MooreKristiHIST111ShortPaper
Theodora of Constantinople
Kristi Moore
History 111
Professor Brian Carey
American Military University
October 12, 2014
Identify one important historical personality studied in this class through Week 6 and describe three ways this person shaped the age in which he/she lived in.
Theodora of Constantinople
Throughout history, there had been many people who had made an impact on the world and society in which they had lived. Many had impacted military strategies and political thinking. Others brought new ideas to the theological and philosophical realm. Theodora of Constantinople, wife of Justinian, broke all of the Byzantine Empire social rules. Theodora was born in 497 to a bear keeper for the Green faction in the Hippodrome. After the death of her father, her mother remarried and her step-father had trouble getting gainful employment. Theodora and her two sisters were forced into the theater. Theodora’s talents as an actress were restricted to miming and comedy1. At this period in time, actress was usually synonymous with prostitute. Most of her early life is speculation brought about from the book Ancedota, translated The Secret History, written after her death, unpublished, and kept secret by her political rival, Procopius (490-560). According to Ancedota, Theodora was very active sexually and had two illegitimate children, the daughter that history records and an unknown son2.
Theodora left the theater life at 18 to become mistress to Hecebolus, the governor of what is now Libya3. Their affair did not last long. Hecebolus, for unknown reasons, discarded Theodora. Not eager to return to the life of an actress, she made her way to Alexandria where she had a religious conversion into the Monothysite faction of Christianity, which was heavily persecuted by the Roman state4. After her conversion, she traveled to Antioch and met a woman named Macedonia. Macedonia was reputed to have been a dancer and a spy. She may have recruited Theodora as a
Kristi Moore
History 111
Professor Brian Carey
American Military University
October 12, 2014
Identify one important historical personality studied in this class through Week 6 and describe three ways this person shaped the age in which he/she lived in.
Theodora of Constantinople
Throughout history, there had been many people who had made an impact on the world and society in which they had lived. Many had impacted military strategies and political thinking. Others brought new ideas to the theological and philosophical realm. Theodora of Constantinople, wife of Justinian, broke all of the Byzantine Empire social rules. Theodora was born in 497 to a bear keeper for the Green faction in the Hippodrome. After the death of her father, her mother remarried and her step-father had trouble getting gainful employment. Theodora and her two sisters were forced into the theater. Theodora’s talents as an actress were restricted to miming and comedy1. At this period in time, actress was usually synonymous with prostitute. Most of her early life is speculation brought about from the book Ancedota, translated The Secret History, written after her death, unpublished, and kept secret by her political rival, Procopius (490-560). According to Ancedota, Theodora was very active sexually and had two illegitimate children, the daughter that history records and an unknown son2.
Theodora left the theater life at 18 to become mistress to Hecebolus, the governor of what is now Libya3. Their affair did not last long. Hecebolus, for unknown reasons, discarded Theodora. Not eager to return to the life of an actress, she made her way to Alexandria where she had a religious conversion into the Monothysite faction of Christianity, which was heavily persecuted by the Roman state4. After her conversion, she traveled to Antioch and met a woman named Macedonia. Macedonia was reputed to have been a dancer and a spy. She may have recruited Theodora as a
Bibliography: Evans, James Allan. Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian. Austin, TX, USA: University of Texas Press, 2002. Accessed September 30, 2014. ProQuest ebrary. Garland, Lynda. "Theodora, Wife of Justinian." In Byzantine Empressses: Women and Power in Byzantinum, AD 527-1204. London: Routledge, 1999. 11-39. Accessed September 30, 2014. ProQuest ebrary.