5 From Whore to Empress...

Theodora lived in an era of huge changes in the church, language and statehood. What had been Roman was about to become Byzantine, and the eastern regions around Syria, the Levant and Egypt were clamouring to use their own languages, hinting at self-determination. Just 20 years after Theodora's death the Prophet Muhammad would be born.
At 13, she was the star of the hippodrome, performing in shows which, if Procopius is to be believed, were not far from the extremes of modern burlesque. She was also, as most actresses then were, a child prostitute. (That the word actress can have a derogatory aspect – having once been a synonym for "courtesan" or "whore" – has been long recognised, which is why many women who work in the theatre prefer the term "actor".)
Theodora had a child at 14, and her older sister Comito, a famed singer, likely became mistress to several wealthy men; it's probable that both had several abortions. At 18, Theodora walked away from her astonishing career, to become mistress to Hecebolus, the governor of what is now known as Libya. At 21, Theodora returned to the capital and met Justinian.
They married against the wishes of Justinian's aunt, the empress Euphemia, herself an ex-slave and concubine, who saw her own origins echoed a little too obviously in Theodora's. When Justin died and Justinian became emperor in 527, "Theodora-from-the-Brothel" was empress of Rome.
All of which makes Theodora sound like an early and ardent feminist, but her story is more complicated. There are hints that she was involved in poisoning, torture and forced marriage, and while she did a great deal to help women and girls in difficulty, she had rather less time for women of higher standing – attacking any who threatened her position, including the empress Euphemia.
There are so many questions in Theodora's story. Was she a spy or a saint, a slut or a theatrical genius? What actually happened with the geese on stage at the hippodrome? Was Macedonia her friend or her lover? Theodora is the kind of hero you couldn't make up without being accused of overdoing it, and yet you can't tell her story without making a lot of it up. A perfect balance for fiction.