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Antinous

File:Bust_Antinous_Hermitage_GR-4220_n1.jpeg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also 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 ().

OverviewAI-generated

Antinous was a male citizen of Ancient Rome during the Roman Empire. Born in 111 in Bolu, he served as a favourite and was the unmarried partner of Hadrian. He died accidentally in 130 from drowning in the Nile at Antinoöpolis. His remains were buried at Hadrian's Villa. The name in his native language is recorded as Antinous or Ἀντίνοος.

Synthesized by Vinony from 28 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Last.fm, Crossref, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

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
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 sections
Contents
  • 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.

Gallery (28)