Theodora was born in Constantinople, the "New Rome", around 500. The Western Roman Empire collapsed a few years earlier, but the Eastern Roman Empire continued to endure.
At the age of 12, Théodora also began training as an actress, and therefore, prostitution. Described by her contemporaries as blessed with exceptional beauty, she quickly earned a reputation as an inaccessible courtesan, which increased her success tenfold. She then meets Hékébolos, a senior official of the empire, who offers to accompany her in her new mission as governor in Cyrenaica, in present-day Libya.