It’s believed that Justinian attended one of Theodora’s performances and was absolutely smitten - which explains how a bearkeeper’s daughter turned courtesan ended up as Empress. "There was no shame in the girl, and no one ever saw her dismayed." But only gave her youth to anyone she met, in utter abandonment," Procopius wrote. "She became a courtesan, and such as the Ancient Greeks used to call, a common one, at that: for she was not a flute or harp player, nor was she even trained to dance.
"There was no shame in the girl, and no one ever saw her dismayed." Procopius Theodora grew up to become an actress, which, Procopius explains, had a very different meaning back then. As was likely the fate of many bearkeepers, Theodora's father died unexpectedly.Ī lot of what we know about Theodora comes from a contemporary historian named Procopius. Her name was Theodora, and she was the daughter of a bearkeeper.
Theodora: Bearkeeper's Daughter, Courtesan, Empress She was "the most scandalous woman of the age," Dash says. The second thing you need to know about Justinian is that he married a prostitute. "He felt, I think, fairly strongly that the Roman Empire had taken a huge hit before his reign, and that it was his duty, really, as emperor to try and reconquer as much of that as possible," says historian Mike Dash. Justinian ruled the Eastern Roman (also known as the Byzantine) Empire out of Constantinople. Justinian came to power in 527 A.D., about 50 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first thing you need to know about the Emperor Justinian is that his motto was essentially "Make The Roman Empire Great Again." (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) This article is more than 4 years old. The Hippodrome in Constantinople was the largest chariot racing stadium in the Eastern Roman Empire and the site of the Nika Riots.