The Empress Theodora by James Allan Evans

The Empress Theodora by James Allan Evans

Even by modern standards, the Empress Theodora (?-548) had a remarkable rise to power. Born into the lowest class of Byzantine society, she worked as an actress in burlesque theater. Yet she attracted the love of the future emperor Justinian, who, to the astonishment of proper society, made her not only his wife but also his partner in government. Justinian's respect for and trust in Theodora gave her power in her own right unmatched by almost any other Roman or Byzantine empress. In this book, James Allan Evans provides a scholarly, yet highly accessible account of the life and times of the Empress Theodora. He follows her from her childhood as a Hippodrome bearkeeper's daughter to her imperial roles as Justinian's most trusted counselor and as an effective and powerful advocate for the downtrodden. In particular, he focuses on the ways in which Theodora worked to improve the lives of women. He also explores the pivotal role Theodora played in the great religious controversy of her time, involving a breach between sects in the Christian church.

"There is no other book that gives Theodora as extensive or as penetrating treatment as this one.. The task is worthwhile, because Theodora is a figure of historical importance and great interest and perhaps the only Byzantine woman about whom the sources say enough to make even a short book feasible." Warren Treadgold, author of A Concise History of Byzantium "[Evans's] book is informative and entertaining. He writes with clarity and lucidity, virtues which are particularly evident in his acount of the theological disputes of the age. He has successfully set before us the woman "whose strange elevation" as Gibbon puts it, "cannot be applauded as the triumph of female virtue"."--Les Etudes Classiques, 71,3, July-Sept 2003

James Allan Evans is Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of British Columbia.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780292702707
ISBN 10	0292702701
Title	The Empress Theodora
Author	James Allan Evans
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Texas Press
Year published	2003-08-08
Number of pages	172
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable