Elagabalus Denarius

The overall picture that emerges of Elagabalus is of a very immature youth who was terribly confused with regard to his sexuality, and utterly unrestrained in his carnal experiments.

The Roman perspective was that what was euphemistically referred to as "Greek love" was actually considered not out of place in the process of an older man mentoring a younger one, particularly in the initiation of the latter into a martial career. A century earlier, the Hellenistic proclivity of Hadrian (one of the "Five Good Emperors") in this regard was an open secret, and while he wasn't especially popular, the issue didn't bring him down. But Hadrian was conventional, accomplished, and highly capable in other respects, all protections that Elagabalus never enjoyed.

This thread actually inspired me to dig out my own Elagabalus coins:


None are especially high quality, but he is not an especially hard emperor to find, at least for provincials.

I didn't realize there was actually a book devoted to chronicling Elagabalus' excesses....

See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...emperor.html for a synopsis that's a fascinating read on its own.

Here's yet one more....





If I'm interpreting the reverse legend correctly, Elagabalus is being touted as the "father of his country" which is a hoot.

I've just finished reading The Amazing Emperor Heliogabalus by J. Stuart Hay, published over a century ago. Hay was an unabashed apologist for Elagabalus, contending that he was a "gentle" and "affectionate" boy, generous and eager to please, almost universally beloved, and that rather than the citizenry being repulsed by his eccentricities, were entertained and at worst only mildly disconcerted by them. He dismisses Elagabalus' reported cruelties as either essentially harmless pranks or even outright fabrications that suited the needs of his cousin and successor, Severus Alexander, in justifying Elagabalus' murder. On the other hand, while Hay completely discounts accounts of Elagabalus' capacity for wanton terror, he credulously credits one that has Elagabalus (at age fourteen) recklessly riding amongst troops failing in battle, cutting down with a sword those fleeing, and thus more or less singlehandedly carrying the day - an utterly ludicrous story. Hay makes much ado over other anecdotes that supposedly demonstrate Elagabalus' bravery (often bordering on foolhardiness), none of which are particularly believable, either.

Hay seems more on target in detailing Elagabalus' extravagances, and he also gets it right in focusing on Elagabalus' religious fanaticism, particularly his desire to subordinate the traditional Roman gods to his eastern deity, which was deeply offensive and hence a serious problem that ultimately undermined his secular authority. Yet Hay finds it incomprehensible that the mob would've dragged Elagabalus' corpse though the streets and throw it into the Tiber.

Flawed as it is, there's one good thing about this book, though - even the original edition has several plates illustrating various coins of the era. Again, reconstructing much of the history of the period requires a good deal of reliance upon numismatic evidence.

Another I just acquired. I have this as RIC 16, dating to 219 AD. The detail extant on the reverse is sufficient to permit critique of this particular artisan's depiction of Roma, whose face in this case seems grotesque and cartoonish, and whose hand grasping the spear looks rather like a claw.