The Elagabalium was a temple built by the Roman emperor

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

, located on the north-east corner of the Palatine Hill. During Elagabalus' reign from 218 until 222, the Elagabalium was the center of a controversial religious cult, dedicated to

, of which the emperor himself was the high priest.

History

The temple was a colonnaded structure some 70 metres by 40 metres, in front of the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

, within a colonnaded enclosure. The temple platform was originally built under

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

between 81 and 96, and may have been a place of worship to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

. The remnants of this terrace are still visible today at the north-east corner of the Palatine Hill. When Elagabalus became emperor in 218 the temple was expanded and rededicated to the god Elagabal, the patron deity of his homeplace

Emesa ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

in Syria.Herodian, ''Roman History'
V.5
/ref> Elagabal was personified by a conical

black stone The Black Stone ( ar, ٱلْحَجَرُ ٱلْأَسْوَد, ', 'Black Stone') is a rock set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the ancient building in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an ...

, which has been suggested to have been a piece of meteorite rock. After Elagabalus' death the temple was again dedicated to Jupiter by

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

. A second, smaller temple to the god Elagabal was built where the church of

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, ( la, Basilica Sanctae Crucis in Hierusalem) is a Catholic Minor basilica and titular church in rione Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim ...

now stands. If still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.

The cult of Elagabalus

Since the reign of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

, sun worship had increased throughout the Empire. Elagabalus saw this as an opportunity to set up his god, El-Gabal, as the chief deity of the

Roman pantheon The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek mythology, Greek myths, ancient Greek art, iconography, and sometimes Religion in ancient Greece, ...

. Elagabal, was placed over even

.Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'
LXXX.11
/ref> As a sign of the union between the two religions, Elagabalus gave either

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...

, or some combination of the three, to Elagabal as a wife.Herodian, ''Roman History'
V.6

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...

writes that Elagabalus forced senators to watch while he danced around the altar of Elagabal to the sound of drums and cymbals, and that each summer

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

became a great festival to Elagabal popular with the masses because of its widely distributed food. During this festival, Elagabalus placed Elagabal on a chariot adorned with gold and jewels, which he paraded through the city, after which he threw gifts into the Roman crowds:

After thus bringing the god out and placing him in the temple, Heliogabalus performed the rites and sacrifices described above; then, climbing to the huge, lofty towers which he had erected, he threw down, indiscriminately, cups of gold and silver, clothing, and cloth of every type to the mob below.

The most sacred relics from the Roman religion were transferred from their respective shrines to the Elagabalium, including the Great Mother, the fire of Vesta, the

Shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

of the

Salii In ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an emb ...

and the

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

. Ancient history records lurid tales of

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

taking place inside the temple, involving children which were collected all over

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

from the richest and noblest families. The religious excesses of Elagabalus' reign eventually contributed to his demise. On March 11, 222, Elagabalus was killed by members of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

, and replaced by his cousin

. Elagabalus' religious edicts were reversed, and the statues which had been moved to the Elagabalium were restored to their original shrines.Herodian, ''Roman History'
VI.1
/ref>

Notes

{{Reflist, 2

External links

The Elagabalium
history and description fro
livius.org
3rd-century religious buildings and structures Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Temples on the Palatine Roman temples by deity Elagabalus

History

The cult of Elagabalus

See also

Notes

External links