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Temple To Gay Love Discovered
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 15, 2002
12:03 a.m. ET/+5GMT/-3PT
(Rome) The romance between the Emperor Hadrian and former slave boy Antinous is one of the world's greatest love stories but it also contains one of the ancient world's greatest mysteries.
Hadrian, who lived from 76-138 AD, is considered one of Rome's greatest emperors. Antinous by all accounts was beautiful and said to have had great intelligence and a sharp wit. He was also considered a great hunter and athlete.
Precisely what happened to Antinous in October of 130 is unknown. The Historia Augusta reports, "[Hadrian] lost his Antinous along the Nile." Hadrian simply wrote, "He fell into the Nile." That this is all the extant written comment from the Emperor on the subject is made all the more frustrating by the fact that the word he used for "fell" can imply either an accident fall or a deliberate one.
Whether the Greek beauty fell into the water, committed suicide or was pushed in has been hotly debated for centuries. He was despised by the emperor's jealous aides, but it could never be proven that he was murdered. Other scholars claim Antinous committed suicide before old age destroyed his looks. He was 21.
Nevertheless Hadrian was grief stricken and went into a deep depression from which he never emerged. He immediately declared Antinous a god and founded the city of Antinopolis in Egypt on the spot where the youth's body was found. He commissioned statues of Antinous to be erected throughout the empire. But, no major memorial has ever been found in Italy, a fact that has mystified scholars.
Now, a massive temple to the youth has been uncovered during new excavations at Hadrian's sprawling villa, about 30 km east of Rome.
Zaccaria Mari, the head archaeologist on the site said archaeologists now have dug up parts of the walls of the monumental temple that dates to 134 AD, shortly after Antinous' death, and made a couple of exploratory excavations.
"We found a series of fountains and planters for interior gardens, niches for statues and very important marble fragments, some with Egyptian hieroglyphics," Mari said.
"I'm sure this discovery will cause a lot of controversy, because it flies in the face of previously accepted theories, but only further excavations will give all of the answers."
©365Gay.com Ltd® 2002
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Just thought you'll find it interesting 
Gil
Searching for the light at the end of the bed...
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Thanks for sharing this, Gil! I love hearing about historical proof that "people like us" have always and will always exist. May be the romantic in me.
And what is it with those old Emperor dudes, anyhow? I also remember a terrific novel about Alexander the Great and his (also former slave) lover, who was castrated as a young man. (Youch! Talk about love overcoming adversity!)
Title of the book was "The Persian Boy". I think the author was Mary Renault, who wrote lots of other books about historical gay men. I recommend it highly, if it's still in print.
The Persian boy (named Bagoas, I seem to recall) was thus Iraqi, I guess. But Muslims hadn't been invented yet. Nor Christians either for that matter... And Alexander's lover, like Hadrian's, also died in Egypt. Maybe poisoned in political power-plays, maybe just got a disease and was unlucky.
Egypt must have been bad luck for lovers. Sort of like now, I gather...they still arrest gay men there, right?
Alexander was reportedly depressed and inconsolable for the rest of his own short life. He died at 36, I think, after conquering most of the known world at the time, even took a stab at invading India. Grief with an aggressive attitude, huh?
Now I'm nattering, so I'll stop. But I WAS a history major in University. Lots of untapped trivia in my Geezer head yet to this day!
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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Steve
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Really getting into it |
Location: London, England
Registered: November 2006
Messages: 465
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Gil, I've brought you back the bronzed Greek lad that you asked for and I'll send it to you in due course (LOL). In the mean time maybe you'd like to see a coupla pics of Antinous too.
http://www.ljudmila.org/sgs/antinous.jpg
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-41909/antinous.jpg
Bit too 'feminine' for my taste - and sorry - I wasn't able to find close-ups of the important parts. You'll have to use your imagination from what can be seen.
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Steve
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Really getting into it |
Location: London, England
Registered: November 2006
Messages: 465
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Hi David!
Mary Renault was herself a lesbian. There is a terrific novel that she wrote about a three-man gay triangle set during the 2nd world war. Absolutely fantastic. It's called "The Charioteer".
Bagoas was Persian, therefore he would come under the ban of the Ayatollas today, not the Iraqi Moslems. Alexander's lover, Hephaistion, died in Babylon (Iraq) if I am not mistaken - probably from the same malaria that carried off Alexander himself (aged 33). If you want to read the full Mary Renault "Alexander" series they are (in historical chronological order): Fire from Heaven, The Persian Boy, Funeral Games. There is also "The Nature of Alexander".
Another Renault book that I have thoroughly enjoyed is "The Last of the Wine" about a young gay couple in Athens during the Peloponesian War - includes historical characters as well such as Socrates, Alcibiades, Xenophon, Plato... Really wonderful reading.
Aren't you sorry I've come back from vacation? LOL
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Re: Temple To Gay Love Discovered 
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