Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint (Women in Antiquity), by David Potter
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Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint (Women in Antiquity), by David Potter
Free Ebook Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint (Women in Antiquity), by David Potter
Two of the most famous mosaics from the ancient world, in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, depict the sixth-century emperor Justinian and, on the wall facing him, his wife, Theodora (497-548). This majestic portrait gives no inkling of Theodora's very humble beginnings or her improbable rise to fame and power. Raised in a family of circus performers near Constantinople's Hippodrome, she abandoned a successful acting career in her late teens to follow a lover whom she was legally forbidden to marry. When he left her, she was a single mother who built a new life for herself as a secret agent, in which role she met the heir to the throne. To the shock of the ruling elite, the two were married, and when Justinian assumed power in 527, they ruled the Eastern Roman Empire together.Their reign was the most celebrated in Byzantine history, bringing wealth, prestige, and even Rome itself back to the Empire. Theodora was one of the dominant political figures of her era, helping shape imperial foreign and domestic policy and twice saving her husband from threatened deposition. She played a central role trying to solve the religious disputes of her era and proactively assisted women who were being trafficked. An extraordinarily able politician, she excited admiration and hatred from those around her. Enemies wrote extensively and imaginatively about her presumed early career as a prostitute, while supporters elevated her, quite literally, to sainthood.Theodora's is a tale of a woman of exceptional talent who overcame immense obstacles to achieve incredible power, which she exercised without ever forgetting where she had come from. In Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint, David Potter penetrates the highly biased accounts of her found in the writings of her contemporaries and takes advantage of the latest research on early Byzantium to craft a modern, well-rounded, and engaging narrative of Theodora's life. This fascinating portrait will intrigue all readers with an interest in ancient and women's history.
Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint (Women in Antiquity), by David Potter- Amazon Sales Rank: #512746 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-10-07
- Released on: 2015-10-07
- Format: Kindle eBook
Review "Potter triumphantly extracts a convincing human being from Procopius' whore and the saint of the Syrian Orthodox tradition. Deep knowledge of context--from theatre to theology--combines with intense engagement with the sources to generate a superlative account of the life and times of Byzantium's most iconic empress." --Peter Heather, author of The Restoration of Rome and Empires and Barbarians
"This gripping portrait of the empress Theodora captures the beauty, brilliance, and piety of one of history's most compelling figures. The empress and her capital come alive as Potter retraces the path that brought Theodora from obscurity to the center of imperial power and her role in shaping Byzantium's most celebrated age." --Edward Watts, University of California, San Diego "This book is much more than a straightforward biography or an apology for an empress who has been slandered as over-sexed or over-ambitious. Writing with palpable delight and a deep knowledge of the period, Potter weaves Theodora into networks of athletes and entertainers, generals and aristocrats, bishops and monks, showing her as level-headed, driven by self-interest, and fiercely loyal to her close circle of supporters. In the process, he offers new perspectives on the larger historical framework of the Later Roman Empire during a time of challenges and transformations, spiked with colorful insights into the daily life of women." --Claudia Rapp, University of Vienna "David Potter is to be warmly congratulated on having written a book that offers a gripping portrait of a remarkable woman that is also the portrait of a remarkable age." --New York Review of BooksAbout the Author David Potter is Francis W. Kelsey Collegiate Professor of Greek and Roman History and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan. His books include Constantine the Emperor, The Victor's Crown, Emperors of Rome, and Ancient Rome: A New History.
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Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Well written and very informative but the story of this colorful Empress is oddly bloodless. By lyndonbrecht I was expecting more from this book. It is well-written and on an interesting subject, but the style is closer to academic analysis. It contains a huge amount of information and in the background is a lively Byzantine culture. This is somewhat difficult to explain. There's too much explanation and rather less story. Somehow this wonderfully controversial woman of ancient times is less colorful than I expected, not exactly bloodless but needing a transfusion. Much of the text concerns religious issues, usually embodied in one or another person (the character sketches are fairly well-rounded) whose life intersects somehow with Justinian or Theodora.The book is a difficult read in the sense that the cast of characters is large and many have the same names. The character who came through strongest for me was an intrusion from the outside of the empire, the Persian ruler Kosros (the contemporary spelling appears to be changing). There are useful chapters even of the story is less than expected. The first chapter describes the city, much of it through a what-she-would-have-seen form, which is rather effective. There's also a chapter examining the writer Procopius and his "Secret History," which is responsible for the common view of her as a prostitute and manipulator. She was indeed an actress, probably did get involved in the sex trade, but she was also literate and ambitious, the daughter of a bear trainer for one of the factions--an outsider, just as Justinian was the son of a peasant from the Balkans.The book would be better with a background chapter giving some detail on the factions and of the fractious religious views of the day. These had a great deal to do with Theodora's career, but could be better explained. The book has a few graphics, black and white, mostly of carved figures and even the spectacular mosaic that is the dominant image of this Empress is not in color. I can't in good conscience give the book three stars because the writing is quite good, so four stars and the advice of sample some pages before you decide to buy.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. The Race to Applaud or Damn an Exceptional Empress! By Viviane Crystal Theodora, Empress and Great Love of Emperor Justinian in the early 500s, came from a family of circus performers which meant being actors and actresses. She would later fall in love, follow this lover and later be abandoned by him. Later as a secret agent she meets Justinian and they marry. At first Theodora doesn’t realize she is marrying the heir to the throne but in true feisty style Theodora adjusts to the change and proves to be a very wise ruler, often controlling the kingdom while Justinian was obsessed with creating a new code of laws that would last forever.David Potter tells the story of Theodora by recounting the writings of historians famous in her lifetime. This makes for some very ironic, suspicious and avid reading as the reader faces many accounts that were probably not true but which reveal a modicum of the truth amid the exaggerations and outright falsities.Procopius was one such writer who speculates that Theodora opened a home for former prostitutes because she was one in her younger years. His accounts seem to place an unduly large amount of space denigrating her and at times reveal prurient texts and scenes that perhaps say more about him than the object of his writing. Yes, she later opened a home for former prostitutes who would be able to learn a career that would not place them in so much danger. Another writer treats her with exaggerated respect and his treatment almost seems like a biography of a different, wholly loved and honored historical ruler.A large part of the book is concerned with the Chalcedonian and anti-Chalcedonian factions concerned with interpreting the nature of Jesus Christ as fully divine or partly divine and partly human. One can underestimate the rivalry between these two groups but in reality it was as intense as the Green, Blue and other factions which affected politics, religion and culture in Theodora’s younger years. Theodora had a great deal to do with lessening the conflicts and potential violence always waiting to explode.Although this is a biography of Theodora, it is also an explication of the culture and history of the Byzantine era. The author introduces the reader to the layout of the city, the structure of the games so important to Byzantine citizens, the entertainment offered through the denigrated actors and actresses, the yearning of the poor to escape their rigidly set social structure, the faith that ruled the country and empire, and Theodora’s role in all of the aforementioned subjects as well as the chaos that was to emerge during her rule.Honoring her and Justinian in the icons or mosaics of Byzantium seems right after reading this book in which fact and fiction reveal a dynamic, intelligent, and very smart woman who is featured as an honored saint to this day. Well-researched, fascinating look at a remarkable woman!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Compelling Biography! By Lauralee Empress Theodora was one of the most powerful women in the Byzantine Empire. However, history has not been favourable to her because she has garnered much negative criticism because of Procopius, a writer writing works about his times. Procopius is the only primary source about Theodora. In this biography of Theodora, the biographer sheds some light on his subject focusing on her positive aspects. While she does have some faults, Empress Theodora did have some accomplishments. Empress Theodora is a remarkable woman. Unlike many royalty in her day, she actually had to work herself up the ropes to become Empress. She was the daughter of a bear trainer and she became an actress. However, it was because she was of lowly birth that she was able to emphasize with the lower social class. She made many friends who were of her social status, and when she became empress she helped them. She also helped many women in the lower social class. Theodora was loyal to all those around her. It was her loyalty to her husband Justinian that they worked together to rule their empire. While both of them had completely different personalities and disagreed on different issues, they still had deep respect for one another. While their relationship was not based on romantic love, they still loved each other intellectually as equals. Together they helped make decisions in their empire and would often listen to each other’s viewpoints on issues. Overall, this was a very compelling biography about Empress Theodora. It is clear that the biographer admires his subject because he chooses to highlight her accomplishments. In a man’s world, Theodora was tough and hardworking. She, not Justinian, who wanted to run away, saved her throne. I also thought that the author does a good job in portraying the politics and the social aspects of the time. This biography is very engaging and comprehensive, and I liked how the author shows us how Theodora is portrayed in popular culture. This is a good portrait to those who want to see Empress Theodora in a positive light. This biography is an excellent tribute to a powerful empress who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful women of her age.(Note: I read an ARC copy of this book in courtesy of Netgalley.)
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