Theodora

Theodora (; Greek: Θεοδώρα; 49028 June 548) was a Byzantine empress and wife of emperor Justinian. She was from humble origins and became empress when her husband became emperor in 527 and was one of his chief advisers. Theodora is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church, commemorated on 28 June. Early years Much of Theodora's early life is unknown. Procopius's Secret History is the foremost source of her life before marriage, but is often regarded as slanderous. According to Michael the Syrian, her birthplace was in Mabbug, Syria; Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos says Theodora is a native of Cyprus, and the Patria, attributed to George Codinus, claims Theodora came from Paphlagonia. She was born c. AD 490. Her father, Acacius, was a bear trainer for the Hippodrome's Green faction in Constantinople. Given her father’s profession, modern scholars argue that it is highly probable that 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. She had two sisters, an elder named Comito and a younger named Anastasia. After her father's death, her mother remarried but the family lacked a source of income because Acacius's position was given away by Asterius, a Green faction official who accepted a bribe in exchange. When Theodora was four, her mother brought her children wearing garlands into the Hippodrome, presenting them as suppliants to the Green faction, but they rebuffed her efforts. Consequently, Theodora's mother approached the Blue faction which took pity on the family and gave the position of bear keeper to Theodora's stepfather. According to Procopius' Secret History, before the onset of adolescence, Theodora began her work as a prostitute by joining alongside her older sister Comito when she performed onstage and worked in a Constantinople brothel, serving low and high-status customers. Later, she performed on stage. In his account of Theodora, Edward Gibbon wrote: Her venal charms were abandoned to a promiscuous crowd of citizens and strangers of every rank, and of every position; the fortunate lover who had been promised a night of enjoyment was often driven from her bed by a stronger or more wealthy favorite; and when she passed through the streets, her presence was avoided by all who wished to escape either the scandal or the temptation.