My Bitter Statute
Nov. 14th, 2010 12:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
todayiamadaisyToday I learnt that the Roman emperor Elagabalus (aka Heliogabalus) once killed all the guests at a dinner party by smothering them with violets dropped from a false ceiling.
Look! Here is an eyewitness painting of the event, using rose petals instead of violets:
According to Wikipedia, though, this may only be a rumour or exaggeration, or it may have been done by Nero instead. Whoever was responsible, I am sort of impressed just because of the number of flowers that this would take (and, frankly, I'm not convinced that the amount of petals in the painting would do the job). I mean, I imagine Elagabalus/Nero had people to do the hard work for him, but it takes a special sort of mind to think of it.
Look! Here is an eyewitness painting of the event, using rose petals instead of violets:
According to Wikipedia, though, this may only be a rumour or exaggeration, or it may have been done by Nero instead. Whoever was responsible, I am sort of impressed just because of the number of flowers that this would take (and, frankly, I'm not convinced that the amount of petals in the painting would do the job). I mean, I imagine Elagabalus/Nero had people to do the hard work for him, but it takes a special sort of mind to think of it.