A gallery has reclassified Roman Emperor Elagabalus as a trans person. ( Getty Pictures )
After learning that the Roman emperor had been a transgender woman, the North Hertfordshire Museum may update its exhibit about her.
Emperor Elagabalus will now be referred to in the gallery using the nouns she/her.
Researchers and scientists have long debated Elagabalus ‘ gender identity, with historical records making reference to the emperor’s requests to be referred to as a lady.
Based on classical writings that claim the Roman emperor said,” Call me no Lord, for I am a Lady,” it was decided that the museum may categorize Elagabalus as if she were transgender.
Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, wrote Chronicles of Elagabalus ‘ life, which also mentions that she had been married five times, four times to people and once to Hiercoles, an ex-slave and wagon driver.
Cassius Dio claims that the king “was bestowed in marriage and was termed wife, mistress, and queen” in Elagabalus ‘ fifth and final marriage.
Reclassifying Elagabalus as a transgender woman was the “polite” thing to do, according to Kevin Hoskins, spokesperson for the North Hertfordshire Museum and senior associate for Business and Art at the government.
According to Hoskins, it is only polite and respectful to identify adjectives for historical figures as well as for contemporary figures, according to The Art Newspaper.
We are aware that Elagabalus identified as a woman and made clear which nouns to apply, demonstrating the age-old practice of using them.
A gold remains penny that once belonged to Elagabalus is on display in the museum. The gold is one of the few LGBTQ+ things the museum has on display on a regular basis.
Hoskins continued,” In the past, false translations had referred to Elagabalus as” they,” but we now know that this was the result of the classic Greek language’s lack of sex difference when referring to individuals in the third person, which led to many translation errors.
The fact that Elagabalus most absolutely preferred the” she” word is today known through data, such as Dio’s words, and as a result, we consider this when discussing her in modern times, as we believe is customary elsewhere.
She was murdered at the age of 18 by Emperor Elagabalus, also known as Marcus Aurelius Antonius. He ruled the Roman kingdom from 218 to 222AD.
