The End of Elagabalus

On this day in ancient history - March 14:
Elagabalus
© Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum, produced by Natalia Bauer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

On This Day in Ancient History, in A.D. 222, the unpopular 17-year old Roman emperor Elagabalus or Heliogabalus (born Varius Avitus Bassianus) was assassinated.

As emperor, Varius Avitus became known by the Latinized version of the name of his Syrian god El-Gabal. Elagabalus also established his god as the principal one of the empire. He further alienated Rome by taking honors upon himself before they had been awarded him.

Herodian, Dio Cassius, Aelius Lampridius and Gibbon have written about Elagabalus' femininity, bisexuality, transvestism, and forcing a vestal virgin to break vows that were so solemn any virgin found to have violated them was buried alive. He appears to have worked as a prostitute and may have sought an old-fashioned transgendering operation.

Read more about Elagabalus.

• Ancient Historians
• Vestal Virgins

On this day in modern history, in 1903, Roman Revolution author Ronald Syme was born. Elsewhere, on the topic of Elagabalus, Syme calls Aelius Lampridius' The Life of Antoninus Heliogabalus, a "farago of cheap pornography."

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