File:Bust_Antinous_Hermitage_GR-4220_n1.jpeg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Antinous
Sign in to saveAlso known as Antinoös, Antinoos, Ἀντίνοος, Antinoüs
Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshipped in both the Greek East and Latin West, sometimes as a god () and sometimes merely as a hero ().
Key facts
- Person.name
- Antinous
- Person.image
- Bust Antinous Hermitage GR-4220 n1.jpeg
- Person.image_size
- 235
- Person.caption
- Bust of Antinous-Dionysus (Hermitage Museum)
- Person.birth_place
- Bithynium, Bithynia, Roman Empire
- Person.death_date
- (aged 18–19)
- Person.death_place
- River Nile, Heliopolis, Roman Egypt
- Person.resting_place
- Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Lazio, Italy
- Person.partner
- Hadrian
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Ancient Rome
- Place of birth
- Bolu
- Place of death
- Antinoöpolis
- Occupation
- favourite
- Image
- Bust Antinous Hermitage GR-4220 n1.jpeg
Show 12 more facts
- cause of death
- drowning
- Commons category
- Antinous
- date of birth
- 0111-00-00
- date of death
- 0130-10-00
- manner of death
- accidental death
- Commons gallery
- Antinous
- time period
- Roman Empire
- described by source
- Pauly–Wissowa
- different from
- Antinous son of Eupeithes
- unmarried partner
- Hadrian
- name in native language
- Ἀντίνοος
- place of burial
- Hadrian's Villa
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
22 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Birth and childhood
- Status
- Life with Hadrian
- Death
- Deification and the cult of Antinous
- Antinoöpolis
- The cult's spread
- Condemnation and decline
- In Roman sculpture
- List
- Age
- Cultural references
- Historiography
- See also
- References
- Notes
- Footnotes
- Bibliography
- Ancient literary sources
- Further reading
- External links
Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshipped in both the Greek East and Latin West, sometimes as a god () and sometimes merely as a hero ().
Little is known of Antinous's life, although it is known that he was born in Claudiopolis (present day Bolu, Turkey), in the Roman province of Bithynia et Pontus. 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 Roman 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, an event highly publicised by the Emperor. 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Antinous” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.