The teenage emperor Heliogabalus was a polyamorous, sex positive, trans person who began life as a refugee; he was also a profiligate, irresponsible, bloodthirsty, fundementalist tyrant who built a gold statue of himself and murdered his own tutor. In this episode of the podcast we explore the decadence of the Roman empire through the lens of the life of an almost forgotten, remarkable young man and ask whether it is ever right to make heroes or villains from historical actors.

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