer, "ill& 1$ro%opius: The Se%ret !istory&4 penelope.uchicago. September 18, 201 8 http:--penelope&u%hi%a#o&edu-Thayer-E-5oman-Te?ts-$ro%opius-/ne%dota-9 The :isier& 1The Early @ife of Theodora&4 Neobyzantium. ,une 1', 2010& September 18, 201 8 http:--neoby<antium&%om-the-early-life-of-theodor9

Stiflin# hot air s+irlin# +ith dust, disturbed by the thunderin# hoo0es of horses, ur#ed on by the riders of ra%in# %hariots& The lon# o0al of the hippodrome, a li0ely pla%e in the an%ient %ity of Constantinople, +as +here the most prominent +oman in the history of the "y<antine Empire +as raised and +or)ed& Theodora, of the lo+est +run# of so%iety, an a%tress and prostitute, %au#ht the eye of ,ustinian the empire.s ne?t emperor& $ro%opius +as the offi%ial %ourt historian durin# the time of Theodora and ,ustinian.s rei#n1& !e +rote a pie%e %alled the Secret History. Thou#h there is some spe%ulation to+ards ho+ embellished his des%riptions of the %ouples e?treme #reed and 0i%ious beha0ior are, it is today %onsidered the best sour%e for loo)in# at the life of Theodora of Constantinople& The early life of Theodora sounds, espe%ially from $ro%opius.s perspe%ti0e, to be uns%rupulous, but the profession and a%tions she too) at times +ere most li)ely ne%essary for her to ma)e the money she needed to li0e an at least semi-%omfortable life& Today it is impossible to say for %ertain ho+ mu%h the +oman enAoyed her %areer as a %ourtesan& Theodora.s father, a man %alled (aster of the "ears by the ;reen Ba%tion of the hippodrome, +as a bear trainer +ho died +hen she +as around the a#e of fi0e2& With his death +ent his in%ome, one that her stepfather %ould not meet& To %ompensate for the shorta#e of money Theodora.s mother trained her three dau#hters, Comito the oldest, /nastasia the youn#est, and Theodora in the art of mo0ements and #estures that +ere re%o#ni<ed in theater and dan%e at the time & Cn%e Comito %ame of a#e their mother sent her strai#ht to the sta#e +here she had #reat su%%ess& /%%ordin# to the +ritin#s of $ro%opius Theodora follo+ed not far behind to perform small and 0arious tas)s, often she %arried her sister.s stool o0er her shoulder, on +hi%h Comito +ould sit durin# her assemblies& With in the ne?t ten years of her life, Theodora +as on sta#e 1"ut as soon as she %ame of an a#e that +as at last mature, she Aoined the +omen of the sta#e and strai#ht+ay be%ame a %ourtesan4 and de0eloped into a su%%essful a%tress and prostitute, for at the time they +ere one in the sameD& 1She sold her youthful beauty to those +ho %han%ed to %ome alon#, playin# +ith pra%ti%ally her +hole body4 $ro%opius #oes on to des%ribe ho+ she %aptured a%)no+led#ment and admiration for her +it on the sta#e 2+hi%h +ould pro0e important later in her life3, ho+ she had no sense of modesty, and ho+ she +as unlearned in both dan%e or musi%'& $ro%opius tal)s in +hat seems li)e dis#ust of ho+ she +andered around the hippodrome in nothin# but a simple #irdle only for the reason that, 1no person is permitted to enter there entirely na)ed, but must ha0e at least a #irdle about the #roins4E& She +ould +ander around so, +ith ser0ant boys follo+in# to sprin)le her body +ith seed for #eese, there e?%lusi0ely for this reason, %ould eat it, or so says the offi%ial %ourt historian& Ft is suspe%ted also that she be%ame
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pre#nant many times, endin# most of them +ith abortions, for she had a 0i#orous se?ual appetite and lay +ith many men 1/ll of e?%eptional bodily 0i#or +ho had made a business of forni%ation4 and after she had finished +ith the youths she +ould mo0e on to their attendants 1thirty perhaps in number4J& Bor a time she left this li0ely %areer for an affair +ith a man %alled !er%ebolus& Theodora follo+ed him to North /fri%a +here he +as to be made ;o0ernor, and li0ed +ith till she made some )ind of offen%e and +as for%ed to lea0e8& She +ould e0entually return home to Constantinople, +here most of her life had and +ould ta)e pla%e& Then some+here in "y<antium, Theodora %au#ht a man.s eye, ,ustinian +ho +as rapidly %onsumed by his lo0e for her& ,ustinian +as the nephe+ of the Emperor ,ustin, ori#inally ,ustin of "ederiana an illiterate man +ho %ame to "y<antium as an impo0erished farmer to ta)e a post as a soldier6& 7nder the rule of Emperor /nastasius ,ustin +as made %ount of the pala%e #uard and after the emperor.s deathI he used the military for%e that this #a0e him and fou#ht his +ay to the throne& /t first ,ustinian and Theodora +ere only lo0ers, and he adorned her +ith money and influen%e, for she +as 1to the man the s+eetest thin# in the +orld410& Ff at the time it +as in his po+er ,ustinian +ould probably not ha0e )ept her as a mistress but married her, ho+e0er there +as an old la+ that pro%laimed 1it +as impossible for a man +ho had attained to senatorial ran) to %ontra%t marria#e +ith a %ourtesan4 so he +aited11& @upi%ina, ,ustinian.s aunt, did +hat she %ould to pre0ent any )ind of le#al union bet+een the t+o, +hi%h is interestin# be%ause she herself had on%e been a sla0e and %on%ubine to ,ustin& Ff it +ere not for the +oman.s interferen%e ,ustinian probably +ould ha0e been able to persuade his un%le to %han#e the la+ in Kuestion earlier, for he had some s+ay o0er the empire due to ,ustin.s illitera%y& "ut it +as not till after @upi%ina.s death and his foolish un%le #re+ into old a#e and be%ame more foolish still, that ,ustinian +as able to %on0in%e the man to ma)e it so someone of his ran) %ould marry someone of Theodora.s12& Within the last fe+ months of ,ustin.s life ,ustinian +as %ro+ned %o-emperor, this +as on the 1st of /pril in '2J C&E&, shortly after+ard he and Theodora +ere married1 & They too) o0er the Empire three days prior to the feast of Easter and the Emperor ,ustin died naturally not lon# after& With her ne+found po+er, Theodora helped ,ustinian to rule the empire, but this is +here some %ontro0ersy arises, some say that she +as stron# and +ould %ome to help "y<antium throu#h rou#h times, +hile others %laim that she +as a %ruel and selfish person 1+ith her help he ruined the people e0en more than before, and not in "y<antium alone, but throu#hout the +hole 5oman Empire4, $ro%opius throu#h different pie%es of +or) illustrates both1D&
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"efore learnin# of Theodora and her rei#n +ith ,ustinian o0er the "y<antine Empire, it is important to loo) into ho+ the hippodrome +or)ed and +hat %omponents +ere held +ith in it& There +as the ;reen and the "lue, ea%h a fa%tion, +hi%h si#nified the separate teams in %hariot ra%in#, and throu#hout the empire this split the people into t+o #roups& The hippodrome in Constantinople e?perien%ed more 0iolen%e throu#hout both parti%ipants and spe%tators that most others in the empire& !ere the ;reen and the "lue fa%tions spread throu#h all the people and be%ame a part of the politi%s& What the t+o parties represented is still a subAe%t of debate amon# historians1'& Theodora supported the "lue and had for mu%h of her life, sin%e the ;reen fa%tion blatantly disre#arded her be##in# mother +hen she +ent to them in sear%h of a Aob for her ne+ husband so that her dau#hters mi#ht eat& The "lue in turn offered Theodora.s step father a Aob, merely to out do their ri0als, it +ould shape her standin# fore0er1E& ,ustinian too +as of the "lue fa%tion and to#ether they allo+ed for the other members to ha0e 1#reat freedom re#ardin# the affairs of state4, +hi%h led to a %rime and riots bet+een the "lue and the ;reen1J& E0entually both sides turned on ,ustinian they s+armed throu#h the %ity, li#htin# it +ith fire, till they rea%hed the pala%e, stormin# it.s +alls in sear%h of the royal residents& With this ,ustinian +as near a brea)in# point and +ould ha0e follo+ed the ur#in#s of his %ounsel to flee, but Theodora stood and persuaded him to stand #round as)in# him to thin)18& Would he rather safety 1it is intolerable to be an e?ile4 she said, or death 1purple is a fair +indin# sheet4 to be buried in purple, a %olor only for emperors, +ould be honorable16& /nd so the Ni)a 20i%tory3 5iot, as it is %alled, +as resol0ed +ith the e?e%ution of bet+een thirty and thirty-fi0e men and +omen in the hippodrome, this $ro%opius appro0ed of& There +ere t+o men senten%ed to death at this time, $ompieus and !yptius +ho may ha0e re%ei0ed mer%y and a pardon from their emperor if it +ere not for Theodora +ho %on0in%ed ,ustinian the threat that they posed to the stability of their po+er +as too #reat20& The reason that the t+o +ere a threat +as be%ause they +ere the nephe+.s of /nastasius, the man +ho +as emperor prior to ,ustin, and one of +hi%h had been sele%ted to ta)e the pla%e of ,ustinian after his disposal& This is Aust one of the e?amples that appear throu#hout the rei#n of Theodora, +hi%h illustrates her ruthlessness& With the ;reen and "lue fa%tions suppressed ,ustinian +as able to mo0e for+ard and e?pand his empire& While he +as dealin# +ith the %onKuerin# of North /fri%a and
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Ftaly, and the many other tas)s that an emperor must attend to, he left the daily runnin# of "y<antium to the person +hom he trusted most, Theodora& Ft +as not Aust his lo0e and faith of her that earned the empress this esteemed position, +hen she supported ,ustinian throu#h the Ni)a 5iots, Theodora had pro0ed herself to be astute and %unnin#, +orthy of the tas)& She %ontinued to demonstrate herself as not only useful but imperati0e to the sa0in# of the emperor.s pla%e on the throne& /fter the Ni)a 5iots the people of "y<antium +ere unsure of the #o0ernment and this meant that ,ustinian lost a lot of his presti#e, but Theodora set out to ensure this +as not so21& With the state affairs in her hands it +as her duty to hold %ounsel from time to time& /s often as possible Theodora +ould ha0e the %oun%ils held in smaller to+ns on the /siati% %oast of "osphorus, be%ause she did not li)e to do so in Constantinople22& !o+e0er be%ause of their pro?imity to the %apitol any ne+s spread amon# the people of the to+ns +ould be sure to rea%h Constantinople in a short period of time& With this in mind Theodora +ent to a meetin# around the time of ,ustinian.s stru##les, +ith a pre%ession of about 2,000 offi%ials, a reminder to the people of the imperial po+er that she and the emperor held2 & Ft +as partially do to Theodora.s early life on the sta#e that #a0e her the insi#ht to +hat +ould most affe%t the people, lea0in# a lastin# impression& $rior to meetin# ,ustianian and after her affair +ith !er%ebolus, Theodora +as left penniless and alone in $entapolis, North /fri%a2D& With determination to #et ba%) home to Constantinople, she raised enou#h money in an un)no+n manner and made her +ay to /le?andria, a %ommer%ial %enter and international mar)et& This is not all that the #reat %ity +as ho+e0erI it +as also a %enter of Christianity& The Christians of this %ity +ere mostly belie0ers in (onophysitism, +hi%h dominated mu%h of E#ypt, Syria, and $alestine, or it did before the time of ,ustin any+ay2'& With the rei#n of ,ustin the (onophysites +ho had been a%%epted by the emperors of the "y<antine Empire +ere suddenly under the threat of prose%ution, +ith Crthodo?y the preferred reli#ion2E& (any of the people +hose belief +as (onophysitism, too) refu#e in /le?andria be%ause the emperor nor the #o0ernment of the imperial po+er +ould dare to upset the %ity.s offi%ials, for "y<antium +as reliant on /le?andria for some of it.s food2J& !ere in the #reat %ity of /le?andira Theodora met a man named Timothy +ho +as a patriar%h of the %ity28& !e made a si#nifi%ant impression on the youn# +oman +ith his intelle%t and )ind mannerI she +ould %ome to %all him her spiritual father26& Then she met another man, +ho +ould ha0e an e0en #reater impa%t both on Theodora and the empire she +ould %ome to rule& !e +as the $atriar%h of /ntio%h and +as in /le?andria see)in# refu#e, his
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name +as Se0erus a pa#an, la+yer, mon), and hereti% 0& Se0erus brou#ht Theodora into the +orld of (onophyistism and by the end of her time in /le?andria she +as a more reli#ious +oman +ho had been tau#ht to stand stron# in theolo#i%al debates 1& (any years later after her marria#e to ,ustinian and ta)in# her pla%e as empress Theodora %oa?ed ,ustinian into seein# that the prose%utions of (onophysites +as futile, for they still %lun# to their beliefs 2& !e did as she +ished and ended their oppression& This too) pla%e shortly before the Ni)a 5iots as a result of a re0olt that too) pla%e in /ntio%h& Theodora ne?t made it her priority to ma)e the (onophysites +el%ome and se%ure their safety as they %ame into Constantinople & With the empress.s blessin# e0entually mon)s +ho +ere (onophysites +ere +el%ome into the pala%e, this fa0ored treatment of (onophysites surprised and upset those of Crthodo? Christianity& "ut there +as nothin# they %ould dire%tly do to pre0ent su%h thin#s from happenin#, so turbulen%e bet+een (onophyistism and Crthodo?y %ontinued to played out as it had for many years& Theodora +anted to put a stop to this as +ell so she +ent to her husband to soli%it that he send out an in0itation for a #roup of fi0e bishops from ea%h reli#ion to be present at a meetin# so that they may %ome to terms& They a#reed and %ame to the !ormisdas $ala%e in the sprin# of ' 2, but no %onsensus +as met D& C0er the years of Theodora.s life she %ame to many disa#reements +ith ,ustinian %on%ernin# the issues of reli#ion, typi%ally in re#ards to +ho +ould be pla%ed as bishop in 0arious %ities after the %urrent ones died& "ut after her death ,ustinian upheld a promise to his +ell-lo0ed +ife and %ontinued to prote%t the #roup of (onophysite refu#ees that Theodora had ta)en in& Theodora is thou#ht to ha0e been a prominent part in some of the de%isions ,ustinian made in re#ards to the ri#hts that +omen +ere allo+ed& Throu#hout his time as emperor he %reated and %han#ed many la+s, a fra%tion of them +ould #i0e +omen more lenien%y and eKuality to men than they had pre0iously e?perien%ed& Birst ,ustinian made it %lear that no un+anted %hildren +ere to be e?posed to the elements or left to die, a si#nifi%ant mo0e be%ause many %hildren +ho suffered this fate +ere #irls '& !o+ +ell this la+ +as sustained is Kuestionable be%ause at a later time a la+ appeared that #a0e the person +ho res%ued an e?posed %hild the rite to #i0e them freedom or life as a sla0e E& !e also #a0e +omen the ri#ht of #uardianship o0er their o+n %hildren, a pri0ile#e they had ne0er )no+n J& Ne?t he too) a+ay a man.s ri#ht to end his +ife.s life if she %ommitted adultery, ho+e0er the +ron#ed husband %ould still )ill the man +ho his +ife had an affair +ith as lon# as three separate +arnin#s +ere +ritten ahead of time, +ith +itness, and sent 8& / +oman %ould not be sent to prison +here she mi#ht be abused se?ually or other+ise by any male #uards, but she %ould instead be sent off to a nunnery 6& /nd a
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0ery important la+ +as the one that de%lared +omen had the same ri#hts as men %on%ernin# land o+nershipD0& Theodora herself too) steps to+ard %han#in# the li0es of +omen, at least those +ho shared the life style that she on%e had and li0ed in the %apitol& Fn Constantinople she rid the streets of its brothels and sent the prostitutes off to a %on0ent %alled (eranoia 25epentan%e3 on the /sian side of the *ardanellesD1& /lso she +ould inter%ede +hen +omen +ere +ron#ed& Theodora +as probably moti0ated #reatly by her e?perien%es in her early life, and her stron# sense of +hat she +anted done& Thou#h there +ere many thin#s that Theodora did that %an be loo)ed on as moral, as mentioned she +as fier%e and +ould lea0e no room for %lemen%y if she felt threatened or +ron#ed e0en the sli#htest& She +as not abo0e ruin# a man.s life su%h as that of ,ustinian.s effi%ien%y e?pert, a praetorian prefe%t ,ohn of Cappado%ian, +ho +as 0alued by the emperorD2& This Kualified him as an enemy in the opinion of Theodora, and to ma)e matters +orse for himself, he #a0e her little to no respe%tD & Ft +as probably Aealousy of the %onsideration he re%ei0ed from her husband that en%oura#ed her to %rate a ruse that +ould end his life& /t the reKuest of the empress /ntoniana, +ife to "elisaarius and friend to Theodora, +ent to the naL0e dau#hter of ,ohn to relate to her ho+ unhappy "elisarius +as +ith ,ustinian as emperor and it +as his +ish to rebel +ith ,ohn of Cappado%ian by his side, there +ould be a re+ard of %ourseDD& So upon hearin# this ne+s the trusted prefe%t of ,ustinian sei<ed the opportunity of po+er, and lost all that he had already& Whether he died or +as Aust diminished to nothin# is un)no+n for %ertain& Bore0er after Theodora +ould be not be e?pe%ted to #i0e for#i0eness to anyone e0en if ,ustinian +ould& She did somethin# similar to "elisarius, but in this instan%e ,ustinian too) part too a%%ordin# to $ro%opius it +as out of Aealousy for the man.s +ealth 1 the +ealth of this man had been e?%eedin#ly irritatin# to both ,ustinian and Theodora, as bein# e?%essi0e of a royal %ourt4D'& Thou#h he +as not dire%tly a%%used +ith any %har#es he +as stripped of his post as #eneral, +hi%h left him almost %ompletely aloneDE& Theodora then had his fortune remo0ed from his estate and put into the treasury and his land +as then ta)en as +ellDJ& E0entually he did #et most of it ba%), but it +as a fa0or to /ntonina that Theodora +as happy to doD8& Cut of Aealousy a#ain and this time +orry that her husband +ould stray from his loyalty to her Theodora had the life of a +oman named /malasuntha remo0ed 1out of the +orld as Kui%)ly as possible4D6& This +oman +ho +as a Kueen +ho +anted to remo0e herself from her pre0ious %ompany, the ;oths, tra0eled the to
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"y<antium'0& She +as beautiful and +itty, able to #et +hat she +anted in a Kui%) manner, +as instantly threatenin# to the empress& She had ,ustinian send an ambassador to Ftaly +here the +oman +as headed and she #a0e the man, $eter, the order to dispose of her +ith the promise of #reat re+ard'1& !e ho+e0er +as unable to brin# himself to murder /malasuntha, but as)ed that a man named Theodatus %arry out the %ommand'2& Thou#h Theodora had a mer%ilessness that ,ustinian did not, he had his o+n #reediness that +ould persuaded him to ta)e land from others, treat his soldiers poorly, and other unAust a%ts& The life of Theodora is %omple? and uniKue& The po+er that she +as pri0ile#e to, #a0e her the means to lea0e her mar) on +estern %i0ili<ation from +omen to reli#ion, to the stren#th of the emperor& She helped to stimulate the la+s that +ould +ith ea%h ruler slo+ly #rant +omen eKuality to men& /t least temporarily Theodora +as able to %reate an eKuality bet+een the t+o maAor reli#ious #roups present in "y<antium at the time, +hi%h +as an ama<in# feat for a +oman& /bo0e all she +as a po+erful +oman +ho ruled beside her husband as an eKual and e0en #a0e him the stren#th to sand and fi#ht in times of hardship&

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