Antinous -also Antinoüs or Antinoös, Ancient Greek: Ἀντίνοος (27 November, c. 111 - before 30 October 130) was a Bithynian Greek youth and a favourite, or lover, of the Roman emperor Hadrian.
He was deified after his death, being worshiped in both the Greek East and Latin West, sometimes as a god (theos) and sometimes merely as a hero (heros).
Little is known of Antinous' life, although it is known that he was born in Claudiopolis (present day Bolu, Turkey), in the Roman province of Bithynia. He was probably introduced to Hadrian in 123, before being taken to Italy for a higher education.
He had become the favourite of Hadrian by 128, when he was taken on a tour of the Empire as part of Hadrian's personal retinue. Antinous accompanied Hadrian during his attendance of the annual Eleusinian Mysteries in Athens, and was with him when he killed the Marousian lion in Libya.
In October 130, as they were part of a flotilla going along the Nile, Antinous died amid mysterious circumstances. Various suggestions have been put forward for how he died, ranging from an accidental drowning to an intentional human sacrifice or suicide.
Following his death, Hadrian deified Antinous and founded an organised cult devoted to his worship that spread throughout the Empire.
Hadrian founded the city of Antinopolis close to Antinous's place of death, which became a cultic centre for the worship of Osiris-Antinous.
Hadrian also founded games in commemoration of Antinous to take place in both Antinopolis and Athens, with Antinous becoming a symbol of Hadrian's dreams of pan-Hellenism.
Antinous became associated with homosexuality in Western culture, appearing in the work of Oscar Wilde and Fernando Pessoa.
- In Roman sculpture
Hadrian "turned to [Greek sculptors] to perpetuate the melancholy beauty, diffident manner, and lithe and sensuous frame of his boyfriend Antinous", creating in the process what has been described as "the last independent creation of Greco-Roman art".
It is traditionally assumed that they were all produced between Antinous' death in 130 and that of Hadrian in 138, on the grounds that no-one else would be interested in commissioning them.
The assumption is that official models were sent out to provincial workshops all over the empire to be copied, with local variations permitted.
It has been asserted that many of these sculptures "share distinctive features - a broad, swelling chest, a head of tousled curls, a downcast gaze - that allow them to be instantly recognized".
By 2005, Classicist Caroline Vout could note that more images have been identified of Antinous than of any other figure in classical antiquity with the exceptions of Augustus and Hadrian. She also asserted that the Classical study of these Antinous images was particularly important because of his "rare mix" of "biographical mystery and overwhelming physical presence".
Lambert believed that the sculptures of Antinous "remain without doubt one of the most elevated and ideal monuments to pederastic love of the whole ancient world", also describing them as "the final great creation of classical art".
There are also statues in many archaeological museums in Greece including the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the archaeological museums of Patras, Chalkis and Delphi.
Although these may well be idealised images, they demonstrate what all contemporary writers described as Antinous's extraordinary beauty.
Although many of the sculptures are instantly recognizable, some offer significant variation in terms of the suppleness and sensuality of the pose and features versus the rigidity and typical masculinity.
In 1998 monumental remains were discovered at Hadrian's Villa that archaeologists claimed were from the tomb of Antinous, or a temple to him, though this has been challenged both because of the inconclusive nature of the archaeological remains and the overlooking of patristic sources (Epiphanius, Clement of Alexandria) indicating that Antinous was buried at his temple in Antinopolis, the Egyptian city founded in his honor. | © Wikipedia
Antinoo🎨 -ma anche Antinoüs o Antinoös, in greco antico: Αντίνοος - (Claudiopoli, 27 novembre 110 o 111 - Egitto, 30 ottobre 130 o poco prima) è stato un giovane greco originario della Bitinia, noto per la relazione sentimentale e amorosa avuta con l'imperatore romano Adriano, il quale lo divinizzò dopo la sua morte prematura avvenuta in circostanze alquanto misteriose.
Venne adorato sia nell'Oriente egizio sia nell'Occidente greco-latino, a volte come Theos, una vera e propria divinità, altre semplicemente come un Eroe mortale deificato.
Molto poco si sa della sua vita, anche se è noto che egli era nato a Claudiopoli (l'attuale Bolu), nella provincia romana di Bitinia in Asia Minore.
Fu probabilmente introdotto alla corte imperiale nel 123, poco prima di essere portato in Italia per il completamento della sua istruzione superiore.
Divenne il favorito nonché amante dell'imperatore a partire dal 128, anno in cui fece parte del seguito personale di Adriano durante il suo giro di ispezione della provincia d'Africa; accompagnò l'imperatore anche in Grecia durante la partecipazione di Adriano agli annuali Misteri eleusini svoltisi a Atene, e fu presente durante la caccia e l'uccisione del leone sacro in terra libica.
Alla fine del mese di ottobre dell'anno 130, mentre si trovava a bordo di una flottiglia che percorreva il Nilo, Antinoo morì cadendo in acqua in circostanze rimaste parzialmente oscure.
Varie ipotesi sono state avanzate a proposito: annegamento accidentale, suicidio, assassinio per gelosia, intenzionale sacrificio umano.
Dopo la sua morte, Adriano divinizzò Antinoo e fondò un culto organizzato dedicato alla sua persona, che si diffuse presto a macchia d'olio in tutto l'Impero; poi, sempre per commemorare il proprio diletto, fondò la città di Antinopoli, fatta sorgere vicino al luogo dove il giovinetto aveva trovato la sua fine terrena prematura e che divenne un centro di culto per l'adorazione del "dio Antinoo" in forma di Osiride.
Adriano istituì anche giochi in commemorazione del ragazzo, che si tenevano in contemporanea a Antinopoli e ad Atene, con Antinoo divenuto simbolo dei sogni panellenici dell'imperatore.
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