Antinous was a boy-favourite of the Emperor Hadrian who received extraordinary veneration. He held no official position, but more than eighty-five marble busts and statues of him survive today. He was part of the imperial entourage on a tour of Egypt when he drowned in the Nile in ad 130. Hadrian founded a city there named Antinoopolis after him, and other cities around the Empire established cults honouring him as a hero or god. Fascination with Antinous’s image and story – as retold by ancient authors – has reached into the modern world. His portraits have represented for many, a seductive ideal of perfect male beauty. This book aims to explore Antinous’s surprising archaeology. It asks whether the number and range of his portraits were simply the result of a personal relationship with the Emperor or whether the cult of this boy made god had different roots and another significance.
ANTINOUS BOY MADE GOD | R.R.R. SMITH with Federica Gigante, Julia Lenaghan and Milena Melfi
Antinous: boy made god
Antinous boy made god R.R.R. Smith with Federica Gigante, Julia Lenaghan and Milena Melfi