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Antinous or Antinoös (Greek: Αντινοος, born circa 110 or 111 CE, died 130 CE), lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, was born to a Greek family in Bithynion-Claudiopolis, in the province of Bithynia in what is now north-west Turkey. It's thought he joined the entourage of the Emperor when Hadrian passed through Bithynia in about 124. He was always at his side during Hadrian's extensive journeys in Africa and Asia from 128. Hadrian was a great admirer of Greek culture and so he did what many famous Greeks had done before: he fell in love with a beautiful teenage boy.
In October 130 Antinous died by drowning in the Nile. It is not known if his death was the result of accident, suicide, murder or religious sacrifice. After his death, the grief of the emperor knew no bounds, causing the most extravagant respect to be paid to his memory. Not only were cities called after him, medals struck with his effigy, and statues erected to him in all parts of the empire, but he was raised to the rank of the gods, temples were built for his worship in Bithynia, Mantineia in Arcadia, and Athens, festivals celebrated in his honour and oracles delivered in his name. The city of Antinoöpolis was founded on the ruins of Besa where he died (Dio Cassius lix. 11; Spartianus, Hadrian).
In Egypt Antinous was associated with and depicted as Osiris, and associated with the rebirth of the Nile, and Antinous was also depicted as Bacchus cutting vine leaves as a god related to fertility.
[image] [image] As a result, Antinous is one of the best-preserved faces from the ancient world. Many busts, gems and coins represent Antinous as the ideal type of youthful beauty, often with the attributes of some special god. We still possess a colossal bust in the Vatican, a bust in the Louvre, a bas-relief from the Villa Albani, a statue in the Capitoline museum, another in Berlin, another in the Lateran; and many more may be seen in museums across Europe. Although these are obviously idealised images, they demonstrate what all contemporary writers described as Antinous's extraordinary beauty.
Odyssey IV, 628, 660, 773; XVII, 409; XXII, 8.