Rali, London
When looking back at the distant past, many make the assumption that everything was primitive. The leaders were oppressive, their values crude, and the people close-minded. This assumption, although understandable, is misleading. There are many examples of areas in which the Romans were very developed, and ahead of their time, such as architecture, politics and law. A topic which is discussed much less is the expression of gender, and the way that different people conveyed it.
A brief disclaimer: in this article, there are two mentions of rulers who were assigned male at birth but seem to have identified as female. For this reason, I have used the pronouns she/her.
Caligula. Chances are you have heard his name. He is considered one of the cruellest emperors of Rome, alongside his nephew Nero, terrorising his family and his subjects. He was exposed to violence from a young age, living at the military outposts of his father, Germanicus. At these camps, his mum would dress him in a soldier’s kit, complete with the hobnailed army sandals, “caligae”. The soldiers took to calling him Caligula, meaning ‘little boots’. Less well-known, however, is his obsession with female clothing. As a teenager, Caligula often cross-dressed, adorning himself with blond wigs and long robes. He loved the expensive, female garments made of Koan silk. He was afflicted by mental illnesses, ranging from delusional to manic. He was also an insomniac, who found it hard to sleep at night. When he had these periods, he would put on performances, and wake his family members and top aides, making them watch with him. The witnesses of nights like those, those who survived Caligula’s random and sporadic killings, remember the emperor grandly attired in lavish ladies’ clothing.
Maybe it was because of fear, that no one opposed what he did. However, this does give us a hint about the choice of outwardly expressing desires like these. Untouchables, like the emperor, had little to fear from the public. Even though this was most likely not the case for the plebs, it does shift our view of the past. And it can be shifted further.
Nero. Another name that you will certainly be familiar with. As a small boy, he was in Caligula’s care, and he was very impressed by his uncle’s style. Caligula’s violent streak was another thing that Nero most likely picked up. When he became emperor, 20 years later, he copied Caligula’s fashion sense, often dressing in female garb. His favourite dinner attire was a synthesis, a flowered gown worn by men only during Saturnalia each December. At all other times, it was considered a woman’s gown. Nero tried to make wearing a synthesis normal at other times of the year, but ultimately failed.
Although this is another example of a cruel emperor, Nero’s case shows us that Caligula was an influence; he may have had an effect on others as well. It was not only men dressing in gowns and dresses; there are several examples of women cross-dressing, for a whole variety of reasons, and it was not always a statement about gender or identity.
Anxiothea of Phlius and Lasthenea of Mantinea were two young women whom Plato accepted into his academy, even though he believed the minds of women were inferior to those of men. Whilst they were there, they dressed themselves in the same garb as all the other male students. They may have felt it was professional, or they may have wanted to fit in. However, their main priority was their education; the clothes, only a tool to aid them in their pursuit of knowledge.
Thecla, a resolute sidekick of Paul of Tarsus, dressed as a man for safety. She would accompany him during his wanderings, and she remained his staunchest disciple until the end. Her choice of attire was based on survival, rather than any feelings about her image. It was because of her gender, but it was also about how women were perceived at the time. She would have wanted to come across as strong and capable, not weak and vulnerable, as the perception of women was at the time.
Pherenike of Rhodes was a boxing trainer for her son in the Olympic games of 388 BCE. She would have worn male garb so that she could take part in this activity. This would have been prohibited for women. Although based, yet again, on the unfair attitudes towards women at the time, she had an ulterior motive, not linked to the attire itself. Like Anxiothea and Lasthenea, the clothes were merely a tool.
Women have tried to dress like men, in order to be accepted, even earlier in the timeline. Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh of Egypt in the 18th dynasty, dressed in male attire to try to legitimise her reign. This seems especially strange when taking into account that Pharaohs became heads of state through the female bloodline. The idea of a male ruler was so ingrained in the minds of people at the time that she felt she had to prove herself and make herself acceptable.
Ashurbanipal is also an interesting case to study: an Assyrian ruler, in 7th century Mesopotamia, famous for building the world’s first library. She was assigned male at birth but appears to have been a cross-dresser who wished to present and live as the woman she was. She was married to a woman named Ashursharrat, but still followed her dreams. She wore traditionally female clothing, used a lot of cosmetics, and also tried to make her voice sound ‘female’ when she spoke. This annoyed many of the other Assyrian men, including her generals. One day, one of her generals walked in on her pencilling her eyebrows. He pulled out his sword and ran her through with it! She is a very intriguing case, because it shows that even the rulers of the kingdom cannot stray too far from society’s norms and beliefs, without danger, and in her case, death. Not much is known about Ashurbanipal, however. A more recent case study, which can be analysed more thoroughly, is Elagabalus.
Elagabalus. A name I doubt you would have heard of before. She was a Roman emperor who, like Ashurbanipal, wanted to be a woman in anatomy, as well as appearance. Unlike Caligula and Nero, the name has not gone down in history. Like the mentioned emperors, Elagabalus was considered one of the worst rulers of Rome. It was not oppression, however, that was her main crime; it was the breaking of gender and cultural standards at the time.
Elagabalus was a cross-dresser, recognised for her purple gowns and her painted eyes. She liked to have fun and enjoy herself; however, because of the society and time she lived in, she was an object of disgust. Sources suggest that she wanted to change her anatomy to be female as well. As an emperor, she was able to look for the possibility of gender-affirming surgery with the best doctors in her whole empire, alongside her own doctors. She wanted them to create a prototype of female genitals for her, which shows how progressively she thought. However, the surgical abilities and insufficient anaesthetics at the time would have made it very hard for the doctors, and painful for her! The doctors managed to decline without suffering imperial wrath, which would have been no small feat at this time.
Elagabalus was brought up in the priesthood of the solar deity El Gabal, having been born into the upper class. The supreme deity worshipped in her native city had the form of a meteoric black stone. Julia Mamaea, his aunt, claimed that Elagabalus was the illegitimate son of Caracalla, her cousin who had been killed. Thus, Elagabalus became next-in-line for emperor. As well as the lineage, she also had the support of many soldiers who had seen her dance during ceremonies to El Gabal. They thought she was very beautiful, and she managed to get their backing through her ability to woo the soldiers, as opposed to impressing them with any feats of strength or military prowess.
Many sources agree that Elagabalus wasn’t very good at exercising power; she didn’t know who to appoint in high positions of government. She also committed many shocking actions:
She married a Vestal Virgin, who were meant to remain chaste for life. Violating chastity would be punished by live burial. Thus, the marriage was considered a gross violation of core Roman Catholic beliefs.
She arranged a marriage between her deity El Gabal and Urania, the goddess most popular in Carthage, an ancient enemy of Rome. The senators and other VIP dressed in un-Roman ways, in order to gain her favour.
This tells us how important the favour of the emperor was; one would go against their own code to please them, even if they didn’t particularly agree with their actions.
According to Dio Cassius, castration was one of Elagabalus’ most prominent wishes. He claims that she desired this out of ‘effeminacy’, which strongly indicates that Elagabalus wanted to change her body to reflect her identity. In a time where many important scientific theories were yet to be discovered, an operation like this one would be extremely dangerous. Her wish was out of her reach, and Elagabalus most likely suffered pain, what we in modern times would call dysphoria, of the physical and mental mismatch of her identity.
Very few symbols remain from Elagabalus’ reign: only coins and statuary. The statuary shows evidence of a young man, who looks very similar to Caracalla, the previous Emperor, and emperors before that. This has caused a divide in the opinions of historians. Some claim that the lack of archaeological evidence proves that Elagabalus’ cross-dressing and female desires were exaggerated, or simply untrue. However, others believe that this tells us that the disapproval of Elagabalus’ actions and beliefs was so great, that an important part of her identity was covered up and hidden. She was portrayed in a much more acceptable light in these commemorative designs. There are many arguments for both sides, so I’ll let you decide which side you agree with.
As Elagabalus’ popularity decreased, powerful Romans attempted to find a successor who fit the frame of an emperor better than Elagabalus did. They made her adopt her cousin Alexander, who was only four years younger than her. They also made sure that Alexander was not influenced by Elagabalus in any way. Elagabalus realised that Alexander was a threat to her, but it was already too late for her. When she was travelling to a camp, she was murdered, alongside her mother. Their bodies were mutilated and thrown into the River Tiber.
Elagabalus is another example of how, even when you are at the top, you are still in danger. It can be argued whether she was targeted because of her beliefs and identity, or her actions in appointing positions.
After her death, women were forbidden from entering the Senate’s building. Elagabalus had established a ‘women’s senate’, and this was one of the many actions that Elagabalus took which were unacceptable in the society at the time. Many writers condemned the fact that women like her grandmother, mother and aunt had power. ‘Damnatio memoriae’ was a process which aimed to erase tyrant emperors from record, and Elagabalus was included in this list. She was also tragically used as an example for one of the worst rulers ever.
An important question we have to ask ourselves, is whether Elagabalus was truly an incapable ruler. Was she not cut out to be a ruler, someone who couldn’t make the right decisions? Or was she simply living in a world which wasn’t open and developed enough to accept her? We cannot know the minds of the plebs, as many did not write. The information we can glean from the sources that are available all point to the undeniable truth that a Roman emperor, who turned away from their masculinity and placed women in positions of power, was too different for many individuals to accept. It is interesting to muse about what Elagabalus’ life might have looked like, had she been born in a different time and place.
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