Among the countless women who have appeared throughout the history of the ancient world as companions to great figures of their time, the author has chosen only three names—yet what names they are! Aspasia, the loyal partner of Athenian lawmaker and general Pericles; Cleopatra, the rebel who broke conventions and was the beloved of Caesar and Antony; and Theodora, a woman from humble beginnings who rose to become the ruler of half the world. It’s hard to call these women immoral, even though in the freer morals of their time they did not shy away from pleasures. Yet, their dignity and pride were undeniable. The author has deliberately avoided gathering all the sordid gossip that has accumulated around these names over twenty centuries—gossip that has kept them alive in human memory. Instead, he approaches his sources with meticulous care, examines the motives behind the memoirists’ words, and strives to present the true literary portraits of these women in their purest form.