Theodora, detail of a Byzantine mosaic in Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
Probably one of the most recognizable figures of the byzantine millennium. Theodora left behind a legacy which formed all her successors in the imperial throne of Constantinople.
Though from humble origins she managed to married Justinian and elevate to the highest byzantine rank for a woman of her age. The law which forbidden a patrician to get married to a common woman had to change first, and it was her courage and strength that backed Justinian during the Nika riots; when he suggested fleeing she replied : ” Purple makes a fine winding sheet.”
Although Procopius very often criticized her immoral habits of taking long baths and participating in orgies, it was her character that shaped an emperor and indeed a very important one.
