Elagabalus - Family and Priesthood

Family and Priesthood

Elagabalus was born around the year 203 to Sextus Varius Marcellus and Julia Soaemias Bassiana. His father was initially a member of the equestrian class, but was later elevated to the rank of senator. His grandmother Julia Maesa was the widow of the Consul Julius Avitus, the sister of Julia Domna, and the sister-in-law of emperor Septimius Severus.

His mother Julia Soaemias was a cousin of Roman emperor Caracalla. Other relatives included his aunt Julia Avita Mamaea and uncle Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus and their son Alexander Severus. Elagabalus's family held hereditary rights to the priesthood of the sun god Elagabal, of whom Elagabalus was the high priest at Emesa (modern Homs) in Syria.

The deity Elagabalus was initially venerated at Emesa. The name is the Latinized form of the Syrian Ilāh hag-Gabal, which derives from Ilāh ("god") and gabal ("mountain" (compare Hebrew: גבל‎ gəbul and Arabic: جبل‎ jabal)), resulting in "the God of the Mountain" the Emesene manifestation of the deity. The cult of the deity spread to other parts of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century. For example, a dedication has been found as far away as Woerden (Netherlands). The god was later imported and assimilated with the Roman sun god known as Sol Indiges in republican times and as Sol Invictus during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. In Greek the sun god is Helios, hence Heliogabalus, another variant name for Elagabalus.