The Mysterious Life and Death of Antinous

The blog post for this week is written by Linda Kimmel, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. When she retired from full-time work as a data research manager in late 2020, she began studying about the ancient world, and serving as a docent at the University of Michigan’s Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. Linda had never heard of the Egypt Centre before the pandemic but has taken every course offered since she first noticed a tweet about the museum in the fall of 2020 and has been taking online courses there ever since. Linda is looking forward to another trip to Egypt this fall.

In the fourth session of the latest Egypt Centre class (Causing Their Names to Live Part II: The Lives of the Ancient Egyptians), we covered notable Egyptians from the Old Kingdom through the Roman Period. When our instructor, Ken Griffin, told us he would cover Antinous in the class, I knew that was who I wanted to write about. In addition to studying a lot about ancient Egypt, I have also taken numerous courses on ancient Rome and am particularly interested in the intersection of the two. In an odd coincidence, in a Roman art history course I am currently taking, we touched on art during Hadrian’s reign this week, and discussed several images of Antinous (fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Statue of Antinous (Vatican Museums)

Antinous is one of the more well-known individuals we have covered in the class. However, the ancient record lacks details about his life. It is known he was born in the city of Claudiopolis in the Roman province of Bithynia c. 111 CE (fig. 2). In 123 CE the Roman Emperor Hadrian was traveling through Bithynia, and was introduced to Antinous. The boy joined the royal entourage, perhaps with the intent of becoming an imperial page boy (Matyszak and Berry 2023). During their time together, Antinous became a favorite of the Emperor, and Hadrian may have provided him with a formal education. At some point, Antinous became Hadrian’s lover and accompanied the Emperor on his many travels.

Fig. 2: Map highlighting Bithynia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bithynia#/media/File:Roman_Empire_-_Bythinia_et_Pontus_(125_AD).svg)

While traveling with Hadrian in Egypt in 130 CE, Antinous died before his twentieth birthday under mysterious circumstances. We know he drowned in the Nile, but was it an accident, a suicide, or murder, either by Hadrian or someone close to Hadrian? Or was it perhaps a human sacrifice offered to the Nile? All that is known is that Hadrian was reported to be bereft after his death. So why should people interested in ancient Egypt care about Antinous? After all, he was born and lived most of his life outside Egypt. It is because of the ways in which Antinous was memorialized by Hadrian.

After his death, Hadrian had Antinous deified. While numerous Roman Emperors were deified (Julius Caesar, Augustus, Vespasian, to name just a few), it was highly unusual for a commoner to be deified in Rome (The Fitzwilliam Museum). The cult of Antinous spread throughout the Mediterranean until it was eventually abolished as Christianity became dominant in the fourth century CE.

Fig. 3: Statue of Antinous (Vatican Museums)

Vout (2005) suggests that more statues were created of Antinous than any other figure from ancient Rome, with the possible exceptions of Augustus and Hadrian. Some of the statues have been found with Antinous in deified form such as this full-figure statue, containing both Egyptian and Roman features (fig. 3). In this format, Antinous is typically shown wearing the nemes headcloth, which is normally associated with pharaohs (fig. 4). Ken noted that Antinous was frequently associated with Osiris, taking the form of Osiris-Antinous.

Fig. 4: Statue of Antinous in Munich (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Standing-striding_egyptianized_figure_of_Antinoo_-_%C3%84gyptisches_Museum_-_Munich_-_Germany_2017_%282%29.jpg)

 

But Antinous was also portrayed in classical Greek style, as a Greek or Roman god, including Apollo, Mercury (or the Greek god Hermes), and Dionysus, as in this bust in the Fitzwilliam Museum (fig. 5). In addition to all of the statues, Vout (2005) reports that coins were minted in honor of Antinous in over thirty cities of the Roman provinces.

Fig. 5: Bust of Antinous as Dionysus (Fitzwilliam Museum)

In an even more lavish display than all of the images of Antinous, Hadrian founded an Egyptian city, Antinoopolis, in memory of Antinous. Antinoopolis is located in Middle Egypt, close to Amarna and Beni Hasan. It is said the location is close to where Antinous died, although the exact site of his death is unknown. Ken noted that with the exception of an existing temple to Ramesses II, everything else was essentially leveled to create a new city. Texts report that close to a million people lived in the city at one time. Bagnall and Rathbone (2004) note that Antinoopolis was built with Greek architecture and special Greek privileges, with its population coming from other Greek cities throughout Egypt. Ryan (2016) calls Antinoopolis a Greek city within Egypt, and notes that at its centre, the city was dominated by a temple to Osiris-Antinous.

Fig. 6: Pincian Obelisk (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hadrianic_Obelisco_del_Pincio,_Rome,_Italy.jpg)

The inscription on the Pincian Obelisk created in memory of Antinous provides more details about Antinoopolis (fig. 6):

A city is named after him; to it belongs a population of Greeks and sons of Horus and children of Seth, resident in the cities of Egypt; they have come from their cities, and valuable lands have been given to them, to enrich their lives greatly. There is a temple there of this god – his name is Osiris Antinous, justified” – built from fair white stone. Sphinxes stand on its perimeter, and statues numerous columns like those once made by the ancients, and also like those made by the Greeks. All the gods and all the goddesses give him there the breath of life, and he breathes in of it, having rediscovered his youth.

 

The Pincian obelisk also contained an image of the deified Antinous receiving gifts from the god Thoth, another strong link to Egypt for this Bithynian youth (fig. 7).

Fig. 7: Antinous before Thoth (https://i0.wp.com/followinghadrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/obelisk91.jpg?ssl=1)

In addition to the mysteries surrounding his death, the burial site of Antinous also remains a mystery. Some say that he was mummified, but where he was buried is uncertain. Perhaps his tomb is at the site of Antinoopolis. Then again, it may have been at one of Hadrian’s villas.

While he was not Egyptian, the numerous images and texts about Antinous that were spread throughout the Mediterranean, have definitely caused his name to live and be remembered. Perhaps, with continuing excavations at Antinoopolis, even more will be discovered about Antinous. I know I will be keeping a watch out for new information.

 

Bibliography

Bagnall, Roger S. and Dominic W. Rathbone (Eds.) 2004. Egypt: From Alexander to the Copts. London: The British Museum Press.

Matyszak, Philip and Joanne Berry 2023. A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives. London: Thames & Hudson, Ltd.

Ryan, Garrett 2016. Placing Power: Greek Cities and Roman Governors in Western Asia Minor, 69-235 CE. Dissertation, University of Michigan (Greek and Roman History).

The Fitzwilliam Museum. Bust of Antinous as Dionysos, https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-our-collection/highlights/GR1001937 [accessed 04/10/24].

Vout, Caroline. 2005. Antinous, Archaeology and History. The Journal of Roman Studies 95, 80-96.