Varius Avitus Bassianus, High Priest from Emesa, was proclamed Emperor of Rome in 219 with the name Elagabalus. An adept of the Betyl, a black stone with a conical shape, Elagabalus let his sacred stone to be installed in a temple built on the oriental part of the Palatine. This temple was of fairly large dimensions with a garden devoted to the Syrian god Adonis. The Emperor let as well transfer there other Roman Deities and sacred relics as the shields of the Regia, which were before kept on the Forum. His successor, Alexander Severus, Elagabalus’ cousin, consecrated the temple back to Avenging Jupiter.


The temple of Elagabalus (Avenging Jupiter) was built on the slope of the Palatine and dominated the Sacred Way and the Temple of Venus and Rome. Its gardens were surrounded by an imposing portico with an opening towards the Clivus Palatinus.