Theodora (volume one): From Actress to Empress

Stella Duffy is a novelist, not a historian, and this book is a work of fiction, as she reminds us in a note at the end of the book. But her account is placed in a historical setting, and many characters – including the main character Theodora, who lived ca. 500-548 – are real persons.

Ancient sources tell us many things about Theodora, but we do always know if they are true or false, and the sources do not tell us everything. There are many gaps in our information. Whenever there is a gap, Duffy can use her imagination to fill the gaps, and in my opinion she has done this very well.

This volume covers the first half of Theodora’s life, from ca. 500 to 527. The story continues in a sequel The Purple Shroud which was published in 2012 and 2013.

We do not know when or where Theodora was born. Duffy says Theodora was born in Constantinople in AD 500, which is possible. Her family was poor and despised by the elite because they worked in the entertainment business. They performed in the hippodrome between the races. Her father was a bear-keeper who worked for the Green faction. It was a dangerous job: when Theodora was five, her father was killed by his bear. Her mother managed to find a new husband, but the Greens refused to hire him. Desperate, the family turned to the Blue faction, which took them in. From that moment, and for the rest of her life, Theodora was a firm supporter of the Blues.

[Her future husband, the emperor Justinian, also supported the Blues. On this point they always saw eye to eye. On other points, in particular the Christian religion, they did not agree: he was (for most of his life) a Chalcedonian, while she was a Monophysite.]

[See Alan Cameron, Circus Factions: Blues and Greens at Rome and Constantinople, 1976, reprinted 1999.]

In 518 Theodora falls for a man called Hecebolus, who had just been appointed governor of the Pentapolis, i.e. Cyrenaica, or the eastern part of Libya. She follows him to Libya and stays with him for a while. At the time the governor of the Pentapolis lived in Apollonia. The remains of the ancient town are still visible on the northern coast of Africa: three churches and a theatre. In the centre of the town the governor’s mansion, also known as the Palace of the Dux.

[See Paul MacKendrick, The North African Stones Speak, hardcover 1980, paperback 1997, pp. 131-136.]

The relationship with Hecebolus does not last long: in 519 Theodora leaves him and travels to Alexandria, where she meets a man called Timothy, who was born ca. 470. Timothy, an anti-Chalcedonian, was the patriarch of Alexandria from 517 until his death in 535.

Timothy sends Theodora into the Egyptian desert, where she meets a man called Severus, who was born ca. 465. Severus, also an anti-Chalcedonian, had been the patriarch of Antioch 512-518, but he had been ousted by Emperor Justin, who wanted to punish him for his “heretic” views. Severus took refuge with Timothy in Egypt. Theodora stays with Severus and his disciples in the desert for about one year.

In 520 she moves to Antioch, where she stays with a women called Macedonia. She returns to Constantinople in the following year.

We do not know how and when Theodora and Justinian met. Duffy says Theodora was hired to work for the Palace and plan the celebrations which were held when Justinian became consul in 521, which is possible.

While working in the Palace, Theodora meets the future general Belisarius and his wife Antonina, who had almost the same background as herself (she had also been an actress). She also meets the emperor Justin and his wife.

Justinian wants to marry Theodora, but it is against the law: a former actress cannot marry a patrician. Justinian asks Justin, who is his uncle, to change the law for him. The emperor wants to help, but the empress will not allow it. She dies in 523, Justin changes the law in 524, and Justinian is finally able to marry Theodora in 525.

The couple is married in Hagia Sophia. According to Duffy (page 297) the church was “one hundred and twenty years old” at the time, but this is not true. The first version of the church was dedicated in 360, but later destroyed. The second version was dedicated in 415, and this is the one that was standing when the marriage took place. At the time it was only 110 years old. It was destroyed during the Nika-rebellion in 532. The third version (Justinian’s church) was dedicated in 537, and this is the one still standing today.

[The dome was seriously damaged by earthquakes in 553 and 557, and collapsed after a third earthquake in 558. A new dome was completed in 562.]

Justin names his nephew Justinian to succeed him on the throne. When Justin dies in 527, Justinian becomes the emperor and his wife Theodora the empress.

Theodora’s life is a fascinating story – from rags to riches, from a poor actress, popular with the people but despised by the elite, to the most important woman in the Byzantine Empire – and Duffy tells it in a fascinating way. The descriptions are colourful, the dialogues powerful: Theodora and the people around her come to life.

The author has done her homework. She knows the characters and understands the issues they were facing.

She also has a good eye for details: on page 246, for instance, we are told that Justin’s wife had changed her name from Lupicina to Euphemia in order to hide the fact that she was born as a slave (which is true).

PS. The map of the Mediterranean world placed at the beginning of the book is useful, but one city (Cyrene) is misplaced and the names of several cities are misspelled.

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Stella Duffy,

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore,

Virago, hardcover 2010, paperback 211, 344 pages

 

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