One of the Greatest Love Stories of Ancient Rome
By: The Unlikely Techie
Tags: Lovestory, Love, Queer, Ancient History, History

One of the Greatest Love Stories of Ancient Rome

How Hadrian made his lover a god

Emperor Hadrian with the bust of his lover Antinous in the foreground. Photo by Jim Kuhn (CC BY-SA 4.0).

When thinking about love stories in Ancient Rome, the first story that comes to mind is the love story of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. This great love story was repeatedly told throughout history, even Shakespeare wrote a play about it. However, there was another great love story from the Roman Empire’s imperial period which has not been forgotten. It is about an endless love between two men: Hadrian and Antinous.

Hadrian was born on January 24th, 76, either in near present-day Seville or Rome. During his rule, his goal was to further strengthen and unite the Roman Empire by investing a lot into infrastructure and restraining from further military actions, thus promoting prosperity throughout the vast Empire. He concentrated military efforts in defending the Roman Empire by building fortifications such as the world-famous Hadrian’s Wall.

A tolerated love

To strengthen the bond of the different regions of the Empire with Rome, Hadrian traveled extensively. However, he did not travel alone. Upon meeting the young athletic and extremely handsome Antinous, the two were inseparable. His companion and boyfriend fit perfectly into Hadrian’s love for the Greek way of life and culture. The two began a relationship with the emperor being totally smitten, displaying “an obsessive craving for his presence” (Town&Country).

Given the circumstances, one could think that this must have been viewed as a scandalous affair. However, this was only partly true. Just like it was custom in Ancient Greece, Roman nobles also had young male lovers. For the relationship to not be considered scandalous, specific guidelines had to be followed: the older, more powerful man always had to be “on top,” and no feelings between the lovers were allowed. Antinous was a young Greek slave, his love affair with the emperor was as per the guidelines, and therefore, the relationship was tolerated by Hadrian’s peers, right?

Well, not really. Since Hadrian’s marriage to Vibia Sabina remained childless, he did not entirely fulfill his marital duties. This could have proven devastating for the succession. Additionally, there was the fact that the two men shared real and genuine feelings. According to historian Royston Lambert, Antinous was “the one person who seems to have connected most profoundly with Hadrian.” It is also known that Hadrian liked to write erotic poems and autobiographies about his young lovers, so it must be assumed that he also bestowed this honor upon the young Antinous.

The longer and the more often the two of them traveled together, the more rumors the two attracted. Not least to avoid these problems, Hadrian decided to leave Rome and start traveling again, even though he was suffering from an unknown illness. Thus, he could turn his back on the rumor mill of Rome and give himself entirely to his lover. On their travels together, the two of them indulged in their love of hunting, and, according to accounts, Hadrian saved his lover’s life on one of the hunting expeditions. This love story lasted for years, and Hadrian took his lover to state dinners and royal ceremonies until it ended abruptly.

The unexplained death of Antinous

While the two were sailing on the Nile, a severe incident occurred: for reasons unknown, Antinous fell into the river and drowned. There are several theories about his untimely death. Although an accident cannot be excluded, other theories are conceivable and perhaps even more comprehensible. The idea that Antinous sacrificed himself to heal Hadrian’s unknown illness seems far-fetched. It is also unlikely that Antinous drowned himself to not endanger his beloved’s reputation as a great emperor. From today’s perspective, it is more likely that Antinous fell victim to an insidious conspiracy concocted by the court’s highest circles.

The cult of the deceased and the legacy of the powerful

To say Hadrian’s reaction to the death of his boyfriend was heart-broken wouldn’t give all of his efforts for the world to remember his real love credit. After reportedly breaking down and weeping publicly, he ordered a city to be built in his honor and named a star after his great love. But that is not all! To really pay tribute to his lover, Hadrian made him a god.

Antinous’s death in the Nile played a central role in the mythology Hadrian built around his godliness. In Egyptian mythology, his death could also mean that the river god had taken him and made him a deity. Because many Egyptians already saw the young man as a deity without Hadrian having to proclaim this, a cult could be built up and cultivated around him. Hadrian used this fact to declare his Antinous a god in October 130. This quickly met with approval, and in many places, temples were built in his honor. It is also said that Hadrian commissioned up to 2000 statues.

The statues of Antinous all share similar features, making them relatively easy to identify. As the Roman Empire moved away from paganism and towards Christianity, worshiping deities was forbidden. Many of the statues were destroyed over the centuries that followed. Still, about eighty sculptures have survived to this day, showing Antinous with a swollen chest, a slightly lowered face, and fabulous Greek curls. It was Hadrian’s love for him and his features that have surpassed the test of time.

Thanks to this great love, today, we still know who Antinous was. Moreover, we still remember what they had: one of the greatest loves of the Ancient world.