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Showing posts from May, 2008

Now Featured: Elagabalus

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Elagabalus isn't a household name like Caligula, Nero, or even Honorius. Probably more than his better-known peers, however, Elagabalus fits the stereotype of the ineffectual, do-nothing emperor who was far more interested in art, music, fashion, or just about anything else than he was in the business of governing. He is the subject of today's " Featured Article " on Wikipedia, so perhaps he'll make up a tiny bit of ground on the name recognition front. Judith Weingarten wrote a fantastic series of entries last year on some of the women who pulled the levers behind the curtain of the Severan dynasty. After you read the Wikipedia article, have a look at her take on Elagabalus through the nervous eyes of his grandmother, Julia Maesa. [Photo credit: Giovanni Dall'Orto]