The Secret History was written by Procopius during his lifetime, but after his other works. This was a work written for himself and close friends, which he never intended to publish. The Secret History shows a different side to the events that happened in the Byzantine Empire. This book shows a different side to many different, well know rulers in Byzantine. Procopius portrays Antonina to be a very scandalous person with very little morals who would cheat on her husband every chance she got. Procopius also portrayed Belisarius as not the smartest person, who was constantly falling for his wives lies. He also portrays Justinian and Theodora in a much different light than what was common. He called both of them demons because of how horrible
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Procopius focuses a lot on who is in charge and how they handle the power given to them. When talking about Belisarius and Antonina, he focuses his attention on how they rule with their emotions. You can really see this in the way both Belisarius and Antonina handle their jealousy. Belisarius’s jealousy can be seen in the way that he goes after his stepson and wife’s lover, Theodosius. Once he is told of what has been going on, he orders his men to get rid of Theodosius (Page43). However, Belisarius was known to have mood swings and to command his followers on a whim. His men knowing this did not follow through with the order to get rid of Theodosius (Page43). They are also many examples of Antonina acting and reacting out of emotion, and how these reaction affect those around her. One such example can be seen after Belisarius tried to get rid of Theodosius. When she heard that Constantine had said, “If I’d been in your shoes, I should have got rid of the woman rather than the youngster” (Page43) she reacted out of emotion. She was able to hold on to her dislike of Constantine until the right moment. Once Antonina was able to convince her husband that she did nothing wrong, she was able to get her revenge on Constantine. She did this by cutting out his tongue and throwing it to sea, and then later convincing her husband to kill him (Page44). To continue on, there are also many different example of how Justinian and Theodora mistreated the people under their rule. He portrayed Justinian as someone who would take other people’s wealth and property, all the while killing anyone who go in his way. He furthered this portrayal of Justinian, by going so far as to say that Justinian was a demon in human form. He mentions that a few people had been witness to seeing Justinian change forms (Page104). When talking about Theodora he paints a picture of a lustful harlot who is good at
Procopius focuses a lot on who is in charge and how they handle the power given to them. When talking about Belisarius and Antonina, he focuses his attention on how they rule with their emotions. You can really see this in the way both Belisarius and Antonina handle their jealousy. Belisarius’s jealousy can be seen in the way that he goes after his stepson and wife’s lover, Theodosius. Once he is told of what has been going on, he orders his men to get rid of Theodosius (Page43). However, Belisarius was known to have mood swings and to command his followers on a whim. His men knowing this did not follow through with the order to get rid of Theodosius (Page43). They are also many examples of Antonina acting and reacting out of emotion, and how these reaction affect those around her. One such example can be seen after Belisarius tried to get rid of Theodosius. When she heard that Constantine had said, “If I’d been in your shoes, I should have got rid of the woman rather than the youngster” (Page43) she reacted out of emotion. She was able to hold on to her dislike of Constantine until the right moment. Once Antonina was able to convince her husband that she did nothing wrong, she was able to get her revenge on Constantine. She did this by cutting out his tongue and throwing it to sea, and then later convincing her husband to kill him (Page44). To continue on, there are also many different example of how Justinian and Theodora mistreated the people under their rule. He portrayed Justinian as someone who would take other people’s wealth and property, all the while killing anyone who go in his way. He furthered this portrayal of Justinian, by going so far as to say that Justinian was a demon in human form. He mentions that a few people had been witness to seeing Justinian change forms (Page104). When talking about Theodora he paints a picture of a lustful harlot who is good at