 The deity Elagabalus was initially venerated at Emesa . This form of the god 's name is a Latinized version of the Syrian Ilāh hag @-@ Gabal , which derives from Ilāh ( a Semitic word for " god " ) and gabal ( an Aramaic word for " mountain " ) , resulting in " the God of the Mountain , " the Emesene manifestation of the deity . The cult of the deity spread to other parts of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century ; a dedication has been found as far away as Woerden ( Netherlands ) , near the Roman limes . The god was later imported and assimilated with the Roman sun god known as Sol Indiges in republican times and as Sol Invictus during the second and third centuries CE . In Greek the sun god is Helios , hence " Heliogabalus " , a hybrid conjunction of " Helios " and " Elagabalus " . 
