Da Bassilla di Aquileia a Teodora di Bisanzio: attrici e ballerine nel Tardoantico cristiano

This paper contextualises the stela dedicated to Bassilla the mime, which has been dated to the first half of the third century CE and is preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia. It focuses on a broader question regarding the social status of female actors and dancers in the Roman Imperial age, especially at the time of Christianisation. Contrary to what is commonly believed, the Christian polemic against spectacles did not worsen the situation of performers. Instead, mainly thanks to the influence of the debate on Theodosian and Justinian legislation, dancers earned the right to previously unheard-of forms of social redemption that allowed them to escape from the legal and social stigma of infamia. However, it is important not to be misled by the laudatory nature of the stela and to recognize that Bassilla must also have been affected by this stigma.