Bust of Antinous (detail) 117-138 A.D.Antinous (also Antinoüs or Antinoös) was believed to be born o
Bust of Antinous (detail) 117-138 A.D.Antinous (also Antinoüs or Antinoös) was believed to be born on the 27th day of November, c. 111 to a Greek family, in Claudiopolis (nowadays Bolu, Turkey), in the Roman province of Bithynia, which made him a Bithynian Greek. He became a favourite, or lover, of the Roman emperor Hadrian by 128. 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. 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. -- source link
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