Elagabălus
1.
Elagabal, a deity among the Phœnicians. This deity,
according to Capitolinus (
Macr. 9) and Aurelius Victor, was the Sun. Lampridius, however,
fluctuates between the Sun and Iupiter, while Spartianus (
Caracall. 11) leaves
it uncertain. The orthography of the name is also disputed, some writing it Elagabal, others
Eleagabal and Alagabal. Herodian gives us an accurate description of the form under which
this deity was worshipped (v. 3, 10 foll.); he also informs us that by this appellation the
Sun was meant, and that the deity in question was revered not only by the Syrians, but that
the native satraps and barbarian kings were accustomed to send splendid presents to his
shrine. According to Herodian, the god Elagabalus was worshipped under the form of a large
black stone, round below and terminating above in a point— in other words, of a
conical shape. This description is confirmed by the medals of Emesa, the principal seat of
his worship, on which the conical stone is represented. So also, on the medals of Antoninus
Pius, struck in this same city, an eagle appears perched on a cone. The same thing appears on
medals of Caracalla, and on one an eagle with expanded wings stands before a conical stone in
the middle of a hexastyle temple.
2.
M. Aurelius Antonīnus, a Roman emperor. He was the
grandson of Maesa, sister to the empress Iulia, the wife of Septimius Severus. Maesa had two
daughters, Soaemias or Semiamira, the mother of the subject of this
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Elagabalus. (Bust in the Capitol, Rome.)
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article, and Mammaea, mother of Alexander Severus. The true name of Elagabalus was
Varius Avitus Bassianus, and he was reported to have been the illegitimate son of Caracalla.
He was born at Antioch, A.D. 204. Maesa took care of his infancy, and placed him, when five
years of age, in the temple of the Sun at Emesa, to be educated as a priest; and through her
influence he was made, while yet a boy, high-priest of the Sun. That divinity was called in
Syria Elagabal, whence the young Varius assumed the name of Elagabalus. After the death of
Caracalla and the elevation of Macrinus, the latter having incurred by his severity the
dislike of the soldiers, Maesa availed herself of this feeling to induce the officers to rise
in favour of her grandson, whom she presented to them as the son of the murdered Caracalla.
Elagabalus, who was then in his fifteenth year, was proclaimed emperor by the legion
stationed at Emesa. Having put himself at their head, he was attacked by Macrinus, who at
first had the advantage; but he and his mother Soaemias, with great spirit, brought the
soldiers again to the charge and defeated Macrinus, who was overtaken in his flight and put
to death, A.D. 218. Elagabalus, having entered Antioch, wrote a letter to the Senate,
professing to take for his model Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a name revered at Rome; and he
also assumed that emperor's name. The Senate acknowledged him, and he set out for Rome, but
delayed for several months on his way amid festivities and amusements, and at last stopped at
Nicomedia for the winter. In the following year he arrived at Rome and began a career of
debauchery, extravagance, and cruelty which lasted the remaining three years of his reign,
and the disgusting details of which are given by Lampridius, Herodian, and Dio Cassius. He
surrounded himself with gladiators, actors, and other base favourites, who made an unworthy
use of their influence. He married several wives, among others a Vestal.
The imperial palace became a scene of debauch and open prostitution. Elagabalus, being
attached to the superstitions of the East, raised a temple on the Palatine Hill to the Syrian
god whose name he bore, and plundered the temples of the Roman gods to enrich his own. He put
to death many senators, and established a senate of women, under the presidency of his
mother, Soaemias, which body decided all questions relative to women's dresses, and to
visits, precedence, and amusements. He wore his pontifical vest as high-priest of the Sun,
with a rich tiara on his head. His grandmother Maesa, seeing his folly, thought of
conciliating the Romans by associating with him, as Caesar, his younger cousin, Alexander
Severus, who soon became a favourite with the people. Elagabalus, who had consented to the
association, became afterwards jealous of his cousin and wished to deprive him of his
honours, but he could not obtain the consent of the Senate. His next measure was to spread
the report of Alexander's death, which produced an insurrection among the praetorians; and
Elagabalus, having repaired to the camp to quell the mutiny, was murdered, together with his
mother and his favourites, and his body was thrown into the Tiber, A.D. 222. He was succeeded
by Alexander Severus. Elagabalus was eighteen years of age at the time of his death, and had
reigned three years, nine months, and four days (Lamprid.
Elagab.; Herodian,
v. 3 foll.; Dio Cass. lxxviii. 31 foll.; lxxix. 1 foll.).