Cacs

Theodora's Song (to tune of "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"

They seek her here, they seek her there
In the hippodrome and the public square
It will make or break her so she's got to dance her best
She is a circus girl by name of Theodora

And when she does her sultry dance
Constantinople falls in a trance
The man who will be emperor is watching from the back
He is a dedicated fan of Theodora

Oh Theodora, Oh Theodora
She rose from tramp to queen with just her wiles
She ruled the world and made it slightly better for the chicks
She was the most wondrous dame since Cleopatra

Oh Theodora, Oh Theodora
Her views on Jesus Christ were not quite proper
She ruled the world and made it safe to be a heretic
She was the most wondrous dame since Cleopatra

They seek her here, they seek her there
In the palace baths and the tower stair
Everywhere the angry mob is calling for her head
They want the bloody demise of Theodora

Oh Theodora, Oh Theodora
She set the palace guards against the people
Once half the mob was dead, the rest could happily agree
She was the most wondrous dame since Cleopatra

She was the most wondrous dame since Cleopatra

She was the most wondrous dame, that Theodora!

Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora were a couple who accomplished more during their 6th-century reign in Constantinople and led more vivid lives than Antony and Cleopatra, yet their exploits are little known. They’re a significant and sexy couple, a rare combination. My historical novel is told in multiple voices, including those of Justinian’s brilliant general Belisarius and his promiscuous wife Antonina, Theodora’s best friend. Both women rose from the circus and their early lives as harlots to assume positions of power and pageantry in the last gasp of the Roman Empire.

It's the story of a love between two upstarts: Justinian (an ex-swineherd) and Theodora (an ex-exotic dancer and courtesan). Together they danced their way to the top and changed the course of Western history.