When it is determined that a Roman emperor was in reality trans woman, the exhibition is required to rename its exhibit about him.
Emperor Elagabalus will now be referred to by the adult adjectives she and her in the North Hertfordshire Museum.
It follows the assertion in classical writings that the king after said,” Calm me no Lord, for I am a Lady.”
It is “only polite and respectful to become vulnerable to identifying nouns for people in the past,” a museum director said.
One penny from Elagabalus is on display at the museum along with other LGBTQ+ objects in its collection.
It claimed that in order to make sure that “displays, attention, and deals are as up to date and inclusive as possible,” it consulted LGBTQ+ donation Stonewall.
From 218 AD to his death at the age of 18, in 222 AD, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, also known as Elagabalus ruled the Roman kingdom for only four years.
Over the course of his brief tenure, he rose to prominence and gained a reputation for intimate infidelity.
The prince was married five times—four occasions to women and once to Hiercoles, a former slaves and carriage driver—in Cassius Dio’s historical chronicles. He was Elagabalus ‘ contemporary and senator.
Dio claims that the king “was bestowed in marriage and was termed family, lady, and queen” in this last union.
The long-running controversy over Elagabalus’s female identity frequently divides scientists.
The terms Dio functions are not a direct quotation from Elagabalus, and at the time of writing the king would have been in his first adolescent years, according to Dr. Shushma Malik of Cambridge University’s legends department.
There are numerous instances in Ancient poetry of periods when feminine language and words were used to criticize or undermine a political number.
” References to Elagabalus donning makeup, hair, and shaving may have been written in an effort to discredit the unhappy emperor.”
Although adjectives have been altered in writing and the Romans were aware of gender fluidity, Dr. Malik added that they “were typically used in reference to story and faith, rather than to describe living people.”
However, texts like Dio’s provide evidence, according to chairman Keith Hoskins, executive member for Business and Art at North Herts Council,” that Elagabalus most certainly preferred the” she” pronoun, and as such this is something we reflect upon when discussing her in contemporary days, as we believe is standard practice elsewhere.”
He continued,” We know Elagabalus identified as a woman and was clear about which pronouns to use, demonstrating the age-old practice.”