The crimes of Elagabalus the life and legacy of Rome's decadent boy emperor

296 Pages·2013·7.619 MB·English

by  Icks, Martijn

Martijn Icks is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of
Düsseldorf, Germany. He obtained his PhD cum laude at the
University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands in 2008.
‘This is a clear and well-organised account written in a lively and
approachable way. It is not a routine imperial biography, but a
much wider study encompassing the nature of religious belief,
culture and ethnicity, the presentation of the imperial image and
the response to this in Rome and the provinces. An important
and original aspect is the description of the dissemination of
classical culture and the reception of Rome in later periods, and
in particular the changing image of Elagabalus in opera, drama
and fiction.’
Brian Campbell, Professor of Roman History,
Queen’s University Belfast
‘I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus’
William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, The Pirates of Penzance (1879)
‘It is absurd, purely grotesque, this caricature we have of Antonine;
perhaps that is why the world has left him alone, that they may
gaze the longer on a mask that allures.’
John Stuart Hay, The Amazing Emperor Heliogabalus (1911)
‘History is something that never happened, written by a man who
wasn’t there.’

Anonymous
the crimes
of elagabalus
the life and legacy of rome’s
decadent boy emperor
martijn icks
Cover image: Elagabalus bust, type 2. Picture taken by Ellen Kraft, courtesy of
Sovraintendenza Comunale – Musei d’Arte Antica: Musei Capitolini, Roma
New paperback edition published in 2013 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
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Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
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First published in hardback in 2011 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
Copyright © Martijn Icks, 2011, 2013
The right of Martijn Icks to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any
part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978 1 78076 550 1
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset in Calisto by Dexter Haven Associates Ltd, London
Printed and bound in Sweden by ScandBook AB
contents
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1
1 The boy on the throne 9
2 The child priest from Emesa 44
3 The invincible priest-emperor 61
4 The rejected ruler 92
5 The evil tyrant 123
6 The decadent emperor 148
7 The modern prince 180
Epilogue 215
The Nachleben of Elagabalus in art and literature: an overview 219
Severan family tree 225
Notes 227
Select bibliography 255
Index 269

list of illustrations
1. Map of Roman Syria. Ancient World Mapping Center, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
2. Relief depicting Arsu and Elagabal. J. Starcky, ‘Stèle d’Elahagabal’,
49 (1975–76), pp.503–20.
3. Bust of Elagabalus, type 1. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, noIN 2073.
Picture taken by Ole Haupt.
4. Bust of Elagabalus, type 2. Musei Capitolini, Rome. Picture taken by
Ellen Kraft.
5. Coin showing the black stone in a quadriga on the reverse. RIC 196a
(aureus), Numismatische Bilddatenbank Eichstätt: www.ifaust.de/nbe.
6. Coin showing Elagabalus as high priest and the black stone in a
quadriga, frontal (antoninianus), not in RIC. Kunsthistorisches
Museum Wien, Bundesslg. von Münzen, no43082.
7. Coin showing the black stone in a quadriga on the reverse. RIC 61
(aureus), Numismatische Bilddatenbank Eichstätt: www.ifaust.de/nbe.
8. Coin showing Elagabalus as ‘sacerdos amplissimus’ on the reverse.
RIC 46 (denarius), Compagnie Générale de Bourse: www.cgb.fr.
9. Coin showing Elagabalus as ‘sacerdos amplissimus’ on the reverse.
RIC 88 (denarius), Compagnie Générale de Bourse: www.cgb.fr.
10. Coin showing a bearded Elagabalus on the obverse. RIC 68b (aureus)
Numismatische Bilddatenbank Eichstätt: www.ifaust.de/nbe.
11. Reconstruction of the Elagabal temple on the Palatine, seen from
above. Y. Thébert et al., ‘Il santuario di Elagabalus’, p.84.
12. Reconstruction of the Elagabal temple on the Palatine, drawing. Y.
Thébert et al., ‘Il santuario di Elagabalus’, p.85.
13. Capital with the betyl of Elagabal, flanked by two female deities.
F. Studniczka, ‘Ein Pfeilercapitell’, Pl.XII.
14. Simeon Solomon, Heliogabalus, High Priest of the Sun (1866).
Private collection.
15. Lawrence Alma-Tadema, The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888).
Private collection.
16. Gustav-Adolf Mossa, Lui (1906). Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nice.
17. An Italian designer-clothing store called Eliogabalo. Appropriately for
an emperor who worshipped the sun, there is a tanning salon above.
acknowledgements
It is an interesting thought that Elagabalus ruled the Roman world for
about the same time as it took me to write this book. Naturally, the
problems and challenges faced by the average scholar of ancient history
shrink into insignificance when measured against the worries of a Roman
emperor – especially if that emperor happens to be Elagabalus, who had
so much to worry about. Nevertheless, the road I have travelled for the
past four years has not been without its bumps and pitfalls. Many guides
have helped me to find my path. Here, I want to give them a well-earned
moment in the sun.
Luuk de Blois has played a key role from the very start, supporting
me through the writing of this book with an endless supply of valuable
comments and good cheer. I admire him for his encyclopaedic knowledge
and his unwavering devotion to the people working under his guidance.
Eric Moormann has proved an excellent guide in the worlds of art and
archaeology. His extensive remarks on my drafts bespoke a sharp eye for
even the smallest detail, from which I have benefited greatly. Last but not
least, Sophie Levie was a welcome contributor to the team. As an expert
in the field of modern literature, she prevented me from making many
mistakes and corrected many more.
I very much enjoyed my year at Brasenose College, Oxford, where
I had stimulating discussions with many outstanding scholars. I am
much indebted to Alan Bowman, who commented on the drafts of
my first three chapters. Ted Kaizer made time for me on several
occasions, helping me to understand the Roman Near East. I also
have fond memories of my meetings with Ittai Gradel, who was
always happy to discuss the ‘naughty boy’ Elagabalus while treating
me to several cups of coffee. A year later, when I went to Paris,
Ségolène Demougin was kind enough to receive me as a guest at the
École Pratique des Hautes Études. The three months I spent researching
ix
x the crimes of elagabalus
in the Bibliothèque Nationale were of great value for writing the
sixth chapter.
Still, most of the work was done at Nijmegen, where I had the good
fortune of sharing an office with Marloes Hülsken and Erika Manders.
Their pleasant company made my time on the tenth floor of the Erasmus
building a lot more gezellig. The same goes for all those other wonderful
people at the History department, in particular my fellow ancient historians.
Luuk and Erika have already been mentioned; I want to add Lien Foubert,
Janneke de Jong, Nathalie de Haan, Olivier Hekster, Gerda de Kleijn, Inge
Mennen, Jasper Oorthuys, Sanne van Poppel, Rob Salomons, and Daniëlle
Slootjes to the list. Nobody could wish for a better team of colleagues, and
indeed I never have.
Without Vincent Hunink, this thesis would probably not have been
written at all. He may not be aware of the vital role he played, but it was
his Dutch translation of the Vita Heliogabali which first set me on the trail
of this weird and fascinating emperor. I hope he will enjoy my book as
much as I enjoyed his.
Jason Hartford performed the tedious task of correcting my English,
which he has done with much accuracy and humour. His witty remarks
in the margin never failed to put a smile on my face. For that, and for
everything else, I thank him.
My parents were always there in the background to support me, even if
the object of my research must have seemed a tad obscure to them. I owe
them more than I can express in this short paragraph. Whenever I got too
carried away by my findings, my brother Remco was sure to put things
into perspective, reminding me that the study of history is nothing but
‘dragging up old cows’ in the end.
Many others deserve to be mentioned. A mere list of names does
no justice to all the people who have been so kind, providing me
with suggestions, criticism and references, but for practical reasons
I will keep it short. Many thanks are due to Nicole Belayche, Stéphane
Benoist, Anthony Birley, Pierre Cosme, Jas´ Elsner, Christophe Fricker,
Willem Frijhoff, Sky Gilbert, André Hanou, Jan Hartman, Johan van
Heesch, Chris Howgego, Willy Jansen, Ellen Kraft, Andreas Kropp, Inger
Leemans, Barbara Levick, Marco Mattheis, Michael Meckler, Fergus
Millar, Stephan Mols, Frits Naerebout, Marc van der Poel, Leonardo
de Arrizabalaga y Prado, Bert Smith, Natascha Veldhorst, Jessica Walker,
Jan Waszink, Ryan Wei, Caroline de Westenholz, Christiaan Willemsen,
and anybody else whom I may have inadvertently forgotten, but who