# Photius — The Secret History character guide

> Photius in The Secret History by Procopius.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the outraged Photius

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

## Snapshot

Antonina's sickly, courageous son, who endures torture rather than betray secrets and twice escapes Theodora's dungeons by clinging to sacred ground.

## Who they are

Photius is caught between his mother's schemes and the empress's vengeance, a frail young man whose loyalty to Belisarius costs him his health and freedom. Tortured and imprisoned for what he knows, he keeps silent under scourging even as his body fails. His stubborn endurance exposes the terrifying reach of Theodora's power and the human cost of the court's vendettas, making him one of the narrative's few figures who commands sympathy without ever commanding power.

## Relationships

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

_family_

Photius is Belisarius's son, who becomes estranged from his father after exposing his mother Antonina's adultery.

## In the story

### [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)

Antonina's rightful son, who is disregarded and threatened by his mother's plots, eventually forced to flee to Constantinople.

### [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)

Reveals the affair to Belisarius, swears oaths of loyalty, and agrees to capture Theodosius in Ephesus.

### [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)

Tortured by Theodora, escapes to Jerusalem, becomes a monk.

### [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)

Mentioned as a friend of Belisarius whose word of honor is forgotten.

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

Son of Antonina by a former marriage; his manhood in 536 is referenced in Gibbon's chronology.

## Links

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