Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T16:20:54.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Sex in Constantinople in the Sixth Century ce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2024

By
Shaun Tougher
Edited by
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks  and
Mathew Kuefler
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Mathew Kuefler
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
Get access

Summary

This chapter addresses the subject of sex in Constantinople in the sixth century CE, the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire. It draws on a range of rich evidence. A fundamental starting point is provided by the writings of the contemporary historian Procopius, in particular his comments in Secret History on the life and deeds of the empress Theodora, wife of the emperor Justinian I (527–565), who was an actress before marrying her husband. In addition it draws on the legislation of the emperor Justinian, the chronicle of John Malalas, erotic epigrams of the period, and Christian ascetic literature. From these writings strong ideals of right and wrong sexual behaviour emerge, revealing both traditional Roman values and the increasing Christianisation of society. This can create the impression that sexual activity was very tightly controlled, especially prostitution, extra-marital sex, and same-sex sex. However, it is apparent that life was less clear-cut. Justinian himself recognized that desire was a powerful impulse and that people did ‘sin’. It is also evident that people could enjoy thinking about illicit sex, and engage in it enthusiastically. Ironically, overtly Chistian texts could even incite the desire they sought to neutralize.

Keywords

ConstantinopleByzantine EmpireLater Roman EmpireJustinianTheodoraeunuchssexualitysame-sexlawpoetry
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge World History of Sexualities , pp. 47 - 66
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Arjava, Antti. Women and Law in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brubaker, Leslie. ‘Sex, Lies and Textuality: The Secret History of Prokopios and the Rhetoric of Gender in Sixth-Century Byzantium’. In Gender in the Early Medieval World: East and West, 300–900, ed. Brubaker, Leslie and Smith, Julia M. H., 83–101. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
Cameron, Averil. Agathias. Oxford: Clarendon, 1970.Google Scholar
Cameron, Averil Procopius and the Sixth Century. London: Duckworth, 1985.Google Scholar
Clark, Gillian. Women in Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Lifestyles. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, Elizabeth A. ‘Theodora and Antonina in the Historia Arcana: History and/or Fiction?’ Arethusa 11 (1978): 253–79.Google Scholar
Frier, Brian W., ed. The Codex of Justinian: A New Annotated Translation with Parallel Latin and Greek Text, 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.Google Scholar
Gaca, Kathy L. ‘Early Christian Sexuality’. In A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities, ed. Hubbard, Thomas K., 549–64. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.Google Scholar
Garland, Lynda. ‘Public Lavatories, Mosquito Nets and Agathias’ Cat: The Sixth-Century Epigram in its Justinianic Context’. In Basileia: Essays on Imperium and Culture in Honour of E. M. and M. J. Jeffreys, ed. Nathan, Geoffrey and Garland, Lynda, 141–58. Brisbane: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 2011.Google Scholar
Haarer, Fiona K. Justinian: Empire and Society in the Sixth Century. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022.Google Scholar
Harper, Kyle. From Shame to Sin: The Christian Transformation of Sexual Morality in Late Antiquity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffreys, Elizabeth, Croke, Brian, and Scott, Roger, eds. Studies in John Malalas. Sydney: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffreys, Elizabeth, Jeffreys, Michael, and Scott, Roger. The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation. Melbourne: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1986.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaldellis, Anthony. Procopius of Caesarea: Tyranny, History, and Philosophy at the End of Antiquity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaldellis, Anthony Prokopios, The Secret History: with Related Texts. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2010.Google Scholar
Lillington-Martin, Christopher, and Turquois, Elodie, eds. Procopius of Caesarea: Literary and Historical Interpretations. London: Routledge, 2018.Google Scholar
Maas, Michael, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCail, Ronald C. ‘The Erotic and Ascetic Poetry of Agathias Scholasticus’. Byzantion 41 (1971): 205–67.Google Scholar
McGinn, Thomas A. J. ‘The Legal Definition of Prostitute in Late Antiquity’. Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 42 (1997): 73–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, David J. D., and Sarris, Peter, eds. The Novels of Justinian: A Complete Annotated English Translation, 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.Google Scholar
Nathan, Geoffrey S. The Family in Late Antiquity: The Rise of Christianity and the Endurance of Tradition. London: Routledge, 2000.Google Scholar
Potter, David, Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.Google Scholar
Records, Christopher, and Michele R. Salzman, ‘“When Sex Has Lost its Significance”: Homosexuality, Society, and Roman Law in the 4th Century’. UCR Undergraduate Research Journal 4 (2010): 25–32.Google Scholar
Scott, Roger. Byzantine Chronicles and the Sixth Century. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2012.Google Scholar
Scott, Roger ‘Malalas and Justinian’s Codification’. In Byzantine Papers, ed. Jeffreys, Elizabeth, Jeffreys, Michael, and Moffatt, Ann, 12–31. Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1981.Google Scholar
Smith, Steven D. ‘Agathias and Paul the Silentiary: Erotic Epigram and the Sublimation of Same-Sex Desire in the Age of Justinian’. In Sex in Antiquity: Exploring Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World, ed. Masterson, Mark, Rabinowitz, Nancy Sorkin, and Robson, James, 500–16. London: Routledge, 2015.Google Scholar
Smith, Steven D. Greek Epigram and Byzantine Culture: Gender, Desire, and Denial in the Age of Justinian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tougher, Shaun. ‘The Aesthetics of Castration: The Beauty of Roman Eunuchs’. In Castration and Culture in the Middle Ages, ed. Tracy, Larissa, 48–72. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tougher, Shaun The Roman Castrati: Eunuchs in the Roman Empire. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williamson, G. A., and Sarris, Peter, eds. Procopius, The Secret History. London: Penguin Classics, 2007.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×