After sailing along the southern Black Sea coast, possibly visiting the Pontic towns of Amisus, Sinope and Amastris (see here), Hadrian is thought to have spent the winter of 123/4 in Nicomedia or possibly Byzantium. Nicomedia was the capital of the dual province of Pontus et Bithynia, located in what is now Izmit, northern Turkey.… Continue reading Early AD 124 – Hadrian spends the winter in Nicomedia, tours Bithynia and “meets” Antinous (#Hadrian1900)
Antinous has attracted renewed fascination since the High Renaissance. In the early 1500s, several portraits of the 'boy-favourite' were known in Rome, and numerous works of art were modelled on him. A clear example of the appeal of Antinous from this time may be seen in Lorenzetto's statue of Jonah in the Chuch of Santa… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Antinous: Boy made God’ at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (UK)
In the context of "The Unseen Museum" rotating-object programme and the temporary exhibition "Hadrian and Athens Conversing with an Ideal World", currently on display in Gallery 31a of the Sculpture Collection, the Archaeological Museum of Athens brought to light two unique artefacts from its storerooms. Fifteen selected antiquities had already been displayed, and this time,… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Antinous: an encounter, 19 centuries later’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (#Hadrian1900)
An international team, including members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Palazzo Altemps Museum in Rome and the University of Chicago, used new technologies to make an incredible discovery about two portraits of Antinous. The years of research that led to this discovery were the focus of an exhibition titled "A Portrait of Antinous,… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘A Portrait of Antinous, in Two Parts’ in Rome
The Natalis Antinoi, which commemorated the birthday of Antinous, was celebrated on November 27. While the exact year of his birth is uncertain, estimated to be around AD 110 to 112, an inscription discovered in numerous fragments at Lanuvio in Italy confirms that his birth date falls on the fifth day before the Kalends of December… Continue reading The Natalis Antinoi and the collegium of Diana and Antinous in Lanuvium
The Arch of Constantine, dedicated on 25 July AD 315, stands in Rome between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill at what was once the beginning of the Via Triumphalis. Its attic inscription commemorates Constantine's victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on 28 October AD 312 over the tyrant Maxentius who had ruled… Continue reading The Hadrianic Tondi on the Arch of Constantine
The Forum Antique de Bavay, located in northern France, is currently hosting a small exhibition devoted to the book Mémoires d'Hadrien (Memoirs of Hadrian), a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of Hadrian. The exhibition sheds light on the genesis of Mémoires d'Hadrien and presents archaeological objects and ancient texts. It provides… Continue reading Exhibition: “Marguerite Yourcenar and Hadrian” in Bavay (France)
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble head of Antinous, one of the ten marble images of Antinous found there. This portrait of Antinous is conserved in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome. It is related to a coin type minted in the city of Adramyttium in Mysia (modern Edremit, Turkey) by… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble head of Antinous
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble head of Antinous depicted as the god Dionysos, the closest Greek equivalent to the Egyptian god Osiris. It was unearthed in 1769 during excavations undertaken by the art dealer and archaeologist Gavin Hamilton, who secured it for Lord Lansdowne. The latter was an avid collector of… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: The Lansdowne Antinous
An over-life-size Parian marble statue of Antinous restored as Ganymede can be admired at the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight on the Wirral (near Liverpool, UK). Rediscovered in the late 18th century during a revival of interest in the Classical World, the statue of Antinous was purchased in Italy in 1796 by Thomas… Continue reading Statue of Antinous restored as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight (UK)
