|
||||
|
||||
|
Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
|
||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||
Past Out by Liz Highleyman |
|
 |
|
| Who were Hadrian and Antinous? | |
|
by Liz Highleyman -
SGN Contributing Writer The devotion of the Roman emperor Hadrian for his young lover Antinous prompted the creation of a religious cult and inspired countless works of art and literature down through the centuries. Hadrian is thought to have been born in 76 A.D. near present-day Seville, Spain. His parents died when he was about 10, and he was placed under the guardianship of his father's cousin, Trajan, who became emperor in 98 A.D. Hadrian was sent to Rome to complete his education, where he took an interest in art, philosophy, athletics, and especially Greek culture. He joined the military as a teenager, and over the next several years rose through the ranks and held several mid-level political positions. Historians of the day remarked on Trajan's love of wine and boys, and there has been speculation that Trajan and Hadrian might have been lovers. Hadrian has also been romantically linked to Trajan's wife, Plotina, who was at least a close friend. Plotina arranged for Hadrian to marry one of Trajan's relatives, Sabina, who was barely in her teens while Hadrian was in his mid-20s. With a marriage based on social and political obligation, the two disliked each other and never had children. While Hadrian was serving as governor of Syria in 117 A.D., Trajan purportedly adopted the younger man on his deathbed and named him as successor, though it is widely believed that Plotina forged the adoption papers. Even if he was not the legitimate heir to the throne, Hadrian commanded a large military force and none dared challenge his ascendance. As emperor, Hadrian realized that Rome could not maintain control over the far-flung territories conquered by his predecessor, and he made peace with rebellious nations. He focused on construction rather than war, building roads, aqueducts, theaters, and libraries. Hadrian enjoyed traveling and visited nearly every province of the empire. Around 123 A.D., while in Bithynia (now part of Turkey), he met Antinous, who would become the center of his life. Antinous was born in the city of Claudiopolis near the Black Sea, but the year of his birth and details about his heritage and upbringing are uncertain. Most historians think he would have been between 12 and 15, some 30 years Hadrian's junior. Antinous was dispatched to Rome as a page, where he attended the paedagogium, a finishing school for boys. By the time Hadrian and his entourage set out to survey the empire in 128 A.D., he and Antinous were inseparable. Yet while pederastic relationships between adult men and youths were considered an ideal in Greece, the degree of passion Hadrian openly displayed for Antinous was considered unseemly in Rome. The tour took them to Greece and back to Bithynia, then through Parthia (Iran), Syria, Arabia, and Judea. Around this time, Hadrian imposed an edict forbidding circumcision and began construction of a temple to Zeus on the site of the razed Jewish temple. When the Jews revolted, he embarked on a war that ended with their expulsion from the land. Nor was Christianity spared, as he built a temple to Venus on the site of the Holy Sepulchre (Jesus' tomb). Hadrian's entourage arrived in Egypt in 130 A.D., when the country was facing disaster because the Nile had failed to flood and fertilize croplands two years in a row. During a cruise in late October, Antinous drowned in the river under mysterious circumstances. He may have sacrificed himself to forestall the death of Hadrian as predicted by an oracle, or may have committed suicide, recognizing that his youth was nearing its end. Antinous' death sent Hadrian into deep despair and, according to the Historia Augusta, he "wept for him like a woman." Egyptian mythology held that a person must sacrifice himself to the Nile to ensure copious flooding, and when the floods returned soon after Antinous' death, he was hailed as a god. Hadrian declared the young man a deity and began formalizing a new religion complete with priests, rites, and statues and temples erected throughout the empire. On October 30, he started construction of the memorial city of Antinoopolis near where the boy drowned. In the years that followed, Hadrian became increasingly capricious and paranoid, and he began executing perceived political enemies. He spent most of his time at Tibur (now Tivoli), his villa outside Rome, where he penned an autobiography surrounded by statues of Antinous. After a protracted and painful illness, he died in 138 A.D. at the age of 62. The _Historia Augusta_ records that Hadrian was "hated by all," but today he is regarded as one of the "Five Good Emperors" of Rome. Even after Hadrian's death, the cult of Antinous - the last new Greek or Roman god - lived on and spread widely, competing with Christianity, which had its own man-god who sacrificed himself for humanity. It is difficult to say whether homophobia spurred the effort to wipe out the cult of Antinous, or if a desire to eradicate the rival religion intensified early Christian animosity toward homosexuality. As Christianity gained ascendancy, the cult of Antinous gradually died out after about 200 years, though a few adherents still promote Antinous as a fitting god for gay men. Liz Highleyman is a freelance writer and editor who has written widely on health, sexuality, and politics. She can be reached care of this publication or at PastOut@qsyndicate.com. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 post your own information on the Seattle Gay Blog |
copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2007