![\"Theodora,](\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Meister_von_San_Vitale_in_Ravenna_008.jpg\")
<\/a>Theodora, detail of a Byzantine mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna<\/p><\/div>\n
Name:<\/span> Empress Theodora (500AD-548AD)<\/p>\n Vices:\u00a0<\/span> Roman Actress (Prostitute), Defying an Emperor,\u00a0Brothel Worker, Wit<\/p>\n Weakness:<\/span> Responsibility, Stubbornness<\/p>\n Prime Examples:<\/span> She became a prostitute out of necessity(to support her family), but pursued the scandalous lifestyle even when she left her family. In the Secret\u00a0History<\/em>, she was\u00a0recorded\u00a0for her indecent exposure, theatrics, sexual services off the stage, and even her\u00a0lecherous portrayal of “Leda and the Swan.”\u00a0Emperor Justinian I, so enamored with her,\u00a0repealed the law that government officials could not marry actresses\u00a0in order to marry her and even\u00a0treated her illegitimate daughter and grandson as legitimate children.<\/p>\n Ergo:<\/span>\u00a0 Theodora places 10th on our list due to her “low” beginnings, although she only began working as a prostitute and “actress” to support her orphaned sibling and herself.\u00a0History regards Theodora as a great empress of Rome, who was strong, courageous, intelligent, and decisive(i.e: she saved Justinian’s throne in the Nika Riots and was firm\u00a0in religious policy even if it\u00a0opposed Justinian).\u00a0History does not implicate that she was an\u00a0plotting woman, but it is not difficult to discern that a former “actress” could seduce the emperor, persuade him to change laws to marry her, make her queen, and give her power to rule.\u00a0Click here<\/a>\u00a0to read more of her life story.<\/p>\n NUMBER 9<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Faustina the Younger Marble, ca. 161 AD. Courtesy of ChrisO.<\/p><\/div>\n Name<\/span>: Faustina the Younger (125-130AD-175AD)<\/p>\n Vices: <\/span>Ordering Death Sentences, Poisoning, Promiscuity, Excessive Adultery, Inciter of Revolutions<\/p>\n Weakness: <\/span> Self-Control, Victim to Gossipy Literature, and Insatiable Lust<\/p>\n Prime Examples: <\/span>Although Faustina the Younger was given various titles of honor such as Augusta<\/em> and Mater Castorum<\/em> (Mother of the Camp), she has also been recorded as a woman of shameful lust and murder. Cassius Dio records that Faustina, wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, ordered the deaths of several people by poisoning or execution and he claims that she had affairs with sailors, gladiators, and even soldiers (This give the title Mater Castorum<\/em> a new meaning). She , also, was accused of inciting a revolution between her husband and Avidius Cassius.<\/p>\n Ergo:<\/span>\u00a0 Due to her promiscuity and willingness to kill for power,\u00a0Faustina has made this list of infamous and devious women. However, the sources on her infamy and scandal are somewhat uncertain and this is why she is in 9th place.\u00a0\u00a0You can read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n NUMBER 8<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Fulvia with the Head of Cicero by Pavel Svedomsky.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n Name:<\/span>Fulvia Flacca Bambula (83BC-40 BC) a.k.a Fulvia<\/p>\n Vices:<\/span> Gang Leader, Manipulator,\u00a0Political\u00a0Match-Maker,\u00a0Mutilation, Jealousy<\/p>\n Weakness<\/span>: Power, Politics, and Marc Antony<\/p>\n Prime Examples:<\/span>\u00a0 Fulvia used marriage to acquire power.\u00a0 She acquired the loyalties of a gang or collegium<\/em> from her first husband, money from her second, and she did not survive her third husband; Marc Antony.\u00a0According to\u00a0Plutarch, she was a mass manipulator who was responsible for rendering Marc Antony easily controllable by women (Now, we know who Cleopatra should thank!).\u00a0Furthermore,\u00a0\u00a0Dio reports that she pierced the tongue of the\u00a0decapitated head of Cicero out of disdain. Also,\u00a0in Appian’s Civil War,\u00a0Fulvia’s\u00a0 jealous supposedly\u00a0fueled the tension between Lucius and Octavian against Antony thus sparking the Perusine War.<\/p>\n Ergo:<\/span>\u00a0Fulvia earns the 8th spot in this countdown for her immoral actions all for the sake of power.\u00a0\u00a0Even though a\u00a0highborn woman, she\u00a0went through husbands as a gold-digger, allowed her jealous to fuel a war,\u00a0performed\u00a0wanton violence against a dead man’s head,\u00a0and manipulated all those around her for power.\u00a0\u00a0You can read more on her\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lucrezia in a fresco by Pinturicchio. c. 1494<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0HONORABLE MENTION OF THE WEEK\u00a0<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n Name<\/span>: Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519)<\/p>\n Vices<\/span>: Poisoner, Murder, Incest, Adultery<\/p>\n Weakness:<\/span> Family<\/p>\n Prime Examples<\/span>: As seen within Showtime’s Borgia, <\/em>Lucrezia was a pawn within her family’s politics and social climbing. She was daughter of the Pope Alexander VI and was married off to\u00a0any man that\u00a0would\u00a0ameliorate their family. It also rumored that she had incestuous relations with her brother. More of Lucrezia’s life can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ergo<\/span>: Although Lucrezia is not ancient, she encompasses the idea: “Don’t Mess with Roman Women” (Albeit, the Borgias\u00a0are from Spain;\u00a0Lucrezia was born near Rome.), because Rome seems to breeds murderous women who use seduction, poison, and their cunning wit to achieve power.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next week we will be looking at #5-7; who do you think made that list?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ancient Rome was quite a scandalous time. While, we can not believe everything that is written in ancient sources; one must admit there are certainly some\u00a0astonishing tales.\u00a0So this month, this blog will be taking a look at some of the most infamous, malicious, scheming\u00a0women from Ancient Rome. NUMBER 10 Name: Empress Theodora (500AD-548AD) Vices:\u00a0 Roman…<\/p>\n<\/a>\n
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