WELCOME TO ELAGALABUS’S GUIDE TO GAY ROME IN THE TIME OF THE ANCIENTS

Elagalabus spurns roses from a maiden

Gold aureus of emperor "Elly"Bust of Elly in Palatine museum, Rome

You have been introduced to our “Elly”, Emperor Antoninus Pius (218AD - 222AD) in the pics above. His nick name, given to him by the people and his scornful biographers, was Elagalabus, or Heliogalabus, names which derived from his status as the high priest of the Syrian-origin sun god that he introduced to Rome. As you can see from the pics, he was the most gorgeous teen queen, outrageous and extravagant, and one of the youngest Roman Caesars (14 at the time of his accession to power and 18 at the time of his violent demise at the hands of his Praetorian Guard) . He lived in one of the most decadent periods in the history of the empire.

DECADENT ROME IN 220AD!
What would gay Rome have been like in Elly’s time? Well, what would Elly himself have done? Glance at what one commentator had to say……


The contemporary writer, Cassius Dio, a Senator who hated Elly, had this to say:
“Elagalabus frequented the notorious brothels, drove out the prostitutes and then played the prostitute himself”…He also: “…set aside a room in the palace and there committed his indecencies, always standing nude at the door of the room as the harlots do…and in a soft and melting voice he solicited the passers by.”

What else did Elly do? Well, naturally, …………

The imperial fora reconstructed

Forum of AugustusStatue of Julius Caesar -forum

The cruising spots!

The Rome of Elly was ” a dream aflame in gold”, said JS Hay, an Edwardian historian of the Roman Empire. “It was a city of triumphal arches, enchanted temples, royal dwellings, vast porticoes and wide, hospitable streets; a Rome purely Greek in conception and design. On its heart, from the Circus Maximus to the Forum’s edge, the remains of the gigantic palace of Nero still shone, fronted by a stretch of columns a mile in length; a palace so wonderful, even the cellars were frescoed.”

This was Elly’s type of city - a cruiser’s paradise, and Elly took full advantage thereof, especially……

1. The bath house!

Ruins of Caracalla's baths - completed by Elly 223AD

The baths of Trajan reconstructed (c.110AD)

Partially restored bath house, Trajan baths

Elly loved the bathhouse. (Don’t we all! ) He was there a lot, so we hear. Let’s see what JS had to say again:

“In the baths of porphry and verd-antique you had waters cold or sulphurous at will, and these Elagalabus threw open to all whose forms pleased him, men and women alike ( a custom of mixed bathing which had been abolished by Hadrian and was again proscribed by Alexander Severus).Into this profusion of aesthetic loveliness, the youth of fourteen summers stepped proudly, realising what a fitting background it made to his glorious beauty…”, wrote the poetic JH Hay (obviously a friend of Dorothy, too, this Edwardian).
” It was Nero’s creation, and here was a young Nero( in face and manner), suddenly reappeared to enjoy what he had been prematurely forced to leave”.

Well! What can one say! Imagine the sight of this gorgeous emperor in the baths of Trajan or Caracalla, showing his stuff and then taking his pick of the sexiest men there and taking them back to his palace on the Palatine for a night of raunch that can scarcely be imagined!
So these are the baths that Elly would have visited , besides his very own in the palace, on the Palatine Hill above the Forum and the Circus Maximus, Here, he apparently enjoyed himself hugely!
“He made a public bath in the imperial palace and also threw open the baths of Plautinus to the populace, that by this means he might get a supply of men with unusually large organs”, wrote Lampridius, the 4th C prudish hagiographer of the first Christian emperor, Constantine. ” He also took care”, said Lampridius, “ to have the whole city and the wharves searched for onobeli [like a donkey in that respect], as those were called who seemed particularly lusty.” (From ‘The Life of Antoninus Heliogalabus’, by Aelius Lampridius, translated by David Magie for the Loeb Library in 1924).

Well! And what else? Dare we ask? Let us divert ourselves with a few more of the salacious details provided by the disdainful (but obviously obsessed) Lampridius.
“For who could tolerate an emperor who indulged in unnatural lusts of every kind”, noted Lampridius (in the context of a mention of a military coup attempted against Elly in his first year of power), “ when not even a beast of this sort would be tolerated. And even at Rome he did nothing but send out agents in search for those who had particularly large organs and bring them to the palace in order that he might enjoy their vigour. Moreover, he used to have the story of Paris played in his house, and he himself would play the part of Venus, and drop his clothing to the ground, fall naked on his knees, one hand to his breast, the other before his private parts, his buttocks projecting meanwhile and thrust back in front of his partner in depravity. He would likewise model the expression on his face on that with which Venus is usually painted, and he had his whole body depilated, deeming it to be the chief enjoyment of life to appear fit and worthy to arouse the lusts of the greatest number”

Ha! In your dreams, Lampridius, you jealous old sod!

But let us return to the more serious business of our tour — the gay cruising spots of ancient Rome as seen or enjoyed by our flamboyant teen queen of the imperial purple. A good second choice of amusement after the baths, might well have been…….

2.The Games!

The circus maximus

RomeColosseum

Gladiators, Colosseum

Here’s what the sarcastic Cassius Dio had to say about one of Elly’s visits to the races at the Circus Maximus:
The husband of this “woman” was Hierocles, a Carian slave, once the favourite of Gordius, from whom he had learned to drive a chariot. It was in this connexion that he won the emperor’s favour, by a most remarkable chance. It seems that in a certain race Hierocles fell out of his chariot just opposite the seat of Sardanapalus,[Sardanapalus- In Dio’s day (3rd century A.D.), evidently a derogatory epithet for rulers given over to sensuality and extravagance.] . losing his helmet in his fall, and being still beardless and adorned with a crown of yellow hair, he attracted the attention of the emperor and was immediately rushed to the palace; and there by his nocturnal feats he captivated Sardanapalus more than ever and became exceedingly powerful. Indeed, he even had greater influence than the emperor himself, and it was thought a small thing that his mother, while still a slave, should be brought to Rome by soldiers and numbered among the wives of ex-consuls
Then, from Lampridius, the old, jealous Lampridius:

“He often brought four-horse chariots from the Circus into his banqueting-rooms or porticoes while he lunched or dined, compelling his guests to drive, even though they were old men and some of them had held public office.”
Ha-li-ha!.I wish some of our rulers could have such a wonderfully devil-may-care attitude to their private sex lives.
Let’s turn now to another source of amusement for our hero (or heroine, perhaps)…..

3. THE THEATRE

Amphitheatre at Pompei

Roman theatre -stage and seating (sideview)

Elly, apparently, loved the theatre, even to the point of appearing on stage himself (which was a “no-no” according to the Roman establishment’s code of good behaviour for emperors.) Let’s hear, again, from Elly’s biographers (or rather his detractors): a) from Cassius Dio…
“This is the way, now, that he behaved toward all alike who had such relations with him; but he had, besides, one favorite “husband,” whom he wished to appoint Caesar for that very reason. When trying someone in court he really had more or less the appearance of a man, but everywhere else he showed affectation in his actions and in the quality of his voice. For instance, he used to dance, not only in the orchestra, but also, in a way, even while walking, performing sacrifices, receiving salutations, or delivering a speech. And finally, — to go back now to the story which I began, — he was bestowed in marriage and was termed wife, mistress and queen. He worked with wool, sometimes wore a hair-net, and painted his eyes, daubing them with white lead and alkanet. Once, indeed, he shaved his chin and held a festival to mark the event; but after that he had the hairs plucked out, so as to look more like a woman. And he often reclined while receiving the salutations of the senators.”
Please excuse my diversion into Elly’s married life there, but it just illustrates the boy’s hilariously outrageous character. Love it!
More now from the jealous old queen, Lampridius:
“Many whose personal appearance pleased him he took from the stage, the Circus, and the arena and brought to the palace. And such was his passion for Hierocles [originally a slave from Caria, the pupil and favourite of Cordius; see Dio, lxxix. 15. In 221 the praetorian guard forced Elagabalus to dismiss him, together with other of his unworthy favourites; see xv. 2-4; Dio, lxxix. 19, 3. He was finally killed by the soldiers after Elagabalus’ murder; see Dio, lxxix. 21, 1. — DM] that he kissed him in a place which it is indecent even to mention, declaring that he was celebrating the festival of Flora [an ancient festival, held 28 April - 3 May; the theatrical performances held in conjunction with it were characterized by lack of decorum and even lewdness and were a target for the criticism of early Christian writers; see Lactantius, Inst., i. 20, 10; Tertullian, de Spect., 17. — DM]”...

A bellows organ dated 223AD - which Elly could play“

As prefect of the guard he appointed a dancer [probably Valerius Comazon Eutychianus, a freedman; see Dio, lxxviii. 31, 1; lxxix. 4, 1-2; Herodian, v. 7, 6. He aided in the overthrow of Macrinus and was appointed prefect of the guard. Later he received the consular insignia and in 220 was Elagabalus’ colleague in the consulship. He was prefect of the city on three different occasions. — DM] who had been on the stage at Rome, as prefect of the watch a chariot-driver named Cordius, and as prefect of the grain-supply a barber named Claudius [otherwise unknown — DM], and to the other posts of distinction he advanced men whose sole recommendation was the enormous size of their privates. As collector of the five-per-cent tax on inheritances he appointed a mule driver, a courier, a cook, and a locksmith…”....”When adultery was represented on the stage, he would order what was usually done in pretense to be carried out in fact. He often purchased harlots from all the procurers and then set them free. Once during a private conversation the question arose as to how many ruptured people there were in the city of Rome, and he thereupon issued an order that all should be noted and brought to his baths, and then he bathed with them, some of them being men of distinction. Before a banquet he would frequently watch gladiatorial fights and boxing matches, and he had a couch spread for himself in an upper gallery and during luncheon exhibited criminals in a wild-beast hunt..” ..

Gladiator relief -

Elly loved the gamesHe gathered together in a public building all the harlots from the Circus, the theatre, the Stadium and all other places of amusement, and from the public baths, and then delivered a speech to them, as one might to soldiers, calling them “comrades” and discoursing upon various kinds of postures and debaucheries. Afterwards he invited to a similar gathering procurers, catamites collected together from all sides, and lascivious boys and young men. And whereas he had appeared before the harlots in a woman’s costume and with protruding bosom, he met the catamites in the garb of a boy who is exposed for prostitution. After his speech he announced a largess of three aurei for each, just as if they were soldiers, and asked them to pray the gods that they might find others to recommend to him.”….“Sometimes he laughed so loud in the theatre that no one else could be heard by the audience. He could sing and dance, play the pipes, the horn and the pandura [a musical instrument with three strings, probably resembling the lute; the name has been perpetuated in a modern Italian instrument of the mandolin type. — DM], and he also performed on the organ. On one single day, it is said, he visited every prostitute from the Circus, the theatre, the Amphitheatre, and all the public places of Rome, covering his head with a muleteer’s cap in order to escape recognition; he did not, however, gratify his passions, but merely gave an aureus to each prostitute, saying as he did so: “Let no one know it, but this is a present from Antoninus.”

OTHER ASPECTS OF ELLY'S LIFE

Let's look as some of the more friendly commentary about him and the criticism these "friends of Elly" dish out to the prudes, liars and detractors of him (such as Lampridius and Dio) in the works of the ancients as well as modern histories.An interesting site is that of Laura Darlene Lansberry, whose article entitled, " The Untold History of Elagabalus", can be found at http://www.aztriad.com/elagabal.html. She points out how Judeao/Christian gender prejudice against homosexuality and transgenderism, so present in the works of later Christian writers, has demonised and distorted accounts of Elly's brief reign as emperor. She notes, for example:"In 'The Life of Elagabalus'[by Lampridius -my insert] we read that he depilated his face and body in order to arouse the lust of the greatest number ... exactly how gullible are we expected to be, to believe that a 14 year old boy needed depilation". And again, from Laura:"In fact, soldiers of the empire were among the first in Rome to embrace the animosity toward gender variants inherent in Christianity. Christianity sanctified their view of men as macho, women as subservient, and gender variants as disgusting. The two forces fed each other and supported each other until, with the advent of Constantine, even the emperors took up the Christian cross

"Even Elly's facial appearance, as shown on busts of him, gets bad publicity, this time from a modern historian:"Chris Scarre writes, vilifyingly, in 'Chronicle of the Roman Emperors,' 1995, ' ... the one contemporary bust of Elagabalus (Capitoline Museum) reveals a soft, immature face, with large eyes and full lips.' Exactly, what does Mr. Scarre expect a teenage boy, emperor of Rome or not, to look like? How mature is Elagabalus supposed to be between the ages of 14 and 18? Had he not wanted to poison the well he would have written, "The bust of Elagabalus points out that he was merely a young boy, not yet even a young man."