Aquilia Severa was the second and fourth wife of Emperor Elagabalus. Roman Emperor is the title historians use to refer to the ruler of the Roman Empire. ... A bust depicting Elagabalus. ...

Severa was a Vestal Virgin. As such, her marriage to Elagabalus in 220 was the cause of enormous controversy — traditionally, the punishment for breaking the thirty-year vow of celibacy was death. Elagabalus is believed to have had religious reasons for marrying Severa — he himself was a follower of the eastern sun god El-Gabal, and when marrying himself to Severa, he also conducted a symbolic marriage of his god to Vesta. A vestal Virgin, engraving by Sir Frederick Leighton, ca 1890: Leightons artistic sense has won over his passion for historical accuracy in showing the veil over the Vestals head at sacrifices, the suffibulum, as translucent, instead of fine white wool In Ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins were the... Events Han Xiandi abdicated, symbolizing the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the China. ... A solar deity is a deity who represents the Sun. ...

Both these marriages were revoked shortly afterwards, however. This was possibly on the urging of Julia Maesa, the grandmother who had engineered Elagabalus' rise to the imperial throne. Elagabalus then married Annia Faustina, a more generally acceptable choice. Within a short time, however, Elagabalus had divorced Faustina and returned to living with Severa, claiming that the original divorce was invalid. It is believed that Severa remained with Elagabalus until his assassination in 222. The two are not believed to have had any children. Julia Maesa (about 170- about 226) was daughter of Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus, the patron god of Emesa in the Roman province of Syria. ... Events Pope Urban I succeeds Pope Callixtus I Roman Emperor Alexander Severus succeeds Heliogabalus Kingdom of Wu is established in China Sun Quan defeates Liu Bei at the Battle of Yi Ling Deaths March 11 - Roman Emperor Heliogabalus murdered Tertullian, theologian Pope Callixtus I Claudius Aelianus, teacher and rhetorician For...

Severa's own opinions about the entire affair are not very well recorded. Some sources state that she was forced to marry against her will, and others go further, alleging rape. It is claimed by some historians, however, that many stories about Elagabalus have been exaggerated by his enemies, and so there is no certainty about what actually happened. It is unclear whether Elagabalus had any real feelings towards Severa, or whether he was more concerned with the symbolism of the marriage. Elagabalus appears to have been either homosexual or bisexual, and the historian Cassius Dio claims that Elagabalus had a more stable relationship with his chariot driver, Hierocles, than with any of his wives. Rape is a crime wherein the victim is forced into sexual activity against his or her will, in particular sexual penetration. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females. ... Dio Cassius Cocceianus (155–after 229), known in English as Dio Cassius or Cassius Dio, was a noted Roman historian and public servant. ...