Elagabalus,+the+Debauched+Emperor

THE SOURCE (COMMENTARY BELOW)
[|Cassius Dio] 80.8-17:

Such were his actions that were tainted with bloodshed. As for his violations of precedent, they were of simple character and did us no great harm, save that they were innovations upon established usage... 11 Closely related to these irregularities was his conduct in the matter of Elagabalus. The offence consisted, not in his introducing a [|foreign god into Rome] or in his exalting him in very strange ways, but in his placing him even before Jupiter himself and causing himself to be voted his priest, also in his circumcising himself and abstaining from swine's flesh, on the ground that his devotion would thereby be purer. He had planned, indeed, to cut off his genitals altogether, but that desire was prompted solely by his effeminacy; the circumcision which he actually carried out was a part of the [|priestly requirements of Elagabalus], and he accordingly mutilated many of his companions in like manner. 2 Furthermore, he was frequently seen even in public clad in the barbaric dress which the Syrian priests use, and this had as much to do as anything with his receiving the nickname of "The Assyrian."

22 A gold statue of the False Antoninus was erected, distinguished by its great and varied adornment. Macrinus, though he found a large amount of money in the imperial treasury, squandered it all, and the revenues did not suffice for expenditures. 9 The False Antoninus married Cornelia Paula, in order, as he said, that he might sooner become a father — he who could not even be a man! On the occasion of his marriage not only the senate and the people equestrian order but also the wives of the senators __received__ a largess; 2 the populace was banqueted at a cost of six hundred sesterces apiece, and the soldiers at a cost of four hundred more; there were __contests__ of gladiators, at which the emperor wore a purple-bordered toga, just as he had done at the ludi votivi; and various wild beasts were slain, including an elephant and fifty-one tigers — a larger number than had ever before been despatched at one time. 3 Afterwards he __divorced__ Paula on the ground that she had some blemish on her body, and cohabited with Aquilia Severa, thereby most flagrantly violating the law; for she was consecrated to Vesta, and yet he most impiously defiled her. Indeed, he had the boldness to say: I did it in order that godlike children might spring from me, the high priest, and from her, the high-priestess." 4 Thus he plumed himself over an act for which he ought to have been scourged in the Forum, thrown into prison, and then put to death. However, he did not keep even this woman long, but married a second, a third, a fourth, and still another; after that he returned to Severa.

 10 Portents had been taking place in Rome, one of them being given by the statue of Isis, who is represented as riding on a dog above the pediment of her temple; for she turned her face toward the interior of the temple. 2 [|Sardanapalus]was conducting games and numerous spectacles in which Aurelius Helix, the athlete, won renown. This man so far surpassed his competitions, that he desired to contend in both wrestling and the pancratium at Olympia, and actually did __win__ in both events at the Ludi Capitolini. 3 But the Eleans were jealous of him, fearing that he might prove to be "the eighth from Hercules," as the saying has it, and so would not call any wrestler into the stadium, even though they had announced this __contest__ on the bulletin-board; in Rome, however, he won both events, a feat that no one else had accomplished.

11 I will not describe the barbaric chants which Sardanapalus, together with his mother and grandmother, chanted to Elagabalus, or the secret sacrifices that he offered to him, slaying boys and using charms, in fact actually shutting up alive in the god's temple a lion, a monkey, and a snake, and throwing in among them human genitals, and practising other unholy rites, while he invariably wore innumerable amulets.12 But, to pass over these matters, he went to the extreme absurdity of courting a wife for Elagabalus — as if the god had any need of marriage and children! And, as such a wife might be neither poor nor low-born, he chose the Carthaginian Urania, summoned her thence, and established her in the palace; and he collected wedding gifts for her from all his subjects, as he had done in the case of his own wives. 21 Now all these presents that were given during his lifetime were reclaimed later; as for the dowry, he declared that he had received none from her, except two gold lions which was accordingly melted down. [|Click here to see what Elagabalus looked like.]

13 But this Sardanapalus, who saw fit to make even the gods cohabit under due form of marriage, lived most licentiously himself from first to last. He married many women, and had intercourse with even more without any legal sanction; yet it was not that he had any need of them himself, but simply that he wanted to imitate their actions when he should lie with his lovers and wanted to get accomplices in his wantonness by associating with them indiscriminately. 2 He used his body both for doing and allowing many strange things, which no one could endure to tell or hear of; but his most conspicuous acts, which it would be impossible to conceal, were the following. He would go to the taverns by night, wearing a wig, and there ply the trade of a female huckster. He frequented the notorious brothels, drove out the prostitutes, and played the prostitute himself. 3 Finally, he set aside a room in the palace and there committed his indecencies, always standing nude at the door of the room, as the harlots do, and shaking the curtain which hung from gold rings, while in a soft and melting voice he solicited the passers-by. There were, of course, men who had been specially instructed to play their part. 4 For, as in other matters, so in this business, too, he had numerous agents who sought out those who could best please him by their foulness. He would collect money from his patrons and give himself airs over his gains; he would also dispute with his associates in this shameful occupation, claiming that he had more lovers than they and took in more money.14 This is the way, now, that he behaved alike toward all alike who had such relations with him; but he had, besides, one favourite "husband," whom he wished to appoint Caesar for that very reason.

2 He also used to drive a chariot, wearing the Green uniform, privately and at home, — if one can call that place home where the judges were the foremost men of his suite, both knights and imperial freedmen, and the very prefects, together with his grandmother, his mother and the women, and likewise various members of the senate, including Leo, the city prefect,— and where they watched him playing charioteer and begging gold coins like any ordinary contestant and saluting the presidents of the games and the members of his faction.

3 When trying someone in court he really had more or less the appearance of a man, but everywhere else he showed affectations in his actions and in the quality of his voice. For instance, he used to dance, not only in the orchestra, but also, in a way, even while walking, performing sacrifices, receiving salutations, or delivering a speech. 4 And finally,— to go back now to the story which I began,— he was bestowed in marriage and was termed wife, mistress, and queen. He worked with wool, sometimes wore a hair-net, and painted his eyes, daubing them with white lead and alkanet. Once, indeed, he shaved his chin and held a festival to mark the event; but after that he had the hairs plucked out, so as to look more like a woman. And he often reclined while receiving the salutations of the senators.15

The husband of this "woman" was Hierocles, a Carian slave, once the favourite of Gordius, from whom he had learned to drive a chariot. It was in this connexion that he won the emperor's favour by a most remarkable chance. It seems that in a certain race Hierocles fell out of his chariot just opposite the seat of Sardanapalus, losing his helmet in his fall, 2 and being still beardless and adorned with a crown of yellow hair, he attracted the attention of the emperor and was immediately rushed to the palace; and there by his nocturnal feats he captivated Sardanapalus more than ever and became exceedingly powerful. Indeed, he even had greater influence than the emperor himself, and it was thought a small thing that his mother, while still a slave, should be brought to Rome by soldiers and be numbered among the wives of ex-consuls. 3 Certain other men, too, were frequently honoured by the emperor and became powerful, some because they had joined in his uprising and others because they committed adultery with him. For he wished to have the reputation of committing adultery, so that in this respect, too, he might imitate the most lewd women; and he would often allow himself to be caught in the very act, in consequence of which he used to be violently upbraided by his "husband" and beaten, so that he had black eyes. 4 His affection for this "husband" was no light inclination, but an ardent and firmly fixed passion, so much so that he not only did not become vexed at any such harsh treatment, but on the contrary loved him the more for it and wished to make him Caesar in very fact; and he even threatened his grandmother when she opposed him in this matter, and he became at odds with the soldiers largely on this man's account.16 This was one of the things that was destined to lead to his destruction.

 Aurelius Zoticus, a native of Smyrna, whom they also called "Cook," after his father's trade, incurred the emperor's thorough love and thorough hatred, and for the latter reason his life was saved. 2 This Aurelius not only had a body that was beautiful all over, seeing that he was an athlete, but in particular he greatly surpassed all others in the size of his private parts. This fact was reported to the emperor by those who were on the look-out for such things, and the man was suddenly whisked away from the games and brought to Rome, accompanied by an immense escort, larger than Abgarus had had in the reign of Severus or Tiridates in that of Nero. 3 He was appointed cubicularius before he had even been seen by the emperor, was honoured by the name of the latter's grandfather, Avitus, was adorned with garlands as at a festival, and entered the palace lighted by the glare of many torches. Sardanapalus, on seeing him, sprang up with rhythmic movements, 4 and then, when Aurelius addressed him with the usual salutation, "My Lord Emperor, Hail!" he bent his neck so as to assume a ravishing feminine pose, and turning his eyes upon him with a melting gaze, answered without any hesitation: "Call me not Lord, for I am a Lady." 5 Then Sardanapalus immediately joined him in the bath, and finding him when stripped to be equal to his reputation, burned with even greater lust, reclined on his breast, and took dinner, like some loved mistress, in his bosom. 6 But Hierocles fearing that Zoticus would captivate the emperor more completely than he himself could, and that he might therefore suffer some terrible fate at his hands, as often happens in the case of rival lovers, caused the cup-bearers, who were well disposed toward him, to administer a drug that abated the other's manly prowess. And so Zoticus, after a whole night of embarrassment, being unable to secure an erection, was deprived of all the honours that he had received, and was driven out of the palace, out of Rome, and later out of the rest of Italy; and this saved his life. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">7 He carried his lewdness to such a point that he asked the physicians to contrive a woman's vagina in his body by means of an incision, promising them large sums for doing so. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">17 Sardanapalus himself was destined not much later to receive a well-deserved reward for his debauchery. For in consequence of doing and submitting to these things he became hated by the populace and by the soldiers, to whom he was most attached, and at least he was slain by them in the very camp.

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">After reading the source material, three overarching questions came to mind: <span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">**1. Were same-sex marriages common and/or officially recognized?** <span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">**2. Who was the writer of this piece? What time period was this written in/how far after the events?** <span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">**3. What Syrian god was set up before Jupiter?**

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> To the first question, the scholarly consensus seems to be that same-sex marriages were considered “scandalous,” in a sense that they happened but were not legally recognized. There are a few cases of emperors marrying men, such as Nero. In the case of Elagabalus, it seems that his “gay marriage” had no legal binding. Interestingly, in 342, the Christian Roman emperors ban same-sex marriage. The fact that they needed to do it might imply that same-sex marriage was or used to be widespread. However, the scholarly articles state that historians only have a few mentions of it spread throughout several primary sources, so it’s uncertain how widespread same-sex marriages were among the general population. There is evidence that same-sex marriages might have been performed. However, same-sex marriage apparently wasn’t officially recognized (although homosexuality wasn’t illegal like it was in the ensuing years in Europe.)

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> To my second question, just a little bit of research shows that Cassius Dio—the writer behind this source—was a contemporary of Elagabalus. Cassius Dio lived from roughly 150 CE to 235 CE while Elagabalus lived from around 203 to 222. Cassius Dio was a native of Bithynia, a nation in Asia Minor. His father, Cassius Approprianus, was a Roman senator. His attitudes seem to be in support of the monarchy, according to my sources. He seems to have a negative view of the common people, but then again, most preserved Roman writings are from the perspective of wealthy aristocratic people.

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> To my third question, the god whom Elagabalus worshipped was El-Gabal, a Syrian sun god. According to my sources, this god was found in Emesa, a city in Syria now known as Homs. Elgabalus’s Syrian mother traced her origins to Emesa. The god El-Gabal was later combined with the Roman god Deus Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun.) He thus transformed from a Syrian sun-god to a Syro-Roman sun god.

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> El-Gabal apparently required his followers to circumcise themselves and barred them from eating pork. This is strangely similar to the Jewish faith, which required circumcision and abstaining from eating pork. This was either Cassius Dio’s mistake, comparing the Jewish religion to El-Gabal, or there were some strong similarities between Jewish Semitic religions and the religions which surrounded them. This, however, is somewhat out of the bounds of appropriate research since the focus is on the Roman Emperor Elagabalus and not the relations between various Semitic religions.

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> In the future, interested readers might want to have a look at the Augustan History, which covers the Emperor Elagabalus but is written from the Christian perspective of Theodosius instead of the less biased perspective of Cassius Dio. The story contained within the Augustan History seems to be much more sensationalized and, in the words of one scholar, “historical fiction.” This would illuminate future researchers on the Christian viewpoints at that time in Roman history, whereas Cassius Dio’s history is read as a more accurate picture of Elagabalus and his contemporaries. The Augustan History was written hundreds of years after the fact.

**<span style="color: #24a010; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15px;">Lingering Questions: **

<span style="color: #24a010; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"> How common were same-sex marriages? What were the beliefs of the worshipers of El-Gabal? These questions seem difficult for scholars to answer but maybe one day we will find out.

<span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">WORKS CITED <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">"Introduction." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">Cassius Dio //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">. University of Chicago. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"> <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/Introduction*.html>. <span style="color: #002b00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> Kuefler, M. "The Marriage Revolution in Late Antiquity: The Theodosian Code and Later Roman Marriage Law." //Journal of Family History// 32.4 (2007): 343-70. Print.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Cleve, Robert. "Some Male Relatives of the Severan Women." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> (1988): 196-206. Print. Your passage is an insightful introduction for this document. I would suggest maybe a few more links to other sources, perhaps some to elaborate more on El-Gabal. And finally maybe search to find out the attitudes Semitic peoples had toward worshipers of El-Gabal if some beliefs were similiar. - Kyle Short Nice job keeping to the questions in your response. You might want to change that formatt to have the answers after the question. Are all of your sources in the same format? Joseph Cooper Very informative, one thing I would explore more is the Sardanapalus, maybe a link to him. Also, if one of your topics is gay marriage or the acceptance you might want to bring in the roman attitude toward marriage before christianity. Overall I liked the webpage. - Mark Dzakowic