Antinous was a young man of great beauty, known to be the favorite lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, after his tragic death he was venerated as a god and worshiped. In this article we will explain in detail everything about the life of Antinous, his cult and more.
Who was Antinous?
Antinous was a young man of great beauty, the favorite lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. After his tragic death, the lover was deified and he began to be worshiped. Throughout his life many portraits of his person were made, which are still valid today. From the Renaissance to the present, Antinous has been an image used as the representation of art, especially to make sculptures, and his enigmatic figure has captured the attention of many artists.
His life
Despite the fact that Antinous is a very little known character, his importance does not lie so much in the events of his life as in his later exaltation, of which numerous testimonies have been presented up to the present day. In the same way, in Antiquity the scarce data that were had about his person were intertwined with legends.
The fascination that surrounds Antinous is based to a large extent on the relationship he had with the Emperor Hadrian, since many of the works of art made were based on this union. The personality found in the sparse background of these data and works of art has not been able to be reconstructed through historical research.
However, it is known that Antinous was born in Bitini-Claudiopolis, a city in the Bithynia region, in northwestern Asia Minor, between the years 110 and 115. The Emperor Hadrian (also known as "Traveling Emperor") was impressed by the beauty of this young man when meeting him on one of his trips. Today it cannot be specified whether the first meeting between these two men occurred during Hadrian's first stay in Bithynia, in 121, or in 123/124, however, Antinous was at the Emperor's side from their meeting until his death.
In all his life, the ideal that the Emperor most aspired to was to have the life of a Greek. According to the vision that the same inhabitants of the Roman town had, Greek life was linked to pederasty, where a man adopts a child as his own in all the roles of his life. On the other hand, the Christian tradition and the modern interpretation of pedophilia reduces it only to the sexual component. In the same way, the displeasure that the Emperor had for his marriage to Vibia Sabina is known.
In general, there is not much information about the type of relationship between Hadrian and Antinous. The poet Pancrates of Alexandria, a contemporary of Hadrian, spoke of an event that took place in the Libyan desert. According to this, the Emperor killed a lion with a javelin shortly before he attacked Antinous.
In the place where the drops of the lion's blood were spilled, the "flower of Antinous" arose, the antinoeios (red lotus flower) .In spite of this, it is important to know for sure if this event is based on a fact that took place in reality, or if it is simply a later addition to beautify the life of the character.
In the same way, the known death of Antinous is combined with other legends. From what is precisely known is that the young man fell into the Nile River on October 30, 130 or shortly before, near the city of Besa, in Middle Egypt, and drowned, while Hadrian watched him. Dio Cassius and Aurelius Victor, who wrote at a much later date, state that the circumstances of Antinous's death were unclear.
According to the facts collected by various historians, Antinous's death was a mere accident. There is another version where the young man sacrifices his life to save the emperor, in this way through sacrifice, he assured him a long and fortunate life. The young man knew after speaking with an astrologer that his suicide would give the emperor the possibility of continuing to live after the term that had been assigned to him by the fates.
On the other hand, the author of the biography of Hadrian in the Augustan History exposes the possibility that the suicide of Antinous was a way of escaping from sexual responsibilities with Adriano. Looking back, the hypothesis of an intrigue cannot be ruled out. palatial. Likewise, the Emperor Hadrian's wife should not have been too distressed by the death of her competitor.
Religious cult of Antinous
After the death of Antinous, he began to be worshiped as a divinity or, at least, as a hero. The cults for this young man were made especially in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, with a strong Greek imprint (in the western provinces of the empire it was also common to see this type of worship, although it was never so powerful).
From the Hellenistic period, the tradition of deifying some men after their death began. In addition to this, several Greek cities wanted to show their adoration to the Emperor who loved their culture. Antinous was associated or identified with gods such as Dionysus, while in Egypt, his identification with Osiris had a particular meaning.
Only death by drowning during the sacred rise of the Niloya meant an exaltation for the Egyptians: the God Osiris had also drowned in the Nile, according to his mythology, for which the consecration of the young man as "Osiris-Antinous" u " Osirantínoo ”was not considered a surprise to the people. After his deification as God, the young man could receive prayers and heal the sick.
In the same sense, in other cities of the Empire, his cult began some time after the death of Antinous, with the erection of temples and the institution of priesthoods for his cult. As a tribute, musical and sports competitions were held, very similar to the Panhellenic Games, the Panateneas and the Ptolemaic Games, the Antinoeia.
In addition to Antinopolis and Antinous's hometown, Bitinio-Claudiópolis, the cities of Alexandria, in Egypt, and Mantinea, in the Greek region of Arcadia, as well as Lanuvium, in Lazio were centers of worship. It was in these cities that the Great Games of Antinous were held every four years. Inscriptions honoring this young man have been discovered throughout the Empire.
In many places statues were made and coins were minted with the effigy of the deceased. The philosopher Numenius of Apamea wrote the emperor a Consolatio and the poets Mesomedes, Athenaeus, and Pancrates wrote poems about Antinous. Possibly the greatest moment this young man was given was when they named a constellation after him.
The cult of Antinous reached its highest point in the years after his death (130) and that of his protector, Hadrian (138), the opinion of the Emperor Hadrian on this cult was never known. However, the devotion seems to have been partly authentic. In the eastern part of the Empire, Antinous was regarded as a hero because of his sacrifice to save the life of a friend and protector.
However, early Christian authors viewed his death in a very different way. They did not speak about his supposed sacrificial death or the mysterious circumstances of his death, but they criticized him without removing the controversy. On the one hand, they saw him as a sad mythical god created by man, and on the other, they portrayed him as an ephebe loving the emperor, the object of his homosexual practices.
Antinous, especially for the Doctors of the Church of the fourth century, had become a symbol of Roman moral corruption and the irrationality of its polytheism. Despite this, over the years, other authors hailed his sacrifice and even considered it an image of the redemptive death of Jesus Christ.
Antinous in art
Although it was unusual for people who were not part of the royal family to venerate themselves in such a way, there are still numerous portraits of Antinous. This is incredible, since his cult remained at its peak only during the few years that mediated between his death and that of Hadrian (130-138).
It is not known if Antinous was portrayed during his lifetime, but the important thing is that these images were kept many years after his death. On the other hand, nowadays only the sculptures that make up 100 portraits of Antinous are valid, to which must be added some 250 representations in coins and, in addition, of his appearances in minor works of art.
Although the young man did not hold a public office and therefore could only be considered an individual, his portraits do not have the characteristics of private portraits. In addition to their high number, his works are very diverse in terms of their iconography. Parallels can only be found in Roman imperial portraits. The various portraits in both sculpture and numismatics have some aspects of imperial propaganda.
Coins
Starting in the year 133/134, coins with the portrait of Antinous were minted in various cities of the Greek East. In the western part of the Empire, and even in the capital, Rome, on the other hand they do not have coins in which the young Bitynian appears. In the same way, the coins can be dated precisely, since when they are made in Egypt, the local date appears, which were minted the same year as the death of the Emperor (138).
In this sense, it can be affirmed that the coins minted with the face of Antinous were made in a maximum period of five years. This shows once again the great pain that Hadrian must have felt, or the veneration for the young man in the East, since 250 different coins were minted in such a short time. In general, the obverse were reserved for the emperor, members of the imperial family or divinities, Antinous of was an exception justified by his apotheosis.
The minted coins of Antinous had various centers, among which mention can be made of Arcadia, in Greece, Bithynia, in Asia Minor, and Alexandria, in Egypt. Similarly, high quality coins were issued in Smyrna. These coins were mainly made of bronze and can be divided into three types.
In the first place, there were large coins with duly worked faces, which have almost the appearance of medals. The second type corresponds to small and ordinary coins. And the last type is about smaller size and inferior quality coins. These coins generally featured the head or bust of Antinous on their obverse.
In their inscription, he is described as a hero or as a god. The coins of Alexandria and Tarsus do not have this inscription, but they indicate the divine title of the character by means of a HemHem crown or a star, symbol of the divine nature.
The uniformity of the obverse contrasts with the greater iconographic variety of the reverse. On the other hand, the coins made in Kyme, in Asia Minor, appear Athena Promacos on the back side and in those made in Tarsus, Dionysus mounted on a panther, a single panther or the local river god Cidno.
In Nicopolis you can see the view of some buildings and the gates of the city or a bull, this animal is also found in the minting of the Mytilene coins. In Arcadia the bull is exhibited on the backs, and in Delphi a tripod. There are very few references to Antinous. In his hometown he is shown next to the running ox, characterized as Antinous-Hermes and in Tarsus he appears as Dionysus-Osiris.
Likewise, these coins should have attracted the benevolence of the emperor, ensuring the loyalty of the cities. The founders of cities are usually shown on the coins minted in them, which could signify a propaganda intention. However, lead tesserae were also minted.
In ancient times, coins of the first type explained, similar to medallions, were appreciated. At the same time, it is known that they were reused in antiquity as sundials or hand mirrors. They were also used as gambling token coins, which is recognizable by their heavily worn backs.
There are conservations of mints in clay coins. These terracotta applications were used well as votive tables or as ornaments for wooden sarcophagi. Today these types of coins are appreciated by collectors. Forgeries made in the Renaissance, called Paduans, are also known.
Sculptures
The images of Antinous were figures to be imitated by the portraits of young characters during the second century. Many of the sculptures that were made throughout this century were based on the figure of Antinous. This is one of the reasons why it is not possible to identify with certainty which were the young man's.
These sculptures are characterized by their soft, somewhat rounded features. The lips are thick but the mouth is not large. The nose is very straight, and the eyebrows are curved. The look is absent, somewhat melancholic. The main attraction is the curlers falling at the nape of the neck.
At first glance they seem to be chaotic, but when you look at them in detail you can see that they follow a specific order. According to the treatment that is given to the hair, you can easily differentiate two different styles, the so-called Mondragone type, and the Egyptian type.
Although the faces of the statues resemble each other, the bodies on the other hand were very varied. There is the idea that the first prototype in which other works were derived was on a statue of the severe style of the first stage of Greek classicism, it is likely that this specimen was the statue of Apollo of the Tiber.
From the classic model they took various postures such as the upright pose, the turn of the head, and the proportions, especially the torso. However, the models have certain elements that were common in Hadrian's time. The shapes are wider and more rounded, the frontality is very accentuated and the torso is completely erect. In this way, the portraits made more closely resemble the classicist models of sculpture from Hadrian's time.
The fusion between classicism and sculpture from Hadrian's time can be noted, as an attempt is made to combine the ideal of youthful beauty in the classicist portrait with naturalistic details. Whereas Greek artists of the classical period did not produce true portraits, but idealized images, in this way, these details were more accurate with the image of the deceased.
Literature
It must be taken into account that the relationship between Antinous and Hadrian not only falls into ancient art and its recreation and new interpretation. Although the interest of this character has been manifested in literature, it was quite late since it only began in the 19th century, there are several authors who have sought to portray Antinous in their works.
Among which, mention can be made of the Belgian writer Marguerite Yourcenar, author of the famous historical novel Memories of Hadrian (1951) in which at the end of her life, she talks about the life of the Emperor, among many other memories, and the intense love he felt for Antinous and his tragic death.
Also, other novels where the character of Antinous appears are: Antinous. Historischer Roman aus der römischen Kaiserzeit (1880), by George Taylor, Antinous, des Kaisers Liebling. Ein Seelengemälde aus dem Alterthume (1888), by Oscar Linkes, Der Kaiser (1890) by the German Egyptologist Georg Ebers, Antinous oder die Reise eines Kaisers (1955), by Ernst Sommers, and Antinous, Geliebter! Ein Schicksalsjahr für Kaiser Hadrian, by Ulrich Stöwer (1967).
TV
In 2016 at the beginning of the month of greatest, the Italian chain RAI aired a documentary about the strange circumstances in which Adriano's favorite lover died. Cristoforo Gorno exposes various theories about the tragic accident on the Nile cruise ship: accident, homicide or voluntary sacrifice.
Post reception
In parallel with the discovery of ancient art during the Renaissance there was also a rediscovery of Antinous. At the beginning the interest was only focused on its representation in art, and not on the person or the legend of the young Bitynian. For this rediscovery it was important that different works of art existed in the domains of sculpture and numismatics, right in the areas where the investigation of ancient art began.
In addition to this, it was soon discovered that the Antinous type represented a particularly classical sample of ancient sculpture. Over the years, some statues that actually sought to expose another divinity would come to be taken as portraits of Antinous.
