Michael Kulikowski · Monumental Folly: Heliogabalus Appetite lrb.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lrb.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Elagabalus, Roman emperor from 218 to 222, notable chiefly for his eccentric behaviour. The family of his mother, Julia Soaemias, were hereditary high priests of the god Baal at Emesa (in ancient Syria), worshiped in that locality under the name Elah-Gabal (thus Elagabalus). The emperor Caracalla