Hadrian was a dedicated philhellene who admired Greek culture and did his best to be accepted and admired by the Greeks. He visited Greece three times as emperor (AD 124/5, 128/9 and 131/2), and he was especially fond of Athens. The philhellenic emperor did all he could to raise Athens to a special position in… Continue reading Exploring Hadrian’s Athens
In just a few hours I will be travelling to Greece in Hadrian's footsteps, retracing the journey he undertook in the province of Achaia in 124-125 AD. “Hardly any emperor ever traveled with such speed over so much territory” the Historia Augusta tells us. Surely Hadrian was the emperor who honored the provinces with his presence… Continue reading Following Hadrian in Achaia
This statue depicts Hadrian nude, in the guise of Mars, the god of war, using a well-known classical body type of the divinity; the Ares Borghese, attributed to the Greek sculptor Alcamenes. Hadrian was the first emperor to be represented in this manner. The statue shows characteristics of early versions of Hadrian's portrait type, indicating that… Continue reading Statue of Hadrian as Mars, Capitoline Museums
"Hymne À la Muse" by Atrium Musicae de Madrid & Gregorio Paniagua (Atrium Musicae was an early music ensemble from Madrid, Spain, founded in 1964) Mesomedes, a Greek lyric poet and composer of Cretan birth, was a freedman and the court musician of Hadrian. He wrote paens glorifying his patron and his policies, such as… Continue reading Music for Hadrian (part two)
Important Roman figures and emperors have frequently been depicted in popular culture, music, literature and the arts. Julius Caesar, Nero, and Caligula are certainly the most portrayed figures of Ancient Rome. But what about Hadrian? Although there have been a few films taking place in the time of Hadrian, there are only two representations of… Continue reading “Hadrian Visiting a Romano-British Pottery” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1884)
Read ⇒ Top 10 Sights along Hadrian's Wall --- Hadrian's Wall has long attracted hikers and history fans and is now the heart of an 84-mile (135 km) long National Trail through some of Britain's most beautiful countryside. Stretching across the country from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway on the… Continue reading Walking Hadrian’s Wall
It is one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. The temple of Hadrian was built before 138 A.D by P. Quintilius and was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 129 A.D. The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a… Continue reading Picture of the week: Curetes Street and the Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus (Turkey)
Phaselis was an ancient Greek and Roman city on the coast of Lycia, today situated 35km south of Antalya. Shaded by towering pine trees, its ruins lie scattered around three small, beautiful bays. Once a thriving port shipping timber and rose oil, its beauty is now admired by thousands of visitors each year. Phaselis was… Continue reading Hadrian goes to Phaselis – images from a Lycian harbour city
This naked statue of Hadrian with a small Nike at his feet was discovered in 1992 during the excavations of the stage building of the theatre at Perge, an ancient Greek city in Anatolia and the capital of Pamphylia. The statue was found broken in several pieces and was later restored to an almost complete… Continue reading Naked statue of Hadrian reworked in the late 3rd century, from Perge, Antalya Museum
