Theodora (; Greek: Θεοδώρα; 490/50028 June 548) was the wife of emperor Justinian I and Eastern Roman empress from 527 until her death. Theodora was one of Justinian's chief political advisers. She is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and commemorated on 14 November.Seregi Grau, "Theodora: a (not so) Holy Harlot: Procopius' 'Secret History' and the Hagiographic Narrative," Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies vol. 63 (2023), pp. 447, 449.
She was of humble origins, having been born to a circus keeper in Constantinople. She worked as a courtesan and actress in her youth. She likely met Justinian sometime before 524. They subsequently married and Theodora was crowned empress when Justinian became emperor in 527. She proved an able advisor and empress. She played a crucial role in the suppression of the Nika riots in 532. Theodora and Justinian ordered construction of many grand public works, including the Hagia Sophia. She worked to end prostitution. She engaged in court intrigues, such as the exile of John the Cappadocian, and the exile and death of Pope Silverius and the elevation of Pope Vigilius. She and her husband supported opposite sides in the Chalcedonian schism between Christian Monophysites/Miaphysites and Chalcedonian Christianity, which led Justinian to be occasionally merciful to the Miaphysites despite being a Chalcedonian himself.
She died of cancer in 548. Much of the primary narrative of her life comes from the works of Procopius, who presents starkly diverging views in his public and private writings. Publicly, he wrote glowingly of her, but his Secret Histories portrays her as shameless, cruel and lustful, though loyal. Historians are divided as to the accuracy of Procopius's portrayals. Nevertheless, Theodora achieved lasting cultural interest, inspiring art, plays, operas, films, novels, and worship.
Early years Much of her early life, including the date and place of her birth, is uncertain: her birthplace has been proposed by later sources as Syria, Cyprus, Paphlagonia and Alexandria. The modern consensus seems to be that Theodora most likely was born around 495 and raised in Constantinople. Procopius's Secret History is the foremost source of her life before marriage, but most modern scholars regard it as often unreliable and slanderous. David Potter writes that Procopius' description of Theodora's erotic life "probably was composed as an exaggerated diatribe" and was "certainly not among the most accurate things he ever wrote."
Her father, Acacius, was a bear keeper for the Hippodrome's Green faction in Constantinople. Thus, modern scholars argue that it is highly probable Theodora was a native of the capitalId. – this is furthered in Procopius' narrative. Her mother, whose name was not recorded, was a dancer and an actress (i.e. prostitute). She had two sisters, an elder named Comito and a younger named Anastasia. The names of her family probably suggest an upbringing in a Greek-speaking, Christian household.Paolo Cesaretti, Theodora: Empress of Byzantium (2003) p. 30; Evans, p. 118 After her father's death in her childhood, her mother remarried, but the family lacked a source of income because a Green official was bribed into giving away her stepfather's position. Consequently, her mother presented her children before the Hippodrome's crowd as suppliants to the Greens, but the Greens rebuffed her efforts. In contrast, the Blue faction took pity on the family and gave them the position.
According to Procopius' Secret History, Theodora began her work as a prostitute before the onset of adolescence and later joined Comito as a performer on stage. Procopius wrote that Theodora performed a pornographic portrayal of Leda and the Swan, where she would have birds eat seeds from her genitals.Procopius, Secret History 9. Employment as an actress at the time would have included performing "indecent exhibitions" on stage and providing sexual services off stage. Contemporaneous historian John of Ephesus also describes Theodora as having come "from the brothel" which gives credibility to Procopius portrayal. Additionally the Chronicle of Fredegar (7th century) mentions Belisarius and Justinian enjoying and later marrying two sisters from the Lupanar. Modern consensus about Theodora's sexual activity is that, as Potter states, underlying Procopius' inventions "there lies the semblance of fact."
Later, Theodora traveled to North Africa as the concubine of Hecebolus, who became the governor of the Libyan Pentapolis. Procopius alleges that their relationship dissolved after a quarrel in Africa. Theodora, "destitute of the means of life," went to Alexandria, Egypt. Some historians speculate that she met Miaphysite Patriarch Timothy III and converted to Miaphysitism there, but there is no reliable evidence that this happened. From Alexandria, she traveled to Antioch, where she met a Blue faction dancer called Macedonia who may have served as an informer for Justinian. Afterwards, Theodora returned to Constantinople where she met Justinian.
Justinian wanted to marry Theodora but law from Constantine's time barred the senatorial rank from marrying a prostitute. Empress Euphemia, wife of emperor Justin, also strongly opposed the marriage. Following Euphemia's death in 524, that same year Justin issued an edict allowing prostitutes to marry senators.: "As it was impossible for anyone who had reached the rank of senator to marry a prostitute (this being prohibited from the earliest times by the most ancient of laws), he forced the emperor to annul those laws with another law, and so afterward he lived with Theodora as his lawful wife, effectively making it feasible for anyone else to marry a prostitute"
Theodora had an illegitimate daughter who produced three sons: Ioannes (John in English), Athanasius and Anastasius. The same law that allowed Justinian and Theodora to marry also excused children of former actresses,Code of Justinian, 5.4.23, 1–3 thus allowing Theodora's daughter to marry a relative of the late emperor Anastasius. Anastasius (consul 517) had a son with this daughter of Theodora, Areobindus, whose daughter, Anastasia Areobinda, married Peter, brother of the emperor Maurice, the last emperor of the Justinian dynasty.
She also had a son named Ioannes. Fearing infanticide, his father took the boy to Arabia and raised him there. Before his death, when Ioannes was a teenager, the father revealed everything to him about his mother. Later, Ioannes visited his mother, Empress Theodora, in Constantinople, but she had him disappear, and he was never seen again. Some historians, including James Allan Evans, question this account because Theodora publicly acknowledged her illegitimate daughter and, therefore, would have acknowledged an illegitimate son had one existed.
Empress
When Justinian succeeded to the throne in 527, Theodora was crowned augusta and became empress of the Eastern Roman Empire. According to Procopius' Secret History, she helped her husband make decisions; participated in state councils; and had great influence over him. Justinian sought her advice and called her his "partner in my deliberations" in Novel 8.1 (AD 535), anti-corruption legislation where provincial officials had to take an oath to the emperor and Theodora. Sources generally agree on her character being vindictive but determined and loyal, in marriage and politics. Despite her background, she was able to fit in, proving to be clever and adaptable. Theodora used her diverse life experiences to network and secure her influence. Although most sources agree on her devotion and piousness, her character is also ambiguously described as cruel and inspiring fear.
The Nika riots
The conflicts between the chariot racing factions – the Blues and the Greens – often led to street violence in the 6th century. Both Justinian and Theodora were believed to align with the Blues. Consequently, the Greens felt isolated and frustrated. Following a riot between the two factions in early January 532, a group of both Green and Blue leaders were sentenced to death but two of the felons, one Blue and one Green, survived the hanging. When the emperor remained unresponsive to the circus factions' demands to pardon the two, the angry factions united chanting "Nika", meaning "conquer".
The rioters set many public buildings on fire and proclaimed a new emperor, Hypatius, the nephew of the former emperor Anastasius I. Unable to control the mob, Justinian and his officials prepared to flee. According to Procopius, Theodora spoke out against fleeing during a meeting of the government council, underlining the significance of someone who dies a ruler instead of living as an exile.Procopius, Wars 1.24.36—37
According to Procopius, Theodora interrupted the emperor and his counselors, saying:
My lords, the present occasion is too serious to allow me to follow the convention that a woman should not speak in a man's council. Those whose interests are threatened by extreme danger should think only of the wisest course of action, not of conventions. In my opinion, flight is not the right course, even if it should bring us to safety. It is impossible for a person, having been born into this world, not to die; but for one who has reigned, it is intolerable to be a fugitive. May I never be deprived of this purple robe, and may I never see the day when those who meet me do not call me Empress. If you wish to save yourself, my lord, there is no difficulty. We are rich; over there is the sea, and yonder are the ships. Yet reflect for a moment whether, when you have once escaped to a place of security, you would not gladly exchange such safety for death. As for me, I agree with the adage, that "royal purple" is the noblest shroud.
Her speech motivated the men, including Justinian. J.A.S Evans states that Theodora managed to steady Justinian and his court and convince them to fight instead of flee.J. A. S. Evans, ‘The ‘Nika’ Rebellion and the Empress Theodora’, Byzantion 54 (1984), pp. 380–2 He ordered his troops to attack the demonstrators in the Hippodrome, resulting in the deaths of over 30,000 civilian rebels. Despite his claims that he was unwillingly named emperor by the mob, Hypatius and his brother Pompeius were put to death by Justinian. In one source, this came at Theodora's insistence.Pseudo-Zachariah of Mytilene, Syriac Chronicle 9.14; Diehl, ibid.
Some scholars such as J.A.S Evans state that Theodora's speech had an 'ambiguous' undertone. They believe Procopius intended to portray Justinian as more cowardly than his wife, noting that Procopius made her quote an advice given to the notorious tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse. Changing the term "tyranny" (tyrannis) to "royal purple" or "kingship" (basileia) possibly reflects Procopius' intent to link Theodora and Justinian to ancient tyrants. Evans further argues that Procopius has dramatized the event, presenting a story with two levels of meaning, suggesting that Procopius intended not only to record history but also to offer a deeper commentary on power and morality. Theodora's speech as quoted by Procopius can be viewed as representative of the discussions which took place in the palace rather than literal.Koehn, ‘Stasiôtai into stratiôtai: The Nika Riot Revisited’, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 116.1 (2023), pp. 77–104.
Activities
Justinian and Theodora commissioned the construction of a number of new buildings in Constantinople, including churches, the most famous of which is Hagia Sophia (others include the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, according to Procopius).