Antonina Patricia: Theodora’s fixer at the female court and the politics of gender in Procopius

Lillington-Martin, Christopher 2024. Antonina Patricia: Theodora’s fixer at the female court and the politics of gender in Procopius. Rollinger, C. and Viermann, N., eds. Empresses-in-Waiting: Female Power and Performance at the Late Roman Court, Women in Ancient Cultures, Liverpool University Press, pp. 223-242. (10.2307/jj.6947046.15)

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Abstract

These epigraphs demonstrate how Procopius falls into established tropes, insulting these women by reference to the same scorpion metaphor for both, in stereotyped and misogynistic ways. Moreover, they elaborate on the symmetry between their careers. This chapter examines the portrayal of Antonina’s involvement in religious, political, and dynastic affairs and how she aims at her own advancement and that of Joannina,³ her youngest daughter, while fixing things for Theodora. Procopius’ narrative, our main and sometimes only source, is heavily influenced by earlier Greek historiography and indeed other classical genres.⁴ His classicizing presentation of events often reflects established literary and cultural...

Item Type:	Book Section
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > History, Archaeology and Religion
Publisher:	Liverpool University Press
ISBN:	978-1802075939
Last Modified:	22 Aug 2025 09:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/180590

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