Description
Elagabalus’s reign is today largely remembered for sex scandals and religious controversy. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with the deity Elagabal, whom he was named after and was high priest of. A lavish temple was built in Rome to house Elagabal, represented by a black conical meteorite he had brought from his hometown of Emesa. He aroused further discontent when he married the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa, claiming the marriage would produce “godlike children”. His sexual perversions became public knowledge and he was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, in a coup organized by his grandmother.
