Elagabalus (deity)
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Elagabalus (Template:IPAc-en), Aelagabalus, Heliogabalus (Template:IPAc-en) or simply Elagabal (Aramaic: 𐡀𐡋𐡄𐡀𐡂𐡁𐡋 ʾĕlāhaʾgabāl<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>) was an Arab-Roman sun god,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> initially venerated in Emesa (modern-day Homs), Syria. Although there were many variations of the name, the god was consistently referred to as Elagabalus in Roman coins and inscriptions from AD 218 on, during the reign of Emperor Elagabalus.<ref>Martijn Icks, The Crimes of Elagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome's Decadent Boy Emperor (2011) p. 48</ref>
CultEdit
Elagabalus was initially venerated at Emesa in Syria, where the Arab Emesan dynasty acted as its priests. The name is the Latinised form of the Arabic "Ilah al-Jabal" ("إله الجبل"), the Emesene manifestation of the deity, which is Arabic for "God of the Mountain."<ref name="Ball p.37">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>The Journal of Juristic Papyrology, volume 23, page 116: "und mit palmyrenischer Inschrift "Gott Berg" steht die umstrittene Etymologie des Namens "Elagabal" (ilah ha-gabal) fest"</ref><ref>English-Arabic dictionary translation for "God" with transliteration of the Arabic equivalent: "ilah": https://en.bab.la/dictionary/english-arabic/god</ref><ref>English-Arabic dictionary translation for "mountain" with transliteration of the Arabic equivalent: "gabal": https://en.bab.la/dictionary/english-arabic/mountain</ref> Elagabalus was the religious "lord", or Ba'al, of Emesa.<ref name="Ball p.37"/> The deity successfully preserved Arab characteristics, both in his names and representations.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The cult of the deity spread to other parts of the Roman Empire in the second century, where he would be revered as Elagabalos (Ἐλαγάβαλος Elagábalos) by the Greeks and Elagabalus by the Romans. For example, a dedication has been found as far away as Woerden, in the modern-day Netherlands.<ref>An Early Dedication to Elagabal, archived on 2021-01-26; the inscription is in now in Woerden's city museum.</ref>
In RomeEdit
The cult stone or baetyl was taken to Rome by the Emperor Elagabalus, who, before his accession, was the hereditary high priest at Emesa and was commonly called Elagabalus after the deity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Syrian deity was assimilated with the Roman sun god known as Sol and became known as Sol Invictus ("the unconquered Sun") among the Romans.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A temple called the Elagabalium was built on the east face of the Palatine Hill to house the holy stone of the Emesa temple, a black conical meteorite.<ref name="herodian-history-v-5">Herodian, Roman History V.5 Template:Webarchive</ref> Herodian writes of that stone:
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Herodian also related that Elagabalus forced senators to watch while he danced around his deity's altar to the sound of drums and cymbals,<ref name="herodian-history-v-5"/> and at each summer solstice celebrated a great festival, popular with the masses because of food distributions,<ref name="herodian-history-v-6"/> during which he placed the holy stone on a chariot adorned with gold and jewels, which he paraded through the city:
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Herodian's description strongly suggests that the Emesene cult was inspired by the Babylonian Akitu-festival.<ref>M. Geller, "The Last Wedge", in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 87 (1997), pp. 43–95.</ref>
According to Cassius Dio, the Emperor also tried to bring about a union of Roman and Syrian religion under the supremacy of his deity, which he placed even above Jupiter,<ref name="dio-history-lxxx-11">Cassius Dio, Roman History LXXX.11</ref> and to which he assigned either Astarte, Minerva or Urania, or some combination of the three, as wife.<ref name="herodian-history-v-6">Herodian, Roman History V.6 Template:Webarchive.</ref> The most sacred relics from the Roman religion were transferred from their respective shrines to the Elagabalium, including "the emblem of the Great Mother, the fire of Vesta, the Palladium, the shields of the Salii, and all that the Romans held sacred". He reportedly also declared that Jews, Samaritans and Christians must transfer their rites to his temple so that it "might include the mysteries of every form of worship".<ref>Augustan History, Life of Elagabalus 3</ref>
According to Herodian, after the emperor was killed in 222, his religious edicts were reversed and the cult of Elagabalus returned to Emesa.<ref name="herodian-history-vi-1">Herodian, Roman History VI.6 Template:Webarchive</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- M. Pietrzykowsky, "Die Religionspolitik des Kaisers Elagabal", in: Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II 16.3 (1986) 806–1825