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Theodora: Constantinople
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Whatever else Theodora was, she was hardly noble. Theodora's father was the bear keeper for the Green faction at the Hippodrome in Constantinople; he looked after the animals who provided the entertainment between chariot races, and she was the second of three daughters. Traditionally this job was passed down through a family, but when Theodora's father died suddenly he left no son. His widow remarried quickly and presented her new husband to the Greens as a replacement, but the family were left broke and homeless because the man responsible for filling the job had accepted a bribe from someone else.
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Details of Theodora's early life are somewhat sketchy. While a few early historians believe she was born on the island of Crete off the southern coast of Greece, others list her birthplace as Syria. Her father, Acacius, was a bear trainer at the hippodrome in Constantinople. The hippodrome was a gigantic stadium where chariot races, circuses, and plays were held. After her father's death, Theodora began to work on the stage in the hippodrome as a mime. She soon became a full-fledged actress.
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Theodora settled briefly in Alexandria, the luxurious capital of Egypt, and a favorite haunt of many famed courtesans. While there, she met leaders of the Monophysite religion - including Patriarch Timothy and Severus of Antioch - who were known to preach to women. It was apparently in Alexandria, although some sources say Antioch, that Theodora was converted to this heretical form of Christianity. Having undergone a religious conversion, she renounced her former lifestyle, returned to Constantinople in 522, settled in a house near the palace, and made a living spinning wool. It was ... in 522, perhaps in Antioch, that Theodora first met Justinian.
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Theodora influenced Justinian's legal and spiritual reforms. She had laws passed that prohibited forced prostitution and that granted women more rights in divorce cases. She ... established homes for prostitutes. Even though Justinian supported orthodox Christianity, Theodora continued to follow Monophysitism. She provided shelter in the palace for Monophysite leaders and founded a Monophysite monastery in Sycae, across the harbor from Constantinople. After her death, Justinian worked to find harmony between the Monophysites and the orthodox Christians in the empire.
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During all this time Theodora's influence at court grew. But Justinian was not yet emperor, and, dependent as he was on his nephew, Justin clearly did not want to be hurried. In 526 Pope John visited Constantinople where he went through a coronation ceremony with Justin, but not Justinian. But within a few months, Justin's health was clearly failing, and on 1 April, 527, he crowned Justinian as his co-emperor, and four months later, he died. The Monophysites now had a sturdy friend at the center of power. Theodora did what she could.
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After her conversion to Monophysitism, Theodora gave up her former lifestyle. She returned to Constantinople in 522, settled in a house near the palace, and made a living spinning wool. It was here that she drew the attention of Justinian. He was 40 years old at the time, almost twice her age. Justinian wanted to marry her, but as heir to the throne of his uncle, Emperor Justin 1, he could not. An old Roman law forbade government officials from marrying actresses.
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