Emperor Elagabalus Loved a Prank (c. 218 – 222 CE)
Young Emperor Elagabalus built a reputation (warranted or politically motivated) for sparing no expense to throw a great, and wild, party. Roman historians spin tales of dinner parties that served the most unusual, expensive, and rare dishes. Rice mixed with pearls. 600 ostrich brains. Peas laced with gold. The histories detail how he would fancy a color, blue, green, whatever. The food had to match his theme.
But food wasn’t his only indulgence, so was tormenting guests. The Emperor unleased wolves and leopards on guests, forgetting to mention the beasts were tame. He had a banquet space with a false ceiling that rained rose petals on his guests. Elagabalus loved to play games of chance, where the ‘prize’ could be gold coins – or an animal carcass. By the time of his assassination at age 18, he built a name as an overindulgent hedonist, even though it might be mostly fiction.
