14. Heliogabalus’s Culinary Pranks
Heliogabalus, also known as Elagabalus, turned banquets into elaborate pranks and surreal spectacles. Guests might discover their main course was made of wax or glass, or find the food switched with live animals mid-meal. His unpredictable, avant-garde parties blurred the line between feast and performance art, shocking and bewildering even the jaded elite. Smithsonian Magazine details
