empress theodora, wife of 6th-century byzantine emperor justinian is reported by several ancient sources to have started in life as a courtesan and actress who performed in acts inspired from mythological themes and in which she disrobed "as far as the laws of the day allowed". she was famous for her striptease performance of "leda and the swan". from these accounts, it appears that the practice was not exceptional or new. it was, however, actively opposed by the christian church, which got statutes banning it in the following century. the degree to which these statutes were enforced is open to question. no practice of the sort is reported in texts of the european middle ages.