Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

classical texts claim the emperor once said "call me not Lord, for I am a Lady".

A museum spokesperson said it was "only polite and respectful to be sensitive to identifying pronouns for people in the past".

Dio says Elagabalus delighted in being called Hierocles's mistress, wife, and queen.[83] The emperor reportedly wore makeup and wigs, preferred to be called a lady and not a lord, and supposedly offered vast sums to any physician who could provide him with a vagina by means of incision.[83][84] Some writers suggest that Elagabalus may have identified as female or been transgender, and may have sought sex reassignment surgery.[85][86][83][87][88] Some historians treat these accounts with caution as the sources for Elagabalus life are antagonistic towards him.

A team of archaeologists digging in southwest Spain recently made a discovery dating to the Bronze or Iron Age which may radically change our understanding of ancient gender roles in Iberian society.

A stela, or funerary stone slab representing a significant individual, was discovered at the 3,000-year-old funerary complex in Las Capellanías, in Cañaveral de León, Spain. It was accompanied by cremated human bones. The object includes detailed facial features, hands and feet, sports a headdress and a necklace, and boasts two swords and male genitalia.

But this iconography conflicts with most previously uncovered examples and means we may have to reconsider ancient gender roles. While headdresses and necklaces are typically associated with female forms, the presence of weapons such as a sword would typically denote a male warrior.