Hadrian married in about AD 100, but we do not know much
about the life of his beard wife and empress, Vibia Sabina. Sabina's image was
put on the official coinage and there are many statues of her. Their mutual
indifference became open antipathy in later life, though they kept up
appearances to some extent, and were never divorced. Sabina, who professed that
she was proud to have born no children to her ‘monstrous’ husband, nevertheless
was occasionally even allowed to accompany him on his travels.
However, ancient sources make it very clear that Hadrian was
in love with a young Greek male called Antinous. Homosexual relationships were
not considered unusual in ancient Rome, but the intensity with which Hadrian
mourned Antinous’ premature death was without precedent.
Background on Antinous: Antinous was born in a town called
Claudiopolis in the northwest corner of the country that we now call Turkey, in
the year 111 A.D. He was very likely not from a wealthy family, and is even
said to have been a slave...Antinous came from nothing, and from nowhere, but
by the end of his short life, he was a Prince, known all over the Empire. His
name has overcome the trials of history because of the mysterious love that occurred
between this strange, exotic boy, and the ruler of the Roman world at its
height. The details of Antinous's life are mostly unknown.
Story began…
The Emperor Hadrian passed through Bithynia in the year 123
A.D. and he encountered Antinous for the first time and fell completely in
love. Antinous was admitted into the Imperial court. He was sent to Rome to be
educated at the finest schools for boys, where he learned Latin, poetry,
history and the arts, while he remained close to Hadrian and was tutored in
private. He also began to train his body in the gymnasium, and over time
sculpted it, under the guidance of Hadrian's trainers, into what would become
the finest example of Classical male beauty.
Just as rapidly, Antinous became the subject of numerous
busts showing off the delicate features and great physical beauty that had
stirred the Emperor’s lust. However, there was more to Antinous than physical
attraction. Reportedly, he was highly intelligent and witty, which was another
of the Emperor’s great passions.
Antinous was an excellent hunter, which was Hadrian's
favorite pastime...they are known to have spent much of their free time hunting
wild animals, including a man-eating lion in the Libyan desert. Antinous surely
felt deep affection for Hadrian's hunting hounds, the finest dogs in the world
at that time and in many ways Antinous can be compared to one of them, because
of his loyalty and devotion, his beauty and youth, his athletic strength, and
the expression in his eyes...all of which conveys deep canine familiarity. And
Antinous spent approximately seven years with Hadrian which is about the
life-span of a strong hunting dog.
Hadrian visited Egypt in AD 130 along with the imperial
entourage, including his wife and his husband Antinous. They embarked on a
voyage up the River Nile and on 24 October Antinous drowned in the river, on
the same day the locals were commemorating the death, by drowning in the Nile,
of the Egyptian god Osiris. Some theories have had it; Antinous was murdered by
jealous courtiers. What is without a doubt true is that Hadrian was grief-stricken
and wept loud and long for his lost lover “like a woman” according to the six
authors of the Historia Augusta, a collection of late Roman biographies.
The High Priests of Osiris and those of Hermopolis, came
privately to Hadrian that night and revealed what they believed had taken
place. Antinous had joined the river god, and had become the river god. They
showed Hadrian that the local people had already taken up the lamentation and exaltation
of Antinous, proclaiming that he had become a God, after their custom. Hadrian
took these sentiments to heart. The following day he consulted with his
advisors and with the Roman pontiffs of the court, and revealed his astonishing
plan.
On October 30th of the year 130 AD, Hadrian founded the Holy
City of Antinoopolis on the bank of the river where Antinous had drowned,
tracing out the major streets with his own rod in the sand. He then proceeded
to do the unthinkable, as Pontifex Maximus, High Priest of the Roman Religion,
he declared that Antinous was a God, that he had conquered death, and risen up
to dwell among the never-ending stars. Whoa that was the power of Love. Proclamations were sent out to ever
corner of the world, inaugurating the religion of the New God Antinous.
Other Greek cities began to establish their own cults and
festivals in honor of Antinous, led by local and senatorial leaders, who wished
to express their loyalty to Rome and to Hadrian. The Antinous cult became
popular among the common people, where it seems to have competed with
Christianity. Even today he is still worship as the Gay God the website:
http://www.antinopolis.org/religion.html
Comments
Post a Comment