Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:07:12-2:07:29

Reading the demon imagery in Procopius's Secret History

A brief answer treats Procopius's lurid descriptions of Justinian and Theodora as imagery rather than literal reporting.

Byzantine EmpireHistorical MethodJustinian IProcopiusSecret HistoryTheodora
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Question

How should historians read the demon imagery in Procopius's Secret History?

Short answer

As imagery rather than a literal description, although this brief answer does not explain the work's full reception history.

Notes

A viewer contrasts Procopius's praise of Justinian's reign with the Secret History's depiction of Justinian and Theodora as demons, including detachable-head imagery. The answer is deliberately brief: those descriptions are imagery rather than literal reporting. This identifies the language as rhetoric rather than a factual description. The passage does not explain how later historians assessed or debated the work.