Empress Theodora of the Byzantine Empire

            Empress Theodora was not your everyday woman who lived in the Byzantine Empire. In fact, she was the most powerful empress of the Byzantine Empire. She had everything it took to lead, but instead ruled as regent next to her husband, Justinian. Theodora had beauty, intelligence, charm, and was very amusing. Empress Theodoras intelligence helped advance the empire in many ways. In her early years, Theodora lived a very humble life. Both of her parents worked at the Hippodrome of Constantinople. The Hippodrome was a huge stadium that held circus-like events. It could hold up to 30,00 people. Theodoras father was a bear keeper, and her mother was a dancer and also an actress. Theodora worked as a mime along side her father in the circus. After the death of her father, at the age of 5, Theodoras mother got her a job as an entertainer in the Hippodrome. Theodora was forced to become an entertainer, because her stepfather could not support her family. An entertainer was equivalent to a modern-day Vegas showgirl.
             Theodora became very popular in these circus-like events. By the age of fifteen, she was the star of the circus. Theodora was no longer an entertainer, but an actress in the Hippodrome. Back in these times acting did not have the same meaning as it does today. If you were an actress then it was equivalent to being a prostitute. Her crude acts on stage are what made her famous. Theodora soon realized that there was a career path outside of the Hippodrome. She then became the Mistress to the Syrian official Hecebolus. She was sixteen when she became his mistress and remained with him for four years. After being mistreated and abandoned by Hecebolus she returned back to Constantinople. She then went back to her humble way of life and became a wool spinner.
             When she was a wool spinner she worked near the royal palace. Her humble lifestyle, intelligence, and striking beauty caught the attention of a young man named Justinian.