They are from Procopius, the same author who had criticized Theodora so harshly in the Secret History. Their source is worth noting, but the words themselves are even more significant, for they give a new dimension to Theodora, describing something other than her expressions of pure power. But perhaps it was more than “nature”; perhaps the Augusta was swayed by ceremony and by the protocol that required philanthropy, charity, and imperial mercy impregnated with the Christian ideals of late antiquity. Nor should we dismiss the importance of personal experience: Theodora, a child of the arenas, of the stage, and of the street, had a peculiarly feminine and ancient intimacy with sorrow; like Virgil’s Dido, she could say, “An expert in grief, I learned to give succor to the wretched.”2 Whatever the reasons, the fact remains that Theodora was active on behalf of women. More than a philanthropist, we might say she was a “philogynist.” Whereas she might have battled the other actresses, years before, when she was struggling to become a theatrical star, now that she was firmly seated on the throne, she was a resource for all the female subjects who needed her help.
What do You think about Theodora: Empress Of Byzantium (Mark Magowan Books)?
