Título: Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint
Autor: David Potter
Sinopse: Two of the most famous mosaics from the ancient world, in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, depict the sixth-century emperor Justinian and, on the wall facing him, his wife, Theodora (497-548). This majestic portrait gives no inkling of Theodora's very humble beginnings or her improbable rise to fame and power. Raised in a family of circus performers near Constantinople's Hippodrome, she abandoned a successful acting career in her late teens to follow a lover whom she was legally forbidden to marry. When he left her, she was a single mother who built a new life for herself as a secret agent, in which role she met the heir to the throne. To the shock of the ruling elite, the two were married, and when Justinian assumed power in 527, they ruled the Eastern Roman Empire together. Their reign was the most celebrated in Byzantine history, bringing wealth, prestige, and even Rome itself back to the Empire. Theodora was one of the dominant political figures of her era, helping shape imperial foreign and domestic policy and twice saving her husband from threatened deposition. She played a central role trying to solve the religious disputes of her era and proactively assisted women who were being trafficked. An extraordinarily able politician, she excited admiration and hatred from those around her. Enemies wrote extensively and imaginatively about her presumed early career as a prostitute, while supporters elevated her, quite literally, to sainthood. Theodora's is a tale of a woman of exceptional talent who overcame immense obstacles to achieve incredible power, which she exercised without ever forgetting where she had come from. In Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint, David Potter penetrates the highly biased accounts of her found in the writings of her contemporaries and takes advantage of the latest research on early Byzantium to craft a modern, well-rounded, and engaging narrative of Theodora's life. This fascinating portrait will intrigue all readers with an interest in ancient and women's history.
Contexto da obra
Quando a classificação é mais ampla, o contexto do livro costuma depender ainda mais de autoria, tema e edição. “Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint”, de David Potter, publicado pela editora OUP USA, em 2016 e com 288 páginas, integra a categoria Livros Variados. Por isso, autoria, edição e tema acabam tendo ainda mais peso na forma de apresentar o livro.
Editora: OUP USA
Páginas: 288
Ano: 2016
Edição: 1
Linguagem: pt_BR
ISBN: 9780199740765
ISBN13: 9780199740765
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora OUP USA convidam o leitor a uma imersão em temas densos e variados, que transitam entre a análise política contemporânea, a história detalhada e o estudo científico rigoroso. A experiência de leitura frequentemente exige atenção a narrativas que combinam clareza e profundidade, como no exame de conflitos históricos, debates sociais e avanços científicos. O catálogo revela uma preferência por obras que oferecem tanto relatos narrativos envolventes quanto textos com linguagem técnica e didática, voltados para públicos acadêmicos e leitores interessados em temas sociais, culturais e científicos. A diversidade editorial sugere um equilíbrio entre obras mais narrativas e outras mais informativas, com ênfase em análises contextuais e fundamentadas.
