We often hear rags to riches stories, but Empress Theodora's story is particularly unique. She was born into poverty but died as one of the richest women in the Byzantine Empire. Theodora was a woman who was at the bottom of the empire's social ladder, but ultimately saved it from its own destruction. Empress Theodora was a courtesan turned empress who was finally ordained as a saint by a Greek Orthodox church after having a great contribution to reforms in the Byzantine Empire. Theodora was born around 500 AD to a man named Acacius and a woman whose name is unknown. Her father was the keeper of the Green bears at the Hippodrome of Constantinople and died when Theodora was a child. Theodora's mother was exceptionally busy in her church, so upon Acacius' death she was able to maintain her lifestyle without having to become the “Bride of Christ” (Cesaretti 30). Theodora and her older sister Comito and her younger sister Anastasia were raised as devout Christians and were each given names with religious connotations. Theodora's name means “gift of God” (Cesaretti 30). What is commonly called the “Kynêgion's supplication” is considered to be the conception of her relationship with the Blues before and during her reign as empress, and her hostility towards the Greens (Cesaretti 55). Comito, Teodora and Anastasia appeared before those of the Kynêgion and begged for the protection of the Blues and Greens since their father had died. The leader of the Greens, Asterius, did not react despite his father having worked for them. The Azzurri responded by assuring that they, and even God, would protect them (Cesaretti 55). Theodora soon became famous in Constantinople for Theodora's beauty, charm and humor......middle paper......marriage and in her career as a courtesan and actress she led to laws giving women in the Byzantine Empire more rights than other women in Europe. Her transformation from courtesan to saint shapes not only her change in character, but her rise to power. Works Cited "Theodora (c. 500-548)". Discovering the biography. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Junior. Storm. Aquino Classical High School. March 13, 2014The Archdiocese of the Western United States. "Theodora- The Syriac Byzantine Empire". Soc-wus.org. The Archdiocese of the Western United States, nd Web. March 7, 2014.Cesaretti, Paolo. Theodora: Empress of Byzantium. New York: Vendome, 2004. Print.Skinner, Marilyn B. “The Archaic Age: Symposium and Initiation.” Sexuality in Greek and Roman culture. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005. 58-99. Print.Procopio. Secret history. Sl: University of Michigan, 1961. Print.