Last of the Roman Gods.
Antinous, the favourite of the Emperor Hadrian, was born in Claudiopolis in Bithynia ( northern Greece). He became part of Hadrian's household, possibly at the age of eleven or twelve, when the Emperor travelled through those parts. He is likely to have been sent to Rome for schooling as a page. Antinous was reportedly intelligent and eventually the boy came to be Hadrian's lover and fill the void in Hadrian's emotional life. He was perhaps accepted by Hadrian's wife or hated, as some suggest, because of possible inheritances. He accompanied Hadrian on tours and is seen on many sculptures of historical events. As a hunter he is seen with the Emperor, whose adoption of a young Greek lover suited his passion for ancient Greek culture. While touring Egypt in late October 130 AD, which was now ruled by Rome, Antinous drowned mysteriously in the river Nile at about the age of eighteen or twenty. Facilitated by the Egyptian belief that those who drowned were claimed by the gods as their own, the grief stricken Hadrian immediately declared him a god and founded on that spot a memorial city Antinopolis on the opposite bank of the river from Hermopolis. The drowned are among those encountered in the 10th hour of the night in the Amduat or the 9th hour in the revised Book of Gates, as the Sun God Ra and the dead travel the 12 night hours through the underworld towards resurrection.
Perhaps he was cremated in Roman style but much
suggests that he may have been embalmed in line with his manifestation as an Egyptian god.
However within a few years of his death there were temples, statues by the thousands
and devotion throughout the entire known world. He was the very last of the Roman gods,
Antinous the Beloved. So much of this survives to our time that we can wonder at such a
passion. Hadrian's Villa is
where much of this relationship happened and where so much of the evidence exists, in
stone and feelings. It is even suggested that his remains may be buried near the area
shown below and that the obelisk once marked the grave.
A statue which was changed by Hadrian to support the head of Antinous (left)
These monumental characters of history, at first they impress and sometimes they teach, but always they ignite imagination. A story of such love as that of Hadrian and Antinous is impressive. Just what the 'true' tale is has been assembled, documented and elaborated on by various writers, but all, I suspect, have delved into their subjective imagination to create an original narrative that may bear little truth after all. Did he die for love? Was he sacrificed for the Empire or the Emperor? Was he murdered? Perhaps it was merely an accident. All may guess. All may prefer one story to another. What is the truth, and does it matter?
When
Antinous died "Hadrian wept like a woman"
One thing I can assume is that judging by the hundreds of statues that the grieving Hadrian erected and exist to this day, Antinous was beautiful. So many bear a striking resemblance to each other that one is tempted to say that we recognise his true face and form. The images are almost a photographic record of one of the worlds most famous, greatest and most beautiful young homosexual lovers, who was elevated to the status of a god ( Osiris-Antinous the Holy in Egypt) in the second century AD.
Apart from the
statues that were erected to Antinous the god after his death, he became a favourite of
Sculptors throughout the ages and his image was represented as many figures from ancient
mythology and the inspiration of beauty and the perfection of physique.
Some heads of the many images of Antinous and even a Pope used this infamous pagan god as a a symbol on his seal.
THE CONSTELLATION OF ANTINOUS
Generously written and supplied by Denton P. Walter of Astronomy & Space Magazine, the monthly journal of Astronomy Ireland. He may be contacted at gordo@iol.ie Astronomy Ireland is the largest astronomy club in the world (per capita), with over 7,600 members to date, and may be contacted via their website,
http://www.astronomy.ie/ or at info@astronomy.ie
In Greek mythology, the bi-sexual king of the gods, Zeus, fell in love with an outstandingly beautiful young man named Ganymedes (Ganymede). As it happened, Zeus was in need of a cupbearer at the time, since the previous holder of the job, Hebe, had tripped and fallen while performing her duties. Having a few cups of golden nectar dumped over him did nothing for Zues’ already poor temper, and he decided to combine business with pleasure and offer the now-vacant job to the handsome young man who had just caught his divine eye. He therefore sent his messenger, a giant eagle, to carry Ganymedes to Olympus. Ganymedes saw this as a good career move – barman to the gods, live-in all expenses paid on Olympus, plus a great fringe benefit: lover to the king of the gods – and so he accepted the position. Not that he had much choice of course, with a giant eagle standing over him. Zeus was so pleased with him that he declared the eagle that had brought him to Olympus to be the greatest of birds, placing it in the heavens as a reward. To the Greeks the constellation was Aetos, ‘The Eagle’, while the Romans saw it as Ganymedes Raptrix, ‘The Huntress of Ganymedes’. We know it today by another Latin name, as Aquila, The Eagle. This part of the tale gives us a bi-sexual planet, Jupiter (the Roman name for Zeus), still attended by his lover in the form of the moon Ganymede, the largest moon in our Solar System.
The relationship between the Emperor Hadrian and Antinous was compared with that between Zeus and Ganymedes (the emperor was, after all, considered to be a god), and, after Antinous’ death in the Nile, this had a bearing on what followed. As well as naming a city in his dead lover’s honour, Antinopolis, and having him declared a god; the emperor ordered that he be placed among the stars. The result was the constellation of Antinous, which was located below, and using some of the stars of, Ganymedes Raptrix, the eagle of Zeus bearing Antinous across the heavens to Hadrian, just as it had carried Ganymedes to Zeus on Mount Olympus. Given the relationship between Hadrian and Antinous, the mythological symbolism was perfect: mighty god and beautiful young lover.
You won’t find the constellation listed in any astronomy book however, nor will you find the correct version of either the story of Hadrian and Antinous, nor that of Zeus and Ganymedes. The former because it no longer exists, and the latter due to prejudice.
In the 17th century, Johannes Hewelcke of Danzig took stars from Antinous to form his own constellation of Scutum, representing the shield of his patron, King Jan Sobieski III of Poland, and by the end of the 18th century Antinous had been dropped altogether from the starmaps, the remainder of its stars returning to Aquila, so that Antinous joins a long list of rejected constellations. That is why you won’t find it on any modern starchart. As to the mythological and historical associations, no astronomy publication, to my knowledge, has ever given the correct versions, with Ganymedes being referred to simply as a young man taken to Mount Olympus to be a cupbearer, and Antinous as a ‘favourite at court’ or some such euphuism, all in order to avoid the gay connections in both tales. My own writings on the constellations, in Astronomy & Space Magazine, including an article on all the gay-related imagery and associations to be found in astronomy, are the only correct ones, as far as mythology and history go, ever to appear in any astronomy magazine in the world, as far as I know.
For the full
story of Emperor Hadrian and the boy who was made a god, please read Marguerite
Yourcenar's wonderful book - "Memoirs of Hadrian"
Also " 'Beloved and God ' The Story of Hadrian & Antinous" by Royston
Lambert.
For those truly interested in finding out more of the divine Antinous please visit this vast and remarkable site which includes a complete Liturgical Calendar for the modern ECCLESIA ANTINOI.
Check out a great German site from a contact, Wolfgang. It hopes to display photos of all existing Antinous statues. http://www.belfalas.de/antinous/antinous.htm
Updated
April 23, 2007
