# Antonina — The Secret History character guide

> Antonina in The Secret History by Procopius.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Whereupon Antonina

**First appearance:** 0003-i-how-the-great-general-belisarius-was-hoodwinked-by-his-wife-whose-lover-became-a-monk

## Snapshot

Belisarius's wife, Theodora's confidante, and a woman whose love affairs and intrigues steer generals and emperors alike.

## Who they are

Antonina moves through the story as the Empress's trusted agent and the mistress of her own household, feared by men who know what she is capable of. She keeps Theodosius close with her husband's complaisance, plots against her own son Photius, and later tears her daughter from the man she loves out of sheer spite. Her hold over Belisarius is the story's quiet engine: wherever she goes, loyalty, command, and family dissolve into her convenience.

## Relationships

### [Belisarius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/belisarius)

_romantic_

Antonina and Belisarius are married, but their relationship is marked by Antonina's infidelity and Belisarius's blind devotion.

### [Theodosius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/theodosius)

_romantic_

Antonina carries on a passionate and scandalous adulterous affair with her adopted son Theodosius.

### [Theodora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/theodora)

_friendship_

Antonina is Theodora's closest friend and confidante, often acting as her agent in court intrigues.

## In the story

### [The Secret History](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/the-secret-history)

Belisarius's wife, engaged in an affair with Theodosius and complicit in court intrigues.

### [How the Great General Belisarius Was Hoodwinked by His Wife, Whose Lover Became a Monk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/i-how-the-great-general-belisarius-was-hoodwinked-by-his-wife-whose-lover-became-a-monk)

Belisarius's wife, a wanton and manipulative woman who carries on an affair with Theodosius, murders witnesses, and pressures her husband into killing Constantine.

### [II: How Belated Jealousy Affected Belisarius’s Military Judgment, to the Joy of the Enemy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/ii-how-belated-jealousy-affected-belisarius-s-military-judgment-to-the-joy-of-the-enemy)

Remains behind to facilitate her affair with Theodosius, bribes guards to slander Photius, and writes letters denouncing him to Belisarius.

### [III: Showing the Danger of Interfering with a Woman’s Intrigues, Especially When the Woman Is the Friend of an Empress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/iii-showing-the-danger-of-interfering-with-a-woman-s-intrigues-especially-when-the-woman-is-the-friend-of-an-empress)

Reunited with Theodosius by Theodora, expresses gratitude.

### [How Theodora, Revenging Her Dear Antonina, Humiliated the Conqueror of Africa and Italy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/iv-how-theodora-revenging-her-dear-antonina-humiliated-the-conqueror-of-africa-and-italy)

Reconciled with Belisarius after his humiliation; she pretends to intercede for him and becomes his mistress.

### [How Theodora Tricked the General’s Daughter Into a Liaison with the Empress’s Nephew, and Belisarius Became a Public Laughing Stock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/v-how-theodora-tricked-the-general-s-daughter-into-a-liaison-with-the-empress-s-nephew-and-belisarius-became-a-public-laughing-stock)

After Theodora's death, breaks the forced marriage, causing scandal; dominates Belisarius, making him a laughingstock.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/chapters/endnotes)

Lured John of Cappadocia into a nocturnal assignation on Theodora's orders; noted as being sixty years old, with Gibbon suggesting a different chronology.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters/antonina
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_history_se/characters