Elagabalus, emperor of Rome from 218-222, was controversial and unpopular. He replaced Jupiter with the deity of his hometown, El-Gabal, and promoted the cult of El-Gabal while engaging in moral decadence. He was assassinated and erased from public records, but became a cultural hero in the Decadent movement of the late 19th century.
Elagabalus, also called Elagabalus, was the emperor or Rome from 218 until his assassination in AD 222. Ascended to the throne at the age of 14, he was a controversial and hugely unpopular emperor. He replaced the highest Roman deity, Jupiter, with Deus Sol Invictus, or the “unconquered Sun God,” a name he used to refer to El-Gabal, the deity of his hometown in Syria and the emperor’s namesake. Elagabalus’ reign was also marked by moral decadence, making him reviled among early historians but adopted as something of a cultural hero in the Decadent movement of the late 19th century.
Elagabalus was born Varius Avitus Bassianus in Emessa, Syria in AD 203. As a boy, he acted as a priest of the local deity, El-Gabal, who was worshiped in the form of a black meteorite. The Roman emperor Caracalla was assassinated in 217 and his praetorian prefect Macrinus took his place. Caracalla’s aunt, Julia Mesa, helped stage a revolt that led to her nephew, Elagabalus, becoming emperor.
When Macrinus became emperor after Caracalla’s death, he exiled Julia Mesa and Elagabalus to Syria, as he recognized the threat they posed to his power. Julia Mesa immediately began plotting for her nephew to take the throne, calling him an illegitimate son of Caracalla and using his wealth to convince the former emperor’s followers to support his cause. Elagabalus assumed the name of Caracalla, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Macrinus sent troops to put down the rebellion, but they soon sided with Elagabalus. Other attempts to regain power were also unsuccessful, and Macrinus was captured and executed in 218, at which time Elagabalus assumed the throne.
Elagabalus’ religious orthodoxy became problematic early in his reign. Julia Mesa covered the statue of Victoria in the Senate with a painting of her nephew in her priestly robes, forcing the senators to pay tribute to the young emperor whenever they made offerings to the goddess. Elagabalus made El-Gabal the most important Roman deity, building a temple called Elagabalium and transferring important religious artifacts from other temples there. Elagabalus promoted the cult of El-Gabal to the exclusion of other gods and goddesses.
Elagabalus was also disliked for his sexual conduct. He married a Vestal Virgin, a female priest who was expected to remain celibate for 30 years according to Roman custom. She was the second of five women he married and divorced during his reign. Elagabalus also had sexual relations with men and referred to her chariot driver, Hierocles, as her husband. Perhaps most outrageous of all, the emperor was said to dress as a woman and prostitute himself, even in the imperial palace.
With such behavior, the young emperor quickly exhausted his reception. Julia Mesa, sensing that the Praetorian Guard was losing loyalty to Elagabalus, persuaded the emperor to appoint her cousin, Severus Alexander, as co-consul. Alexander quickly became more popular than Elagabalus, and the latter retaliated with assassination attempts and eventually stripping Alexander of his titles.
Elagabalus brought about his own demise when he spread a rumor that Alexander was dying. The Praetorian Guard rebelled and demanded to see them both. When they did, Elagabalus demanded that the rioters be arrested and executed, but he was ignored. Instead, he was assassinated along with his mother and Severus Alexander became the new emperor.
Elagabalus became so hated during his reign that contemporary historical sources about him are full of slander, making it hard to tell which stories are true. He was erased from all public records after his death as a sign of his dishonor and the cult of El-Gabal ceased in Rome. In the decadent movement of late 19th-century France and England, wild stories about Elagabalus and his excesses made the emperor a popular subject in art and literature.
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