After touring the Peloponnese and visiting all the major cities (read here), Hadrian returned to Athens in late March, in time for the Great Dionysia. He presided over this annual Athenian religious festival dedicated to Dionysus (HA Hadr. 13.1), while wearing Greek attire (Dio 69.16.1), and funded its expenses. He also restored the Theatre of Dionysus… Continue reading Late March AD 125 – Hadrian returns to Athens and presides over the Great Dionysia (#Hadrian1900)
Eleven years had passed since Hadrian last visited Athens. During his stay there, in his mid-thirties, he became an Athenian citizen, enrolled in the tribe of Besa, and served as archon (IG II² 2024) before departing to join Trajan's Parthian campaign in the East. He may have visited several cities besides Athens, but we have no… Continue reading Autumn AD 124 – Hadrian arrives in Athens and attends the Eleusinian Mysteries (#Hadrian1900)
In the early year of AD 121, Pompeia Plotina, the greatly respected widow of Emperor Trajan, sent Hadrian a letter asking him to help the Epicurean school in Athens resolve an issue regarding the rights of succession. Under Roman law, the head of the school was required to appoint a new leader from among Roman… Continue reading Early AD 121 – Plotina writes to Hadrian on behalf of the Epicurean school in Athens (#Hadrian1900)
Since November of 2017, the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Italian Archaeological School at Athens have been hosting a temporary exhibition called Hadrian and Athens. Conversing with an Ideal World in Gallery 31a of the Sculpture Collection. The exhibition marks 1900 years since the beginning of Hadrian's principate in August AD 117, an anniversary already celebrated in… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Athens. Conversing with an Ideal World’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (#Hadrian1900)
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)
2017 was a very special year for me as the year marked the 1900th anniversary of the accession of Hadrian to the imperial throne and the start of my Hadrian 1900 project. I travelled to 9 countries, visited 57 new archaeological sites, 21 new archaeological museums and attended 4 exhibitions. Here’s an overview of my… Continue reading My 2017 travel round-up
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
Colossal portrait head of the emperor Hadrian, made of pentelic marble. It was found in Athens. The emperor wears a wreath of oak leaves that end above his forehead in a medallion representing an eagle. The holes in the hoop of the wreath were used to inlay golden leaves. Height 0,55 m. Source http://www.namuseum.gr/collections/sculpture/roman/roman08-en.html More… Continue reading Marble, colossal portrait head of the emperor Hadrian, found in Athens, AD 130-138, National Archaeological Museum of Athens
