P.’s volume was written for the Women in Antiquity series edited by R. Ancona and S.B. Pomeroy. The series attempts to – and largely succeeds in – illuminating the lives and times of various ancient women, some already very famous and others known only to professional scholars. The books are intended for a broad audience and, as the series editors note, are intended to focus as much on the historical times of the female subjects as on their individual lives. P.’s Theodora brings this enigmatic woman and her world to life, through constant reference to an enormous range of ancient literary and material evidence as well as the landscape of modern Istanbul.
By necessity, a scholarly study of Theodora cannot be a biography proper – our evidence is too paltry and polemical. Still, P. has produced the next best thing: a close reading of Theodora's world, with informed speculation about her life from childhood to death. Whenever possible, he fleshes out the vestiges of Theodora in the historical record and offers a careful, critical analysis of what these traces might tell us about this apparently savvy and powerful late-antique empress. The Theodora that P. creates is a smart, strong and complicated woman whose world view and behaviour were strongly influenced by her life experiences.
The book opens with a short introduction, followed by eleven chapters that trace Theodora's life chronologically from birth to death and a twelfth chapter that examines her reception in the centuries after her death up to the modern period. P. also helpfully includes a list with identifications of the main figures discussed in the body of the book; a timeline; a list of abbreviations; well-selected references to key primary and secondary sources; a full bibliography; and an index.
Following a brief introduction to the main political, cultural and theological issues that faced Justinian and Theodora as rulers, Chapter 1, ‘Constantinople’, goes back to c. 495, when Theodora was born into a circus family. Although we have no evidence for Theodora's childhood, P. does a remarkable job of bringing Theodora to life through a discussion of her birth city – its monuments, religious politics and, especially, the role of the circus factions in Constantinople's daily life and politics. We learn that, as an ursarius (‘bear-trainer’) for the Greens, Theodora's father (until his untimely death) was likely able to provide well enough for his family and that Theodora's apparent literacy was possibly owed to being born to parents in the entertainment industry.
Chapter 2, ‘Telling Nasty Stories’, takes on the significant issue of Procopius’ treatment of Theodora, and the influence on Theodora's reception, in the Secret History. P. provides a balanced critique of Procopius’ value as a source for Theodora's life. Rather than dismissing Procopius’ text out of hand, P. carefully analyses how it might be used to recover bits of truth. Chapter 3, ‘Sex and the Stage’, turns to Theodora's career as an actress and, probably, a well-compensated courtesan who used her sexual allure to supplement her income. Eventually, Theodora escaped the stage life to become the common-law wife/concubine of Hecebolus, a provincial governor in modern Libya. She gave birth to his daughter and remained with him until c. 518, when she was apparently cast aside. Chapter 4, ‘Factions and Networks’, finds Theodora in Antioch, where she meets Macedonia – a powerful ally who introduced Theodora to Justinian. This chapter is essential to understanding the sources of Theodora's power as empress, as she focused on building a powerful network of allies in anti-Chalcedonian communities away from Constantinople. P. highlights her relationship with Severus, Bishop of Antioch. Theodora's connections to the anti-Chalcedonians would be crucial to her husband at several points during his reign. The precise reasons for the apparently strong bond between Severus and Theodora are lost to us; but P.’s theory that, during this period, Theodora was won over by Severus’ interest in the poor is persuasive.
Chapter 5, ‘Patrician’, turns to Justinian, his personality, his Chalcedonian religious leanings and his love for Theodora. Only after the Emperor Justin changed Roman law was Justinian able to marry Theodora in 521–522. In 523, Justinian and Theodora were elevated to the status of patricians. We also learn that Theodora's expansive network in the anti-Chalcedonian communities in Syria and further east likely proved useful to Justin as he worked to pacify rebellions. Chapter 6, ‘The Succession’, turns to Justinian's elevation to Emperor in 527. The chapter discusses at length the lavish living quarters of Justinian and Theodora. We see just how far Theodora has come from being the daughter of circus employees and the concubine of a mid-level government official to an empress. She embodies a new path to power and demonstrates the extent to which ancient Roman traditions were being cast aside in the sixth-century Eastern Empire. The first five years of the couple's reign are the topic of Chapter 7, ‘Augusta’. Through a series of examples we see evidence that Theodora exercised serious power, particularly when it came to foreign affairs.
Chapter 8, ‘Revolution’, addresses the Nika Riots of 532, with attention to Theodora's possible role in preventing Justinian's flight from Constantinople. Chapter 9, ‘War and Religion’, picks up in 532, with Justinian's efforts to make peace with Persia and rebuild Constantinople after the riots. This chapter also looks at Justinian's several other efforts to stabilise his rule, notably, the construction of the Hagia Sophia and entrusting Tribonian with creating an up-to-date collection of Roman law. Relying on such circumstantial evidence as the marriage of Theodora's daughter into a powerful senatorial family, P. argues that Theodora was a significant power broker during these difficult years. Justinian did not always listen to or agree with her, but he did so often enough to indicate that Theodora was not to be ignored. P. argues convincingly, for instance, that Belisarius’ appointment to command the reconquest of Africa was owed to Theodora.
Chapter 10, ‘Plots and Plague’, covers the difficult years of 537–542, including a fascinating discussion of the spread of the bubonic plague from Africa to the East. We learn that Justinian himself became ill and, supposedly, his general Belisarius plotted to replace him as emperor. We also learn of Theodora's efforts to protect women from abusive situations through legislation as well as her Metanoia – a foundation apparently dedicated to allowing women to repent of their former, less pious lives.
The final years of Theodora's life are covered in Chapter 11, ‘Last Years’. She seems to have continued to dedicate herself to promoting the anti-Chalcedonian cause until her death in 548. Chapter 12, ‘Legacy’, offers a fascinating overview of Theodora's post-mortem reception, including the detail that the Syrian church praised her anti-Chalcedonianism and made her a saint in 2000. P.’s overview of Theodora's reception by Gibbon and Montesquieu and his discussion of the playwright Sardou's Théodora are especially enlightening.
The greatest strength of this book is P.’s enviable knowledge of the vast primary and secondary literature on the period covering the lives of Theodora and Justinian. Given the limits of the evidence, however, it is rare that an unqualified statement can be made about Theodora at any point, even during Justinian's reign. Despite these evidentiary limitations, however, P. has managed to write a superb book that introduces novice and professional alike to one of the more fascinating women in Late Antiquity while also offering the reader the opportunity to create their own Theodora from his extensive presentation of the extant evidence. The book is well produced (I found only one glaring syntactical error, on p. 29), with generally adequate maps and images.
