Hermitix Heliogabalus; or, the Crowned Anarchist by Antonin Artaud (Book Review)
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Jan 25, 2026 A fiery review of Antonin Artaud's visionary take on Elagabalus. Short bursts cover theater of cruelty, sacred violence, and sexualized ritual. The discussion parses delirious, non-linear prose and the book's theatrical logic. Themes of a solar phallic cosmology, crown-as-horror, and ritualized bodily excess are highlighted.
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How The Host Discovered The Book
- Hermitix found the book while researching Jünger's concept of the Anarch and related works.
- He reads the Alex Lykiard 2003 translation and places the book in Artaud's early 1930s creative period.
Elagabalus As Metaphysical Revolt
- Antonin Artaud reframes Emperor Elagabalus as a metaphysical revolt rather than a mere historical eccentricity.
- Artaud uses the emperor to embody a cosmic anarchic refusal of rational order and sexual norms.
Theater Of Cruelty Meets Sacred Violence
- The book crystallizes Artaud's obsessions: cruelty, creation, and the failure of rationalism as spiritual impoverishment.
- He treats the body and sacred violence as sites for restoring archaic, ecstatic experience.
