Empress Theodora saves the day

On 17^th January 532 the Byzantine Emperor Justinian was saved from being overthrown by a rioting mob, his saviour being his strong-willed wife Theodora.

She had started her adult life as a prostitute and actress, and therefore an unlikely candidate for the position of wife to the empire’s crown prince. However, Justinian was so smitten with her that he persuaded the then emperor, his uncle Justin, to change the law that prevented noblemen from marrying actresses.

When he became emperor in 527, Justinian made her his partner in matters of government and she was instrumental in carrying through a number of what might be regarded as social reforms, such as outlawing the killing of adulterous wives and unwanted children (who were traditionally abandoned to the elements).

Justinian’s crisis occurred in 532 after an incident at the Hippodrome in Constantinople when rival groups caused mayhem at the chariot races. Seven rioters were condemned to death by hanging, but two of them escaped when the scaffold collapsed and the mob gave them sanctuary. The rioting continued and chaos reigned in the city for a whole week.

Eventually the mob put forward their own candidate for emperor, a man named Hypatius, and some of them marched on the royal palace to evict Justinian.

Justinian was all for giving in and leaving the city, but Theodora stepped in and made a defiant speech that urged him to face down the rioters, whatever the consequences. He listened to her plea and sent his army to the Hippodrome to deal with the rioters who were there. In all, some 30,000 people were killed as the army put down the revolt. These included Hypatius, whose body was thrown into the sea.

Justinian ruled for another 33 years, thanks to Theodora having given him the courage to fight back. The magnificent church (then mosque then museum) known as Hagia Sophia stands to this day on the site of a church that was burned down by the mob.

© John Welford

Platonic love

A Platonic relationship, as the term is understood today, is one in which the couple are extremely fond of each other, and might even be said to be in love, but who do not express that fondness or love in physical terms.

Do you know the old song by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields that begins: “A fine romance with no kisses / A fine romance, my friend, this is”? That sounds like a passable description of Platonic love.

But what has it got to do with Plato?

There is a sense in which one should maybe refer to it as a Socratic relationship rather than a Platonic one, because the concept is based on a story about Socrates. Plato, who lived in the 4^th century BC, was a pupil of Socrates, and he presented much of his philosophy through the mouth of Socrates, so it is not always clear whether Plato is being original in his thinking or is merely passing on the philosophy of his master.

Plato’s works are mainly in the form of dialogues, in which Socrates is one of the speakers. One of these dialogues was entitled The Symposium, the setting for which was a dinner party in Athens at which a number of the leading lights of the city-state were present. Whether this was a real event or merely a fictional one is immaterial – the important thing is that it provided a vehicle for Socrates to converse with the political and social cream of Athens society. They are, naturally enough for the times, all men.

As the dinner progresses, and the wine flows, inhibitions become relaxed and the conversation turns to a discussion of the true nature of love. It must also be remembered that in ancient Greek society physical love between men was seen as being just as valid as love between men and women. Indeed, many ancient Greeks regarded gay love as being on a higher plane than heterosexual love.

According to Plato, Socrates was not physically attractive. He had a coarse and unkempt appearance and his personal hygiene was not of the best. In short, he looked ugly and smelt horrible! However, at the dinner this did not stop one of the other guests, Alcibiades, from making a play for Socrates. Alcibiades was the complete opposite of Socrates in that he was handsome, fragrant, and renowned for being a great lover, although his mental powers were way below those of Socrates. He recognised that Socrates possessed great wisdom and that was what attracted him to the philosopher.

The reaction of Socrates was to declare that there was a higher love that went beyond the merely physical.  This was a pure love that was based on spiritual beauty. There could be philosophical passion that was not expressed in sexual terms, and this would always be superior.

Hence Platonic love, as originally envisaged, was the sort of love that the true philosopher should aim to achieve, whatever the gender of the other party. Today, Platonic love is regarded as being of lower quality than “the real thing”, but that was not how Plato saw it.

© John Welford