Elagabalus "reclassified"

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67484645

Well I never

[Keraunos]

Can we infer a touch of political interference by local council member? 

[Imperial Dave]

Possibly but I won't comment further 

[Erpingham]

It is interesting that the BBC writer continues to use he/him, even reporting an article where a provincial museum has decided on she/her.

[DBS]

So, front page of the BBC for a small sign in a small museum about one single coin belonging to a... colourful... but inconsequential princeps.

[Imperial Dave]

It's a quiet news day

[Erpingham]

It's a quiet news day

Well, it makes a change from the Gaza War, the Covid enquiry and the dead teenagers in Wales 

[Imperial Dave]

Yes, that one about the lads in North Wales affected me quite badly. It's the kind of thing I used to do when I was their age. Very very tragic

[Erpingham]

Yes, that one about the lads in North Wales affected me quite badly. It's the kind of thing I used to do when I was their age. Very very tragic

At their age, I went on a road trip to Cornwall with three mates in one's car.  On one dark night we nearly had a prang on a country road.  There but for the grace of God .....

This one got to me.

[Imperial Dave]

I had a similar bunch of mates and we used to drive into to the Brecon Beacons to hike and camp when we were doing our A-levels. I could really identify with these poor lads

[Jim Webster]

I had a similar bunch of mates and we used to drive into to the Brecon Beacons to hike and camp when we were doing our A-levels. I could really identify with these poor lads

Yes, it is a genuinely sad story and I too feel it. I remember driving up through the west coast of the lake district on a camping trip and another car came round a corner so fast and wide I avoided them by driving on their inside on the wrong side of the road.
We all have our stories, it's just theirs has no happy ending. Rest in Peace.

[Duncan Head]

And now https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/24/was-roman-emperor-elagabalus-really-trans-and-does-it-really-matter

[Imperial Dave]

Of course. Nero and Caligula did spring to mind as stated in the article as "assassinated" characters. In the end we won't know and as Mary Besrd says perhaps we shouldn't paint them with modern labels

[Erpingham]

we shouldn't paint them with modern labels

A proper historian's answer  Trouble is, writers do tend to shape a narrative around terms we understand, to help us access the past.  In this case, rushing to stick modern labels on a coin collection leads to massive over-simplification of a complex story.  But it did give a chance for journalists to speak to proper historians and highlight something about Ancient Rome many (like me) didn't know.

[Imperial Dave]

True