italianartsociety:ByJean Marie CareyOn 11 March 222, the teenage RomanEmperor Elagabalus was assassi
italianartsociety:ByJean Marie CareyOn 11 March 222, the teenage RomanEmperor Elagabalus was assassinated, along with his mother, JuliaSoaemias, the first woman accorded the official title of Augusta in the RomanSenate. Elagabalus (Marcus Aurelius AntoninusAugustus), born in 203, was emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severandynasty on his father’s side, he came with Julia Soaemias from Syria, where hehad served as a priest of the god Elagabal in his hometown, Emesa.Julia Soaemias became the first woman to be allowed intothe Senate, and received a senatorial title: Clarissima. She held the title of Augusta as well, suggesting that she may have been the power behindthe throne. She exercised great influence over the young emperorthroughout his reign, and can be found on coins and inscriptions.Since the reign of Septimius Severus, sun worship hadincreased throughout the Empire. Elagabalus saw this as an opportunity toinstall Elagabal as the chief deity of the Roman pantheon. The god was renamed DeusSol Invictus, meaning God the Undefeated Sun, and honored above Jupiter. Heforced leading members of Rome’s government to participate in religious ritescelebrating this deity. Elagabalus wassupposedly married as many as five times, also lavishing favours on male lovers.He aroused further discontent when he married the Vestal Virgin Aquilia Severa,a flagrant breach of Roman law and tradition. His behavior estranged the PraetorianGuard, who supported his overthrow and subsequent murder.Following the assassination of Elagabalaus, his religiousedicts were reversed. Women were again barred from attending meetings of theSenate. The practice of damnatio memoriae — erasing from the public record adisgraced personage formerly of note — was systematically applied in his case, makingthe artifacts shown here notable rarities. Elagabalus was replaced by hiscousin Severus Alexander, who ruled for 13 years before his own assassinationwhich would mark the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century.Reference: John Clarke. Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans: VisualRepresentation and Non-elite Viewers in Italy, 100 B.C.-A.D. 315. Berkeley:University of California Press, 2003.RomanImperial Period Portrait of a Youth (Elagabalus), c. 218–224. Museum of FineArts, Boston. Accession Number: 1977.377.Verso:Gold Aureus of Elagabalus. Recto: Elagabalus standing with drapery over hisleft shoulder holding globe and downward-pointing spear; RECTOR ORBIS.c.218-222. Wriston Art Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. OttiliaBuerger Coin Collection, Nr. 91208.Portrait head ofElagabalus, c. 220-222. Musei capitolini, Rome.AfghanCarnelian Ringstone. Portrait of Elagabalus. c. 218-222. Michael C. CarlosMuseum, Emory University, Nr. 2008.031.103.Late Imperial Portrait Bust of a Roman Woman (Julia Soaemias), c.220. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Antikensammlung.Accession Number: Sk 455.FurtherReading: Martijn Icks. The Crimes ofElagabalus: The Life and Legacy of Rome’s Decadent Boy Emperor. London: I.B. Tauris,2012. ConstanceClassen. The Colour of Angels: Cosmology,Gender and the Aesthetic Imagination. London: Routledge, 1998. -- source link