33

the empress inflicted on them such necessity and hardship that it became their eager desire to exchange their marriage for a release from the evils of this life. Thus no place remained for her that was undefiled or inviolate. So these women were married unwillingly to men who were poor and obscure, far below their own station, even though suitors of noble birth were available to them. And their mother, now a widow herself, was present at the betrothal, not daring to groan or weep over the calamity. But later Theodora, to atone for the pollution, decided to console them for their misfortunes with public honors. For she appointed each of their husbands a magistrate. And yet even so no consolation came to the girls, but incurable and unendurable sufferings befell almost all the subjects at the hands of these men, which will be related by me in the following narrative. For Theodora had no care for honor of office or of state or anything else, if only her will was accomplished. Now it happened that she had become pregnant by one of her lovers, when she was still on the stage, and becoming aware of her trouble late in time, she did everything to induce an abortion, as was her custom, but by no device could she bring about the premature destruction of the infant, since it was not far from having become a human being. Therefore, since nothing succeeded, she abandoned the attempt and was forced to give birth. The father of the child, seeing her perplexed and vexed, because now that she was a mother she would no longer be able to ply her trade with her body as before, and because indeed he truly perceived that she would make away with the child, took him up and, naming him John, since he was a boy, departed for Arabia, for which he was bound. And when he himself was about to die, and John was now a youth, the father told him the whole story about his mother. And he, after performing all the customary rites for his father who had passed from the world, came to Byzantium some time later and reported the matter to those who regularly handled admissions to his mother. They, suspecting that she would not be thinking in any inhuman way, announced to the mother that her son John had come. But the woman, fearing that the story might become known to her husband, ordered the boy to come into her sight. And when she saw him arrive, she handed him over to one of her servants, to whom she was always accustomed to entrust such matters. And in what manner the unfortunate one was made to disappear from the world I cannot say, but no one has ever been able to see him to this day, not even after the empress was gone. At that time it also happened that the character of almost all women was corrupted. For they sinned against their husbands with complete license, since their actions brought them no danger or harm; for even those who were caught in adultery remained immune from evil consequences, but going at once to the empress they became the accusers instead, and bringing a countersuit for crimes that had not been committed, they would bring their husbands to trial. And the result was that these men, though their innocence was not disproved, had to pay back the dowry twofold, and after being whipped for the most part were led away to prison, and again to see the adulteresses putting on airs and being debauched more fearlessly by their lovers. And many of the lovers received honor from this very business. Therefore most men thereafter, suffering unholy deeds from their wives, most gladly remained silent without being flogged, granting them license by pretending not to have caught them. This woman claimed the right to manage all affairs of state on her own authority. For she appointed both magistrates and priests, investigating and most diligently guarding one thing only, that the one pursuing the dignity should not be a good or noble person, and not someone who would be able to serve her in the things she announced. And she managed all marriages by some kind of divine power, and men made no voluntary betrothal to marry before. For a wife was suddenly given to each man, not because she was pleasing to him, as was the custom even among the barbarians, but because it was Theodora’s will. And this, in turn, happened conversely to the women being married

33

ἀνάγκην τε καὶ κακοπάθειαν προσετρίψατο ἡ βασίλισσα ὥστε αὐταῖς ἀπαλλαξειούσαις τῶν ἐνθένδε κακῶν τὸν γάμον αὐτῶν ἀνταλλάξασθαι ἐν σπουδῇ γέγονεν. οὕτως αὐτῇ ἄχραν17.11 τος οὐδεὶς ἢ ἄσυλος μεμένηκε χῶρος. αὗται μὲν οὖν ἀνδράσι πτωχοῖς τε καὶ ἀπερριμμένοις πολλῷ ἀπὸ τῆς σφετέρας ἀξίας ἀκούσιαι ξυνῳκίσθησαν, καίπερ εὐπα17.12 τριδῶν σφίσι παρόντων μνηστήρων. ἡ δὲ μήτηρ αὐταῖς χήρα καὶ αὐτὴ γεγονυῖα οὔτε ἀνοιμῶξαι οὔτε 17.13 ἀποκλαῦσαι τολμῶσα τὸ πάθος παρῆν τῇ ἐγγύῃ. ὕστερον δὲ ἀφοσιουμένη ἡ Θεοδώρα τὸ μίασμα, δημοσίαις 17.14 αὐτὰς παρηγορῆσαι ξυμφοραῖς ἔγνω. ἄρχοντα γὰρ ἑκάτερον κατεστήσατο. καὶ ταῖς μὲν κόραις παραψυχὴ οὐδ' ὣς γέγονε, πάθη δὲ ἀνήκεστα καὶ ἀνύποιστα τοῖς ὑπηκόοις σχεδόν τι ἅπασι πρὸς τῶν ἀνδρῶν τούτων ξυνηνέχθη παθεῖν, ἅπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν λόγοις 17.15 λελέξεται. Θεοδώρᾳ γὰρ οὔτε ἀρχῆς οὔτε πολιτείας ἀξίωσις οὔτε τι ἄλλο ἐπιμελὲς ἦν, εἰ τὸ βούλημα περανεῖται μόνον. 17.16Ἐτύγχανε δὲ ὑπό του κυήσασα τῶν ἐραστῶν, ἡνίκα ἔτι ἐπὶ σκηνῆς ἦν, τοῦ δὲ κακοῦ ὀψὲ τοῦ καιροῦ αἰσθομένη πάντα μὲν ἐς τὸ ἀμβλύσκειν, ὥσπερ εἰώθει, ἐποίει, ἄωρον δὲ ἀποκτιννύναι τὸ βρέφος οὐδεμιᾷ μηχανῇ εἶχεν, ἐπεὶ οὐ πολλῷ ἀπελέλειπτο τοῦ ἀνθρωπο17.17 ειδὲς γένος γεγονέναι. διὸ δὴ ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν προὐχώρει, τῆς πείρας ἀφεμένη τίκτειν ἠνάγκαστο. ὁρῶν δὲ αὐτὴν ὁ τοῦ τεχθέντος πατὴρ ἀπορουμένην τε καὶ ἀσχάλλουσαν, ὅτι μήτηρ γενομένη τῷ σώματι ὁμοίως ἐργάζεσθαι οὐκέτι ἂν δυνατὴ εἴη, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἀληθῶς δὴ ὑπῄσθετο ὡς διαχρήσεται τὸ παιδίον, ἀνείλετό τε καὶἸωάννην ἐπονομάσας, ἐπεὶ ἄρσεν ἦν, ἐς τὴνἈραβίαν 17.18 ἐς ἥνπερ ὥρμητο ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὸς μὲν τελευτᾶν ἔμελλεν,Ἰωάννης δὲ ἤδη μειράκιον ἦν, τὸν πάντα λόγον αὐτῷ ἀμφὶ τῇ μητρὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἔφρασε. 17.19 καὶ ὃς ἅπαντα ἐπὶ τῷ πατρὶ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανισθέντι τὰ νόμιμα ποιήσας, χρόνῳ τινὶ ὕστερον ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθε καὶ τοῖς παρὰ τὴν μητέρα τὰς εἰσόδους ἀεὶ ποιου17.20 μένοις τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀγγέλλει. οἱ δὲ οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου τρόπου αὐτὴν λογιεῖσθαι ὑποτοπήσαντες ἐπαγγέλλουσι τῇ μητρὶ ὅτι δὴ αὐτῆςἸωάννης ὁ υἱὸς 17.21 ἥκοι. δείσασα δὲ ἡ γυνὴ μὴ ἐς τὸν ἄνδρα ἔκπυστος ὁ λόγος γένηται, τὸν παῖδά οἱ ἐς ὄψιν ἐκέλευεν ἥκειν. 17.22 ἐπεί τε εἶδε παραγενόμενον, τῶν οἰκείων τινὶ ἐνεχεί17.23 ρισεν, ᾧπερ ἀεὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐπέχειν εἰώθει. καὶ τρόπῳ μὲν ὅτῳ ὁ ταλαίπωρος ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφάνισται οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν, οὐδεὶς δὲ αὐτὸν ἄχρι δεῦρο ἰδεῖν οὐδὲ ἀπογενομένης τῆς βασιλίδος ἔσχε. 17.24 Τότε καὶ ταῖς γυναιξὶ σχεδόν τι ἁπάσαις τὸν τρόπον διεφθάρθαι ξυνέβη. ἐξήμαρτον γὰρ ἐς τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐξουσίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ, οὐ φέροντος αὐταῖς κίνδυνόν τινα ἢ βλάβην τοῦ ἔργου, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὅσαι μοιχείας ἁλοῖεν, αὗται κακῶν ἀπαθεῖς ἔμενον, παρὰ δὲ τὴν βασιλίδα αὐτίκα ἰοῦσαι ἀντίστροφοί τε γενόμεναι καὶ δίκην οὐ γεγονότων ἐγκλημάτων ἀντιλαχοῦσαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ὑπῆ17.25 γον. περιῆν τε αὐτοῖς ἀνεξελέγκτοις οὖσι τὴν μὲν προῖκα ἐν διπλασίῳ ἀποτιννύναι, μεμαστιγωμένοις δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀπαχθῆναι, καὶ αὖ πάλιν τὰς μοιχευτρίας ἐπιδεῖν κεκομψευμένας τε καὶ πρὸς τῶν μοιχῶν ἀδεέστερον λαγνευομένας. τῶν δὲ μοιχῶν πολλοὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἔργου καὶ τιμῆς 17.26 ἔτυχον. διόπερ οἱ πλεῖστοι τὸ λοιπὸν πάσχοντες πρὸς τῶν γυναικῶν ἀνόσια ἔργα ἀσμενέστατα ἀμαστίγωτοι σιωπῇ ἔμενον, τὴν παρρησίαν αὐταῖς τῷ μὴ πεφωρᾶσθαι δοκεῖν ἐνδιδόντες. 17.27 Αὕτη ἅπαντα πρυτανεύειν αὐτογνωμονοῦσα τὰ ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ ἠξίου. τάς τε γὰρ ἀρχὰς καὶ ἱερωσύνας ἐχειροτόνει, ἐκεῖνο μόνον διερευνωμένη καὶ φυλασσομένη ἐνδελεχέστατα, μὴ καλὸς ἢ ἀγαθός τις ὁ τὸ ἀξίωμα μετιὼν εἴη, καὶ οὐχ οἷός τέ οἱ ἐσόμενος ἐς τὰ 17.28 ἐπαγγελλόμενα ὑπουργήσειν. καὶ τοὺς γάμους ἅπαντας τῇ θείᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ τινὶ διῳκεῖτο, τοῦ τε γαμεῖν πρότερον οὐδεμίαν ἄνθρωποι ἐγγύην ἑκουσίαν πεποίηνται. 17.29 γυνὴ γὰρ ἑκάστῳ ἐξαπιναίως ἐγίνετο, οὐχ ὅτι δὴ ἐς αὐτὸν ἤρεσκεν, ὅπερ κἀν τοῖς βαρβάροις εἰώθει, ἀλλ' 17.30 ὅτι βουλομένῃ τῇ Θεοδώρᾳ εἴη. ὅπερ αὖ καὶ ταῖς γαμουμέναις ἀνάπαλιν ξυνέβαινε