Justinian fell violently in love with her. At first, he kept her only as a mistress, though he raised her to patrician rank. Through him Theodora was immediately able to acquire an unholy power and exceedingly great riches. She seemed to him the sweetest thing in the world, and, like all lovers, he desired to please his charmer with every possible favor and requite her with all his wealth. – Procopius
Theodora (c. 500 – 548) was inarguably the most successful courtesan of all time, rising from humble beginnings in a theatrical family to become empress of the Byzantine Empire as the wife of Emperor Justinian I; like her husband, she was also canonized in the Eastern Orthodox Church. If there has ever been another whore who became an empress in life and a saint after death, I’ve never heard of her. Theodora was probably the most powerful woman in Byzantine history and among the most influential women in all of history, but like most great courtesans she was also the victim of character assassination by men who envied her status.
There is considerable disagreement among the ancient historians regarding her place of birth and family details, but everyone agrees that she was an actress and prostitute; most of the histories used in schools merely say “actress”, but the professions were indistinguishable at that time. Indeed, some historians claim she worked in a brothel, though this is highly dubious because actresses were courtesans whose clients came from among the members of their audiences, while brothel girls were at that time either slaves or de facto slaves. It is likely that this is simply libel intended to make her look bad, as were rumors of her voracious sexual appetite and multitudes of lovers; the myth of the wanton was already well-established by the 6th century, ensuring that male writers would assume any whore (even a retired courtesan) to be what we now call a nymphomaniac.
Eventually Theodora became the mistress of Hecebolus, governor of the city of Pentapolis, but later quarreled with him and left, working her way to Constantinople by way of Alexandria. It was during this period that she became friends with a dancer named Macedonia, who was apparently regularly employed by Justinian (who was then commander of the eastern army); it appears that Macedonia was the one who first introduced Theodora to the future emperor, and he fell “violently in love with her”. At first he could only keep her as his mistress due to a Byzantine law (similar to our modern “sex offender registration”) which, though it did not criminalize prostitution as in our modern “enlightened” countries, prohibited whores from ever marrying; Justinian therefore had to content himself with making his beloved fabulously wealthy and elevating her to the patrician class. Eventually, however, he persuaded his senile uncle, the Emperor Justin, to make a new law allowing men (including those of high rank) to marry repentant whores. This law was on solid legal ground since it was based on the established precedent that a slave could be restored to freedom and have his rights fully restored as though he had never been a slave; by the same logic a whore could have her rights restored by renouncing her trade and finding a man to marry her. This, however, did not stop snobs and bluenoses from decrying the change in the law, especially after the death of Justinian when they were safe from possible imperial reprisals.
Soon after his marriage to Theodora in 527 Justinian was made co-emperor with Justin, and not long afterwards the old emperor died of a chronic illness, leaving Justinian as sole emperor and Theodora as empress. They were a very popular couple; Justinian was a strong and respected leader and Theodora a very beautiful, charismatic and intelligent woman who was said to be “superior in intelligence to any man”. Justinian was wise enough to recognize his wife’s talents, and rather than keep her as a mere consort he allowed her an active part in his decision making. Though it was well-known that Theodora had been a courtesan, her charisma won the hearts of the people, the army and most of the officials, much to the chagrin of prudes who envied her success and immediately began spreading vicious rumors about her supposed infidelities and frequent abortions. These lies do not seem to have affected her popularity either in life or in death, but can be found in a number of period histories (especially those of Procopius of Caesaria, who was at first a supporter of Justinian but later turned against him).
The law which officially de-stigmatized whores was only the first of many increases in women’s rights which Theodora convinced Justinian to enact. In 528, rape law was expanded to cover lower-class women and slaves (who had previously been unprotected) and to mandate the death penalty for either rape or the kidnapping of any woman; this law even defined certain forms of seduction as a lesser (non-capital) form of rape, much like our modern “date rape” laws. In that same year (the first of her reign) Theodora also personally acted to free brothel-whores from bondage by purchasing them at cost from the brothel-keepers, dissolving their contracts, and giving them a new dress and a small amount of money; later she banned such brothels altogether. In 534 it was made illegal to force any woman (even a slave) into acting (and therefore prostitution) without her consent, and in 535 this law was expanded to prohibit underage prostitution even if the girl’s parents consented (which was not uncommon in the poorest families of that time). Another law that year defined marriages as deriving from “mutual affection” and therefore illegalized the practice of new husbands divorcing brides whose parents had reneged on the promised dowry. In 537 a law was enacted to allow actresses or prostitutes to renounce their occupation at will, regardless of previous contracts, and criminalized the practice of forcing women to sign such contracts. Other laws increased the rights of women in divorce, child custody and property ownership and prohibited infanticide and the murder of adulterous wives. And though Theodora died in 548, her views clearly had a lasting influence on Justinian because he continued to enact pro-woman laws even after her death; for example, in 559 he prohibited the imprisonment of women for debt (they were still required to repay) and established a separate women’s prison system (with nuns as guards) in order to prevent the systematic rape and ill-treatment of female prisoners.
Theodora seems to have had mixed feelings about her former profession, though it is very difficult to tell because of the multitude of contradictory accounts. Some pious writers claim that she outlawed prostitution altogether, though this seems more like an attempt to whitewash her reputation for Christians of later centuries than an objective analysis of her actual actions. It is clear that she eventually created and generously endowed a convent called the Metanoia (Repentance), where ex-prostitutes could live as long as they wished; at first this was open only to the freed brothel-girls, but later to streetwalkers as well. Procopius claims that Theodora actually rounded up all the streetwalkers and forced them into the Metanoia (much as later governments forced whores into the “Magdalene homes” described in my column of July 22nd); he further adds a lurid description of the fate of some of these girls: “…she confined them in the Convent of Repentance, as it is called, trying there to compel them to adopt a new manner of life. And some of them threw themselves down from a height at night and thus escaped the unwelcome transformation.” Other writers, however, describe no such confinement of unwilling streetwalkers despite the fact that such an action would certainly have met with the approval of the Church officials who later promoted Theodora to sainthood, so I think it’s safe to say that the story is simply more libel on Procopius’ part.
Justinian and Theodora enacted a host of other legal reforms far too extensive to detail herein; they built roads, hospitals and churches and expanded the power of the Eastern Roman Empire to its greatest extent since the fall of the Western Empire to Odoacer in 476. In all these matters they presented a unified front, though in religious matters it was quite the opposite; Justinian was a devout Orthodox Christian, and Theodora an adherent of the Monophysite sect which taught that Jesus had only one nature rather than two. Critics have argued that her support of a variant teaching undermined the unity of the Church, but others have pointed out that her policies actually delayed by centuries the conflict which eventually resulted in the Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. In any case, the contributions of both Justinian and Theodora were considered important enough to result in their eventual canonization by the Orthodox Church.
Theodora died of an illness (possibly breast cancer, but it is impossible to be certain) on June 28th, 548; she was not yet 50 and predeceased her husband by 17 years. He was observed to weep bitterly at her funeral, and loved her so dearly that even after her death he not only continued legal reforms of which she would have approved, but also kept his word to her to protect the Monophysites and to attempt to reconcile their differences with the Orthodox Church. The lasting influence of the courtesan empress is incalculable; her reforms gave Byzantine women rights that women in other European countries would not again enjoy until the 19th century, and indeed a few that women do not have even in Western societies today. Considering that Theodora did not rise to her position in spite of her profession but rather because of it, the life and accomplishments of this amazing woman represent a shining and powerful refutation of the dogma that whores are intrinsically maladjusted, exploited and degraded.
Interesting history. I’d point out historians do not universally agree Theodora was a courtesan though. I recently read a biography of Justinian. In the part discussing Justinian’s ealy years with Theodora, the aithor mentions it is possible the stories of the future Empress as a prostitute may be revisionist history. Indeed, some of the stories from early accounts of Theodora’s supposed biography seem almost so intentionally far fetched as to indicate the entire back story itself may be false–for instance, one scribe says Theodora put on a show letting birds eat birdseed from between her labia. This isn’t to say Theodora didn’t lead the life popularly attributed to her. It’s just to point out one of history’s most powerful women may have been the victim of revisionist history (as Mary Magdalene may have been) by later historians.
I’ve read that theory as well, but I am quite satisfied that it is the claim that she was not a courtesan which is the revisionist history rather than the other way around. Since the idea that an intelligent, moral, powerful woman could also be a prostitute completely contradicts both the neofeminist and the political dogma the public is fed about us, it doesn’t surprise me that some modern historians want to pretend otherwise in order to support the new PC version of the old Madonna/whore duality. But the law change which enabled Justinian to marry her is a matter of historical record (in the Corpus Juris Civilis), and even John of Ephesus, a personal favorite of Theodora’s whose history of her is quite positive, reports that she was a courtesan; this was in an account published during her life, not a later revision. Claims that she was a brothel-whore and stories of her wild sexual escapades both public and private were clearly intended as slander, but the plain and unembroidered statement that she was a courtesan is supported by the weight of both historical and circumstantial evidence.
She seems to have been to women’s rights what Hero was to the steam engine. In both cases, much of what they accomplished was later lost, and then found again.
What a great analogy! Only in Theodora’s case, some of it still hasn’t yet been rediscovered.
I knew you would at some point have to talk about Theodora. (The scene with the bird — a swan — is supposed to represent the legend of Leda and the swan, a pagan myth, which is the kind of thing a Christian enemy might want to write against her — relating her to pagan, pre-Christian myths.)
From what I’ve read, you’re right, Maggie. Not much else I can add here.
I’ve read several Roman histories (Livy, Tacitus, Plutarch, Caesar), but they’re all from the Republic and early Empire. I haven’t read anything from the Byzantine period, aside from some modern books that zip through the entire Roman history. So I’ve never known much about Theodora or Justinian. She sounds fascinating. I really need to read about her period sometime.
Was Egypt part of Justinian’s empire? Since the Copts are Monophysite (as are the Ethiopians, I believe), I wonder if her faith helped in keeping them on friendly terms with Constantinople.
Egypt was, as was most of the Mediterranean world; he single-handedly rebuilt much of the Roman Empire, but alas it was not to last.
Not single-handedly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belisarius
You should check out Guy Gavriel Kay’s book, Sailing to Sarantium — it’s a historical fantasy set in a Byzantine-flavored world, and one of the main characters is a Theodora-analogue. It’s gooooood. 😀
[…] the mistress of King Louis XV of France, Nell Gwyn that of King Charles II of England, and Theodora the wife of the Emperor Justinian, who made her an Empress (the Eastern Orthodox Church later […]
New to the blog via Popehat, and while reading older posts I saw this one.
There is another interesting series of alternate history books about the above mentioned Belisarius which features not only Theodora and Justinian as major characters, but also Belisarius’s wife Antonina, who appears to be from a similar background and who is almost as interesting, if not more, as Theodora. Procopius appears to have gone after her and Belisarius first in his smear campaign and only later to have gotten around to Theodora and Justinian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonina_%28wife_of_Belisarius%29
The “Belisarius” series is by David Drake and Eric Flint and the first four of the six book series can be downloaded free at Baen’s online ebook website. The series is about two entities from the future who travel back in time and end up waging a proxy war starting in 528 AD. Belisarius is the chosen champion of the good side. I thought it was a pretty good read.
http://www.baenebooks.com/c-21-belisarius-saga-by-david-drake-and-eric-flint.aspx
That was some darn good history-ing there. Excellent job writing about a woman that people need to learn more about. She’s had her name dragged through the mud for centuries. She’s always been my favorite historical character.
[…] Madame X (sinfully sexy cocoa-laced musk, I imagine Virginie Gautreau exuding this from her creamy white neck as she stood getting her portrait painted by John Singer Sargent ); Seraphim (an angelically lovely ambery vanilla that has made its way into my home fragrances and body products, it’s so perfect for every occasion); Limoncello Dolce Vita (this is what every citrus dessert fragrance wants to be when it grows up–pastry cream, pasta di mandorle, and bright lemon) Gingerbread Whorehouse (spicy Christmas cookies softened with a pillowy-smooth musk–I want to buy this for Maggie McNeill); Gingerbread Crackhouse (similar to the Whorehouse but a bit less sexy and more foody), Giddy (for those times when you just need to smell like a big vat of melted gooey chocolate…and let’s be honest, who among us can honestly say that we haven’t?); and Theodora (a sexy, resiny blend of incence, oudh, and vetiver that is fit for a Byzantine empress.) […]
[…] of Caesarea, who was apparently not fond of Empress Theodora, as quoted in John Julius Norwich’s A Short History of […]
[…] back as the sixth century, the Byzantine Christian Empress Theodora (c. 500-548) and her husband passed laws establishing homes for prostitutes, prohibiting forced prostitution, granting women more rights in […]
Here’s me finding this blog approximately 6 years too late & putting my first two cents here. Hopefully I get the codes right. Here goes nothing.
If there has ever been another whore who became an empress in life and a saint after death, I’ve never heard of her.
When you say “whore,” as a person from the Indian subcontinent, I find that the term still serves as an umbrella term which includes other professions as well, either overtly or cohertly but mostly the latter. You mention that Actress & Whore were synonymously used in ancient Rome. Well, over here the terms Dancer & Whore are still viewed synonymously in the more ‘traditional’ or ‘backward’ areas, whichever term you prefer. Now I feel that that is partly due to numerous scriptural descriptions of Cloud Nymphs or Apsaras who entertain the court of the gods with their arts of music & dance. They are always eternally youthful, beautiful & above the laws of man. Thus they do not marry. They take any man as their partner & may leave him for another the very next day, and also act as instruments to disrupt the penance of any sage who the gods think might end up becoming too powerful. Thus the tendency from many aeons to view the dancing girl as the ‘wanton.’ She may not necessarily offer any forms of sexual services but it was always assumed that she would be engaged in prostitution on the side. Female parts in dramas & theatre were acted out by men so acting as a female profession only appeared with the advent of films but even then there was a lot of stigma & only girls from a family history of dancing would avail of it. A songstress was viewed as relatively less lascivious but even she would be called a whore in less discerning circles. I’m tempted to launch into a tirade about the legalization of Dance Bars but that’s another comment for another post which I’m too lazy to go back to.
Anywho, back on track, that statement prominently brings to my mind two Buddhist stories about dancers or Nagar Vadhus (literally Wives of the City) from the rudimentary democracy that was the ancient state of Vaishali (western historians are highly sceptical about this but I have faith in our ancient oral traditions). One of them is Amrapali & I could never for the life of me remember the name of the other. But I won’t talk about them as they were never canonized.
If you still want to read tho:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amrapali
The woman I wish to tell you about today is the only female saint from the Varkari sect of the Vaishnavite tradition who has no guru (male or female) in the religious sphere nor does she have a family connection to any of the other saints of the sect & didn’t grow up in a particularly religious environment, born as she was to a rich whore: Kānhopātrā. Various sources differ as to whether she ever actually took up her mother’s profession, but all of them agree that she was actively persuaded to do so by her mother & she is always depicted as a prostitute in all traditional versions.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanhopatra
Another thing about her which is similar to Theodora was her negative view of prostitution (when you say ‘mixed view’ there is always a negative aspect of perception) & thus constantly calling herself “fallen” or “dirty” in all of the devotional poetry she composed, only 20-30 of which survive till date. Only 2 of them are available on the regional version of Wikipedia & they’re not in English so you’ll have to satisfy yourself with the translated excerpts in the link.
I just realized that the background information is a bigger part of the comment than the actual body but I didn’t want to make this so long that you wouldn’t even bother reading this. XP
They didn’t charge rape laws, but raptio laws. Which is abduction of women without the consent of the her kin or owner’s consent (women were consider property back then).
Also worth a mention in the annals of tough women is the incident where Justinian and his military-men were ready to flee during the massive 532 AD Nika riots in Constantinople;
Theodora, on the other hand, said she’d rather die wearing the royal color purple than give in to the stadium marauders.
Purportedly saying “As for myself, I hold that purple makes the best burial shroud” she stiffened her husbands backbone & and he crushed the revolt, ordering an attack that supposedly killed 30,000.