by: Patricia Jonik Stein

Though she arguably was the most famous, Cleopatra was not the only fascinating and powerful woman from the ancient world. The adage that behind every powerful man, there is an equally powerful woman was certainly true of Justinian, Emperor of Byzantium during the 6th century. His wife, Theodora, wore many different hats throughout her lifetime. She was a feminist, an actress, an acrobat, a religious zealot, a mistress, a wife, a mother and most importantly, an empress.

In 500 AD, Constantinople was a bustling Roman city along the Bosporus Sea. It boasted a plethora of venders, nobles, farmers, soldiers and the Hippodrome, a major entertainment complex. It was the Hollywood of the ancient world. Around this time, a humble entertainer who was a bear trainer and his wife welcomed another baby girl who they named Theodora. The family lived as well as anyone else in this thriving region, but when Theodora’s father died, her mother quickly remarried hoping that her second husband would take over the duties as bear-keeper. Jobs were not always easy to get without the backing of the right people, so Theodora and her sisters were the ticket to better times for their parents. When she was five, she and her sisters were taken to the Hippodrome where they were to dance, not only for their own livelihood, but to be traded as a bribe for their new stepfather to become bear keeper. The girls performed in an obvious manner of supplication, well known to the thirty thousand or so men who frequented the arena. Her new stepfather was given a job and Theodora was made an actress and acrobat. In Constantinople at this time, it was common for children to work even at such a young age, especially girls. The girls were trained in the art of acrobatics, dancing and acting for the enjoyment and satisfaction of men. Often their training as acrobats would stretch and break their small bodies, but it also made them supple. She was the best by far. If a girl worked in the Hippodrome, she was not only an entertainer. By age ten, they were pimped as prostitutes.

Theodora was considered the complete entertainer: dancer, actress, comedian and prostitute. She and the other girls certainly were used by the men, but some shined brighter than others. By age 15, Theodora was the star of the show and she could command high wages for her abilities. She was also a mother to a one-year-old daughter. It would not be surprising if her baby was not her only pregnancy. She and her sisters most likely had several abortions because babies were not welcome guests at the Hippodrome.   

Theodora was ambitious. Having conquered the stage, she moved on to become the mistress of a powerful man named Hecebolus, the governor of the area that now encompasses Libya. Hecebolus was much older and it was most likely a rocky relationship. Theodora had a mind and a will of her own and would not bow down to Hecebolus. She left him and moved to Alexandria (a favorite place of Cleopatra), where she joined an ascetic community.  The sect to which she belonged was in confrontation with confirmed Christianity. Monophysitism held that the deity aspect of Jesus was paramount, and his dualism (his humanity) was of no consequence. There she befriended a woman named Macedonia, a dancer and likely a spy. They travelled to Antioch where the sovereignty of Constantinople was in question. It was here that Theodora learned how to think critically and how to prosper by using her brains rather than relying only on her body. Yet Theodora still had a wandering spirit and mind.  She left the community and returned home to the capital where she met Justinian.

It has been said that Theodora was beautiful, graceful and agile. Justinian was smitten, not just by her looks but by her ideas and her mental prowess. Justinian rose from the humble beginnings of a farmer’s son to work for his uncle, Justin. The young man helped his uncle rise to power and become emperor of Rome. Justinian had a mind for law and knew how to bend it to his specifications. He also fell madly in love with Theodora. Even though she had once been a prostitute and mistress, he wanted to make her his wife. His aunt, Empress Euphemia, herself an ex-slave and concubine, was not happy about the match. Euphemia was confident that the match would not come to fruition because actresses were not permitted to marry. Yet, Justinian had different ideas– he found a way to change the law making the marriage possible. With the death of Justin in 537 AD, Justinian became emperor, and Theodora became empress.

It would be a typical rags-to-riches story if it ended with the crowning of the couple, but it is not.  Theodora had more up her sleeve and more to accomplish. She understood the streets and she understood women and their plights. She was a feminist long before the term was ever coined. While her husband was expanding the empire, and solidifying the Byzantium Empire, Theodora was making life better for women. She prohibited prostitution. Knowing that marriage was out of the question for “actresses,” she set up houses or convents where they could live safely. Theodora knew that women were second-class citizens and she was a champion to the young girls easily sold into sex slavery for less than an hour’s wage. She put forth legislation for marriage, fair dowry rights, and divorce and child guardianship for children and property ownership for women. Theodora instituted very harsh punishments for rape and violence against women or children. Justinian eventually outlawed different sects of Christianity including Monophysitism, the philosophy to which his wife once ascribed, and brought Eastern Orthodox to the forefront. He allowed some religious tolerance however at the behest of his wife. He even renewed the crumbling Hagia Sophia, his tribute to Christianity.  

The Empress, though twenty years younger, was a strong asset to the Emperor.  At the time of the Nika Revolt, when the city was in flames and it seemed all was lost, Theodora once again showed her courage. Justinian and his legislators wanted to flee to safety, but Theodora stood and in a short but firm speech decried their cowardice and resolved to remain and fight.  Justinian heeded his wife’s advice. The Byzantine Empire was saved.

Theodora always had the ear of her powerful husband, and the two of them worked as equals and in sync, but Theodora was complicated. She did not like high ranking women. She was not above the use of poison, torture, back-stabbing, and generally protecting her position and her husband against any threat. Many questions remain unanswered about Empress Theodora. She possibly was bi-sexual with Macedonia as a female lover. Some of her antics on stage could have been viewed as an invitation, a rejection or simply as looking for a laugh. For one so powerful, full of life, and intelligent, she is shrouded by the passage of time and her whole story will never be fully known.

Theodora died in 548 AD, from a plague that ravished the city. Shortly thereafter, Procopius: Secret History was written. While there is much information about the Byzantine Empire therein, there is but a postscript for Theodora. It seems that since the author only refers to her as Theodora from the Brothel, he didn’t care for her or her salacious lifestyle, or possibly her cunning and intelligence to raise herself from prostitute to queen and so he strove to keep her in anonymity, leaving only bits and pieces of her life to survive the ages.  

There are many women in history who were powerful, interesting and worthy of knowing, Theodora is certainly one of them. Even with the sparse information that exists about her, her story is one that not even fiction can match.

Patricia Jonik Stein lives with her husband and two cats and writes from her Fort Washington, Pennsylvania home. She worked as a theme reader, writing coach, teacher and mentor after a career in market research. She retired to care for her aging mother after her father’s death. She raised three sons who are now on their own and she’s happily awaiting the next generation to come along.