by Veronika | Filed Under Articles, Muse History
Chapter One: The Royal Concubines and Maitresses-en-titre: Stratospheric Careers and Slow Fades
From a Striptease on an Ancient Witness Stand to Drinking Pearls: The Courtesan’s Many Graces and Faces
Wherein we explore the lives and inspirational qualities of some of the most powerful women who ever lived: the Conquering Beauties from the 5th through the 17th century: The Royal Concubines, Maitresses-en-titre. Edo-era Geisha, Korean kisaeng, and Italian Renaissance Courtesans.
The Meteoric Rise of Theodora, who Never Forgot Her Lowly Roots
Destined to be an empress and arguably the most powerful woman in Byzantine history, Theodora came into the world amidst extremely humble circumstances in 497 A.D. in Constantinople. Quite literally born into a circus family, she is said to have been born in the outhouse of the amphitheater where her father worked as a bear-leader. Theodora probably sensed from a young age that the circus setting of her childhood was quite apt for someone whose life was to be extremely eventful: for even while she was still a young girl, she allegedly had a prophetic dream that foretold she would become “mistress of all the riches in the world.”
Still, that destiny must have seemed a million miles from the demimonde of the amphitheater. In ancient Constantinople as in many societies until the modern period, actresses and other women who made their living on the stage were associated with prostitution, whether they engaged in it or not. Precocious and pulchritudinous – according to the 6th century ancient scholar Procopius, Theodora’s beauty “was beyond the power of words to describe or art to portray – the young Theodora was one of those who legitimized this popular association of the performer and the prostitute. Early in her life she made her debut within the amphitheater, first with charming comic child-turns that won the hearts of the crowd, and later, as an acrobat and mime. She could neither sing nor dance, but the fair-haired, white-skinned starlet knew she could mesmerize the crowd by accentuating her best asset, her allegedly ideal figure, and to this end, she appeared as naked as the regulations monitoring the antics at the amphitheater allowed her, wearing only a silk scarf tied loosely around her hips. Backstage and at rehearsal, however, she often opted to walk around completely naked.
This lack of modesty was matched by an epically loose attitude toward sexuality, and soon Theodora was prostituting herself to all classes of men in Constantinople: from the slaves who hung around the backstage doors waiting for their masters, to itinerant sailors and gentlemen. It is said that she even had to leave the city for awhile, exiling herself to Africa with a patron, because the notoriety of her sexual exploits became too much for the Christian citizens of Constantinople to tolerate.
Upon her return, however, Theodora’s beauty and “talents” collided with great luck, and she caught the eye of the young Justinian, nephew of the current emperor, Justin. He made her his mistress and raised her rank to that of patrician. So besotted was he with her and so determined was the seductress to become his wife that they overcame every opposition, from Justin’s mother’s steadfast disapproval of her son’s choice (they waited until her death, in 525, to wed), to a law that had, up until then, forbade members of the senate from marrying actresses (this law was summarily abolished). Thus, when her husband rose to the throne in 527, Theodora, now bedecked with pearls, precious stones, and rich brocades, was crowned co-regent, and she and her husband ruled from the Hippodrome in consort.
Justinian’s trust in Theodora proved to be well-founded, and her intelligence and political astuteness made her his top advisor. She was also a brave and inspiring ruler: when the ever-present feud between the two dueling political factions in Constantinople escalated and threatened the imperial palace, Justinian was said to have considered flight, until Theodora spoke her piece: “Even if it be the only salvation, I will not take refuge in flight. Are we not all doomed to die from birth? He who has worn a crown must not survive its loss.” Thanks largely to her courage, Justinian and his army stayed and fought, winning an unequivocal over the mutinous political faction that had been attempting to overthrow him as emperor. From this day on she was revered not just by her husband, but by the majority of the senate and citizens as well as a true empress. A patron of the arts and architecture, Theodora also added greatly to the beauty of the empire, and is partly responsible for the lavish splendour which became the trademark of the “Byzantine” style of architecture. In turn, her subjects constructed numerous monuments in her honor to show their adoration for the unlikely empress.
There were still those who could not forget her scandalous past. In a report that claims she continued her theatrical career after she became empress which is considered almost certainly fictional, Procopius writes of Empress Theodora:
“Often, even in the theater, in the sight of all the people, she removed her costume and stood nude in their midst, except for a girdle about the groin. . .Covered thus with a ribbon, she would sink down to the stage floor and recline on her back. Slaves to whom the duty was entrusted would then scatter grains of barley from above into the calyx of this passion flower, whence geese, trained for the purpose, would next pick the grains one by one with their bills and eat.”
While this account is doubtful, it is true that the empress never forgot her origins, and she used her powerful influence to enact changes in the laws concerning women’s rights to hold property and theatrical performers’ rights to be treated as equal citizens. Not surprisingly, she also always championed prostitutes’ causes. She died around 548 A.D., but more glory awaited her.
Despite her raunchy beginnings, Theodora, along with her husband, is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox church; her feast day is November 14. She was not the first woman to begin her life as a courtesan and end up a saint: the Christian religion honors several “repentant courtesans” turned saints, among them Saint Thais and Saint Mary of Egypt (not to mention the thorny issue of Mary Magdalene’s true original profession.) This seemingly unlikely metamorphosis from successful courtesan to religious convert is, surprisingly, in fact not unusual. Other later courtesans, like Louise de la Valliere, mistress to Louis XIV; the sovereign-toppling Lola Montez; and Renaissance Italian cortigiana onesta Tullia Aragona also all ended their lives as improbably religious women, seeking absolution for their former “sins.” Liane de Pougy, the toast of Belle Epoque France, even entered a convent for a while in her 30’s (taking the religious name Anna-Marie Magdalene), only to reemerge and marry a prince, although she never abandoned the religious feelings awakened in her during her time as a postulate. I would wager that Empress Theodora, however, had no such guilty conscience or urge to atone at the end of her remarkable life.
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