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Theodora — news, coverage & facts — IJR

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 capital – 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. 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. 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.

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, 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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).

According to Procopius she liked humiliating her subjects. Everyone regardless his rank was required to wait in the antechamber for long time, sometimes hours, and if admitted was not allowed to speak if not commanded by her. After kissing her feet, a greeting ceremony that was introduced by her and Justinian, many were just send away without allowed to say a word. Procopius' description of the ceremony was corroborated by the poet Corippus. Justinian and Theodora also required people to call them "master" and "mistress".

She turned important matters into jokes. For example, knowing in advance that an old and poor patrician would ask for her help in recovering his money from one of her servants, she devised a theatrical sketch with her eunuchs which was partially a parody of a Christian liturgy. When the patrician arrived and made his plea, she responded with, “Oh, Patrician So-and-so.” Then the eunuchs formed a circle and sang in reply, “That’s a big hernia that you have!” This was repeated until the patrician gave up and left.

Procopius argued that she ordered the murder of Queen Amalasuntha, something that is independently confirmed by a surviving letter from King Theodahad to Theodora. In the letter, Peter the Illyrian is confirmed as her emissary and it refers to “that person about whom a gentle hint had reached us” and promises that “something has been ordered that will suit your desires.”

Theodora was at odds with praetorian prefect John the Cappadocian because of his influence and his slanders of her to the emperor. Theodora and Antonina, the wife of Belisarius, devised a plot to bring down John. The plot took place in 541, when Antonina tricked John's daughter into believing a plot had been devised which would ultimately dispose Justinian as emperor, favouring Belisarius. After informing her father of this alleged plot, Theodora caught John making 'treasonous remarks' and therefore succeeded in removing him. She was also hostile to Germanus, the cousin of Justinian. In contrast, the praetorian prefect Peter Barsymes was her ally. She engaged in matchmaking, forming a network of alliances between Emperor Anastasius' family, pre-existing nobility, and Justinian's family. According to Secret History, she attempted to marry her grandson Anastasius to Joannina, Belisarius' and Antonina's daughter and heiress, against her parents' will. Although the marriage was initially rejected, the couple eventually married. The marriages of her sister Comito to general Sittas and her niece Sophia to Justinian's nephew Justin II, who would succeed to the throne, are suspected to have been engineered by Theodora. She also gave reception and sent letters and gifts to Persian and foreign ambassadors and the sister of Kavad.

Theodora was involved in helping underprivileged women. In one instance, she compelled general Artabanes, who intended to wed Justinian's niece, to reclaim the wife he abandoned. She sometimes freed prostitutes. She created a convent on the Asian side of the Dardanelles called the Metanoia (Repentance), where the ex-prostitutes could support themselves. Procopius' Secret History maintained that instead of preventing forced prostitution (as in Buildings 1.9.3ff), Theodora is said to have "rounded up" 500 prostitutes, confining them to a convent. They sought to escape "the unwelcome transformation" by leaping over the walls (SH 17). On the other hand, chronicler John Malalas wrote positively about the convent, declaring that Theodora "freed the girls from the yoke of their wretched slavery." In 528, Theodora and Justinian ordered the closure of the brothels and the arrest of their keepers and procurers. She paid their owners back the purchase fee, freeing the prostitutes from their captivity. To facilitate the start of their new lives, she supplied the liberated women with clothing and gifted each of them a gold nomisma.

In Wars, Procopius mentioned that Theodora was naturally inclined to assist women in misfortune and, according to Secret History, she was accused of unfairly championing the wives charged with adultery (SH 17). The code of Justinian only allowed women to seek a divorce from their husbands due to either abuse or a wife catching their husband in obvious adultery. Regardless, women seeking a divorce had to provide clear evidence of their claims. Procopius describes Theodora as causing women to "become morally depraved" due to her and Justinian's legal actions.

Religious policy

Justinian worked to heal the divide between the supporters of different Christological doctrines by bringing the Monophysites/Miaphysites (anti-Chalcedonians) under the Chalcedonian Church. Theodora, reputed to be a Miaphysite, worked against her husband's support of the Chalcedonian Christianity in the ongoing struggle for the dominance of each faction. As a result, she was accused by pro-Chalcedonians of fostering heresy and undermining the unity of Christendom. However, Procopius and Evagrius Scholasticus suggested that Justinian and Theodora were merely pretending to oppose each other, a view also followed by some modern historians.

John of Ephesus, a key figure within the Miaphysite movement, wrote of the significant contributions of Theodora in assisting church building projects and supporting the poor. Her involvement also was documented as being instrumental to the protection of the Monophysites from the Chalcedonians. Theodora founded a Miaphysite monastery in Sykae and provided shelter in the palace for Miaphysite leaders who faced opposition from the majority of Chalcedonian Christians, like Severus and Anthimus. Anthimus had been appointed Patriarch of Constantinople under her influence and, after the ex-communication order, he was hidden in Theodora's quarters for ten years. When the Chalcedonian Patriarch Ephraim provoked a violent revolt in Antioch, eight Miaphysite bishops were invited to Constantinople; Theodora welcomed them and housed them in the Hormisdas Palace, Justinian and Theodora's dwelling before they became Emperor and Empress. Theodora persistently provided sanctuary for persecuted Miaphysites within the Palace, accommodating such a significant number of monks that, in one incident, several hundred gathered in a grand chamber, causing the floor to collapse.

Furthermore, the Empress was involved in building the Church of Sergius and Bacchus, located next to Hormisdas palace. The dedicatory inscription, which remains visible to this day, proclaims: "May he [Sergius] increase the power of the God-crowned Theodora whose mind is adorned with piety, whose constant toil lies in unsparing efforts to nourish the destitute."

When Pope Timothy III of Alexandria died, Theodora enlisted the help of the Augustal Prefect and the Duke of Egypt to make Theodosius, a disciple of Severus, the new pope. Thus, she outmaneuvered her husband who wanted a Chalcedonian successor. However, Pope Theodosius I of Alexandria and the imperial troops could not hold Alexandria against Justinian's Chalcedonian followers; Justinian exiled the pope and 300 Miaphysites to the fortress of Delcus in Thrace.

When Pope Silverius refused Theodora's demand that he remove the anathema of Pope Agapetus I from Patriarch Anthimus, she sent Belisarius instructions to find a pretext to remove Silverius. Silverius was subsequently exiled to a rocky island, where he starved to death. When this was accomplished, Pope Vigilius was appointed in his stead.

In Nobatae, south of Egypt, the inhabitants were converted to Miaphysite Christianity about 540. Justinian was determined that they should be converted to the Chalcedonian faith, with Theodora equally determined that they should become Miaphysites. Justinian made arrangements for Chalcedonian missionaries from Thebaid to go with presents to Silko, the King of the Nobatae. In response, Theodora prepared her missionaries and wrote to the Duke of Thebaid, asking that he should delay her husband's embassy so that the Miaphysite missionaries would arrive first. The duke was canny enough to thwart the easygoing Justinian instead of the unforgiving Theodora. He made sure that the Chalcedonian missionaries were delayed; when they eventually reached Silko, they were sent away. The Nobatae had already adopted the Miaphysite creed of Theodosius.

Historiography

The main historical sources about her life are the works of her contemporary Procopius, who was a legal advisor to general Belisarius. Procopius wrote three major history works. The first, The Wars of Justinian (commonly known as History of the Wars), was largely completed by 550.. In this he paints a picture of Theodora as a courageous woman who helped save Justinian's attempt at the throne.

The second work was the Secret History which he wrote only after the death of Theodora, as she could be very vindictive and by keeping notes he was putting his own life in danger.The books was largely unknown until it was found and published in Vatican in 1623. The work has sometimes been interpreted as representing disillusionment with Emperor Justinian, the empress, and his patron, Belisarius. Justinian is depicted as cruel, corrupt, extravagant, and incompetent; while Theodora is shrewish and openly sexual.

His third work, Buildings of Justinian, which was written around 554, after Secret History, is a panegyric that paints Justinian and Theodora as a pious couple. It presents particularly flattering portrayals of them; her piety and beauty are praised. Theodora was dead when the work was published, and Justinian most likely commissioned the work.

Her contemporary John of Ephesus writes about Theodora in Lives of the Eastern Saints and mentions an illegitimate daughter. Theophanes the Confessor mentions some familial relations of Theodora that were not mentioned by Procopius. Victor of Tunnuna notes her familial relation to the next empress, Sophia. Bar-Hebraeus and Michael the Syrian both say Theodora was from the city of Daman, near Kallinikos, Syria. These later Miaphysite sources account say that Theodora is the daughter of a priest, trained in the pious practices of Miaphysitism since birth. The Miaphysites tend to regard Theodora as one of their own. Their account is also an alternative to that of contemporary John of Ephesus. Many modern scholars prefer Procopius' account.