Peter says:
>AFAIK no. It mainly stems from the sexual repression created by
>their mythology (ie women are inferior and not worthy of human
>emotions). But then in the RW, there was never a mythological
>reason for Elagabalus to do what he did (A Roman Emperor who
>worshipped a Syrian Sun God - He was also one heck of a fucked-up
>kid).
There's no need for a mythological reason why Elagabalus worshipped a Syrian Sun God: he worshipped this deity naturally enough because he was a Syrian. In fact, if I recall correctly, his family were the hereditary high priests of the sun-cult at Emesa, and attributed his rise to their veneration of Elagabaal (which was incarnated as a suggestively phallic-shaped meteorite and went wherever he did).
As emperor, Elagabalus's challenge was to make his and his equally whacko family's Eastern eccentricities acceptable to the Roman elite (remember, this was the early 3rd century); when he couldn't, he was killed by the Praetorians and replaced by his younger cousin, who made a much bigger effort to act more in the mould of their putative grandfather Septimius Severus, the only emperor in this period to die in his bed.
There's an excellent historical novel on the life of this crazy mixed-up kid called "Family Favourites" by Alfred Duggan. Get it if you can find it!
Cheers,
MOB
9 Parker Street, Richmond 3121, Victoria, Australia Home Telephone: +61-3-9428-9048
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #145
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