Elagabalus, the Roman emperor, was identified as a trans woman in the British gallery.
The choice, according to the North Hertfordshire Museum in Hitchin, a village north of London, was prompted by historical writings that claim the king again said,” Calm me no Lord, for I am Lady.” Cassisus Dio, a renowned Roman historian and superintendent, wrote the words.
The gallery has decided to use the pronouns she/her to speak to Elagabalus, who ruled from 218 to 222AD.
According to Keith Hoskins, professional member for Business and Art at North Herts Council, which aids in running the museum,” we try to be vulnerable to identifying pronouns for people in the past, as we are in people today. It is only polite and respectful.” We are aware that Elagabalus identified as a woman and made clear which nouns to apply, demonstrating the age-old practice of using them.
However, professionals disagree on the gallery’s choice. In the old earth,” this is as tricky as it is now.” Romans ‘ remarks about Elagabalus serve as a potent reminder that discussions about the boundaries between men and women date back thousands of years ( we are not the first generation to engage in these discussions ), as Mary Beard, the author of Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World, wrote to TIME.
A gold from Elagabalus is part of the museum’s LGBTQ+ variety. What to know about their choice is as follows.
The debate surrounding the choice
Elagabalus was a significant number in Roman history. There is disagreement over the king’s adjectives, despite the fact that it is known that he married both men and women on separate events.
The gallery cites quotes from Dio, who was alive during Elagabalus ‘ rule and wrote a book about Roman history, as proof of the emperor’s transsexuals. Additionally, they make reference to writings that claim Elagabalus inquired about whether a” medical treatment could make him female,” according to North Hertfordshire Museum blog post.
Some experts point out that the emperor was still a young girl at the time those texts were written, and that Dio may have been criticizing Elagabalus ‘ rule by claiming that he was “termed woman, mistress and queen” or referring to him as having female traits. According to Shushma Malik, a professor of classics at Cambridge University, references to Elagabalus donning makeup, wearing wigs, and shaving may have been made in an effort to discredit the unhappy emperor.
Beard points out that other kings, like Nero, were referred to as ladies by Dio. She writes,” Dio tells the English insurgent Boudicca that Nero is a woman.”
Others, like Hoskins, contend that because the text specifically mentions the emperor’s recommended pronoun use, the museum is correct to acknowledge that Elagabalus preferred the she/her.
In any case, Beard reminds TIME that” there were ancient discussions about the lines separating men and women, but we ca n’t apply our own modern categories to the ancient world.”
Requests for comment did not immediately receive a response from the North Hertfordshire Museum.
