Theodora(500AD-548AD) was an example of a strong woman who overcame numerous obstacles starting in her early years. She also had a great impact on Romans civilization, especially for the women. All of the negative articles I’ve read, especially the ones written by Procopius, certainly didn’t make me admire and respect Theodora any less. Her unforgettable accomplishments certainly overruled any kind of troubled past she had. I’m certain she went through struggles and had to fight numerous battles; sometimes a war per say, to achieve what she achieved. And she did.
Theodora had an amazing husband who supported her on most of her political and personal life decisions and also, who was the only person that believed in her talent. He didn’t see
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Baker, there was a paragraph describing Theodora’s physical features, which caught my attention; He says that Theodora was, “a little woman, with the face we see upon ancient Greek vases-pale, soft, large-eyed, with long sweeping lashes and blue-black wavy hair. But her physical beauty was the least thing about her. Over and above that, she shared to the full those characteristics we can still detect in the women of the Greek vases-a mischievous and imp-like brilliance, a quickness and cleverness and charm, of the kind which will hypnotize men into swearing that even a plain woman is the loveliest thing God made. She had a sense of humor, and she was as quick on the nail as most women are, who have to fight their way in the world” …show more content…
What caused the riot was most of Justinian and Theodora’s political decisions which caused some of the Romans to revolt against them; buildings were burned down and the Romans named a new Emperor named Anastasius I. Once he was crowned an Emperor, Justinian and his troops decided to vanish, but fortunately for Justinian, his powerful and stubborn partner decided to stay, and fight for their throne. And there she was: Theodora. After all, she was fearful and courageous.
She stood in front of thousands of Romans and made a speech; such a powerful speech that everyone believed and supported her. She stated that she would rather stay and fight for her throne and die like any other Nobel person should; rather than run away and hide for the rest of their lives. The Roman’s positive reaction towards Theodora’s speech, drove Justinian to order his guards to pursue the new Emperor and his troops in order to fight for his throne. That fight, according to Procopius, killed approximately 30,000
Diana Buitron-Oliver and Beth Cohen, "Between Skylla and Penelope: Female Characters of the Odyssey in Archaic and Classical Greek Art," pp. 29-58.
Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was one of Rome’s greatest leaders. By building numerous churches, schools, and hospitals throughout the empire, Justinian not only managed to revive Roman society, but he also preserved Roman culture for over a thousand years. Justinian’s brilliant leadership led the Roman Empire to conquer lands in Europe and Africa and expand to its greatest size. Additionally, he unified and strengthened the empire by moving the capital to Constantinople and establishing a single faith. After his death, Justinian left a legacy that allowed Rome to continue thriving. Under Justinian’s rule, Rome flourished into a culturally rich civilization.
The birth of an eastern circus woman attracted no attention at all in mid-millennium year 500. No one could ever imagine that this baby would grow up to be one of the most remarkable women in history of the World. She was the daughter of the bear keeper, a public performer,wife of Justinian, Empress of the Byzantine Empire and a natural beauty whose name became the one name in the voluminous annals of the Byzantine empire known to almost everyone; Theodora. Once the former show girl settled down to respectable married life, she touched every branch of life in the Empire. She had her finger on everything including military campaigns, architectural developments, and government policy and law reforms. With her intelligence and charm and her indomitable willpower she became the backbone of Justinian by being the partner in power. Her supremacy and authority over Justinian and her role in the empire made her a significant woman in the history and the empress of one of the great civilizations of the world. She brought Justinian a stabilizing influence and helped him shaped his policies and became the foreground of every picture of the period. For all the long series of masterful empresses none is as astonishing and stunning as the consort of Justinian. This essay will analyze the dynamic of the marriage between Justinian and Theodora and it will argue the importance of this marriage for the strength of the Byzantine Empire.
Before we delve into the traits of individual characters, it is important to understand certain assumptions about women that prevailed in the Homeric Age. By modern standards, the Ancient Greeks would be considered a rabidly misogynistic culture. Indeed, the notoriously sour Boetian playwright Hesiod-- who wrote about fifty years before Homer-- proclaimed "Zeus who thunders on high made women to be an evil to mortal men, with a nature to do evil (Theogony 600)." While this view may have been extreme even for the Greeks, they were convinced of the physical and intellectual inferiority of women. Thus, they believed that it was better for all--...
Since there are so few mortal women featured in The Odyssey, Penelope can be seen as an ideal figure to represent all noblewomen in the Greek world. Although women were seen as possessions they could still be highly respected and influential in society. This is shown very effectively in this quote by Antinous as he speaks about Penelope, "Her skill in fine handicraft, her excellent brain, and the genius she has for getting her way, In that respect, I gra...
2. Procopius starts this document stating that Theodora is nothing more than a prostitute. He goes on to say that she was not of class or had any dignity, because she would perform on stage almost completely nude. Procopius portrays her as someone who is ruthless and will do whatever she needs to do to accomplish her goals. Justinian would fall in love with her, but was not allowed to marry her because of his social status, because
While Romulus is credited for exemplifying many of Rome;’s fundamental values, his reign over Rome is one that is infamous for its abundant bloodshed, violence against Rome’s neighbouring cities and demonstrations of his accumulated power. In comparison to Romulus’ rule, King Numa Pompilius reign is filled with undisturbed peace and coexistence in Rome and its neighbouring communities. Romulus often resorts to utilizing methods like violence or deceit to achieve his aspirations for the glory of Rome. One of the very first of Romulus’ acts of violence “to obtain sole power” (Livy 37) is to brutally murder his own twin brother, Remus in an angry fit of rage. The murder of Remus is a reflection of Romulus’ violent, ruthless nature and demonstrates the drastic measures he will go to achieve ultimate power. “To increase the dignity and impressiveness of his [ki...
MacKay, L. A. "The Person of Penelope." Greece & Rome 2nd ser. 5.2 (1958): 123-27. JSTOR. Web. .
The society in which classical myths took place, the Greco-Roman society was a very patriarchal one. By taking a careful gander at female characters in Greco-Roman mythology one can see that the roles women played differ greatly from the roles they play today. The light that is cast upon females in classical myths shows us the views that society had about women at the time. In classical mythology women almost always play a certain type of character, that is to say the usual type of role that was always traditionally played by women in the past, the role of the domestic housewife who is in need of a man’s protection, women in myth also tended to have some unpleasant character traits such as vanity, a tendency to be deceitful, and a volatile personality. If one compares the type of roles that ladies played in the myths with the ones they play in today’s society the differences become glaringly obvious whilst the similarities seem to dwindle down. Clearly, and certainly fortunately, society’s views on women today have greatly changed.
Previously, Justinian had given an order to the authorities of every city that said any crimes, or merely disobedience of the factions were to be punished equally (Bury 40). This resulted in the arrest of countless members of both factions. The following day, both the Blues and Greens found Justinian at the horse races and pleaded his forgiveness, which he granted. Street fighting and disturbances continued after Justinian had granted them forgiveness, and the days that followed consisted of the united factions breaking into the prison, killing countless guards and officials, and destroying much of the city’s property. The rioters burned many buildings including the Augusteum’s entrance, the prison, a portion of the Hippodrome, the Senate house, and several significant churches. Justinian feared the rioters, and the only thing that kept him from fleeing Constantinople was the empress Theodora (Corrick 58). She said it would be an embarrassment to go from an emperor to a refugee (Corrick 58). The united factions were called the Green-Blues, and they identified a watch word, “nika,” meaning “conquer” or “victory”. This is the reason this devastating event has come to be called
Charles Hapsburg, who later became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was born in the Flemish city of Ghent on February 24, 1500 (3) to Phillip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad (2). He had four sisters: Eleanor, Isabel, Mary, and Katherine. Ferdinand I was his only brother (7). His maternal grandparents were the very famous Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon who funded Columbus’s expeditions (6). His paternal grandfather was Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (7).
Greek women, as depicted as in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of man and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was by far more impressive than what men did.
To only make matters worse, Rome was slowly slipping into total anarchy. The government was becoming corrupt with bribery. The elections were being stopped, and there wasn't a consul elected in 53 or 52 B.C. Most authority was lost, the streets became rioted, and unsafe. During this time, Pompey tried to annul the Law of Ten Tribunes without notifying Caesar. If this happen, it would of removed a lot of Caesar's power. Caesar saw what he was trying to do, and stopped it before this action took place, and now knew for sure that Pompey was no longer his ally, but instead an enemy.
She gained power because she had been prepared all her life to be a successful ruler by being very educated in studies, languages, charm, and even in relationships. She studied natural sciences and mathematics all her life. She was even taught from her servants how to be charming. In fact, they say her beauty was not all that striking but it was actually her charm and character that made others admire her. She learned how to speak several languages and was described to be so thoroughly fluent that she did not any need the help from an interpreter. She could easily speak to anyone, from the Ethiopians, Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, or even the Parthians. Despite her Macedonian descent, she was also able to g...
Portia sends her servants to go see what is happening at the Capitol to make sure everything is alright with Caesar. Then she meets someone, who tells her more about the danger that Caesar will be facing.