Elagabalus

Definitions

1. The deity Elagabal, venerated in ancient times at Emesa in Syria (and later elsewhere in the Roman Empire), identified with a large black stone.
2. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (reigned 218–222), noted for eccentricity, femininity, decadence, and disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos.
   Ancient-Rome

Examples

“Elagabalus, who was a Sun-god and the patron deity of Emesa, was worshipped […]”

“Obviously, they hoped to conceal the failure of their unhappy experiment⟳ in emperorship before, when they stressed the priesthood of Syrian Emesa's main deity Elagabalus as the key factor […]”

“Racial prejudice also played a part, says Icks: before coming to Rome to rule⟳ it, Elagabalus was a priest in an obscure cult in Syria that venerated a black stone meteorite – a culture that would have⟳ been deeply strange to the Romans.”

CEFR level