history
women's history, byzantine history, women's history
In 823, women were paraded before Emperor Theophilis of the Byzantine Empire to become his bride. At last he reduced the list to two: Theodora and Kassia. Impressed by Kassia’s beauty, the Emperor approached her and said “Ἐκ γυναικὸς τὰ χείρω.” (“through a woman came forth the baser things”), referring to Eve. Kassia quickly retorted, “Kαὶ ἐκ γυναικὸς τὰ κρείττω” (“and through a woman came forth the better things”), referring to Mary. For her outspokenness, the Emperor chose Theodora as his queen, and Kassia entered a convent where she authored some of the earliest Eastern Orthodox feminist theology.
More about Kassia
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