page_title: Elagabalus
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Elagabalus / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Wall painting at castle Forchtenstein (Burgenland, Austria) showing Roman emperor Elagabalus Der römische Kaiser Elagabal auf einer Wandmalerei im Innenhof des Schlosses Forchtenstein (Burgenland)
context_page_description: Elagabalus or Heliogabalus, officially known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 218 to 222. His short reign was conspicuous for sex scandals and religious controversy. He belonged to the imperial Severan dynasty, and came from a prominent Arab family in Emesa, Syria, where in his early youth he served as head priest of the namesake sun god Elagabalus. After the death of his cousin, the emperor Caracalla, Elagabalus was raised to the principate at barely 14 years of age in an army revolt instigated by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, against Caracalla's brief successor, Macrinus. As a private citizen, he was probably named Varius Avitus Bassianus. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He was called Elagabalus only after his death.
  Later historians suggest Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with the deity Elagabalus, of whom he had been high priest. He forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, over which he personally presided.
context_section_description: Due to the ancient stories about him, Elagabalus became something of an (anti-)hero in the Decadent movement of the late 19th century. He often appears in literature and other creative media as the epitome of a young, amoral aesthete. His life and character have informed or at least inspired many famous works of art, especially by Decadents, and by contemporary artists. The most notable of these works include:
caption: Elagabalus on a wall painting at Forchtenstein Castle
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