The third part of our Valentine's Day special features some celebrity couples. Our first one goes way, way back to the Second Century for Emperor Hadrian and his lover Antinous. I believe this photo is from the British Museum, which helpfully put busts of them side by side.
Yes, those are both in the British Museum. I'm surprised I remember after the way Hadrian treated us. Today, he would have been hauled before the International Court of Justice at The Hague for crimes against humanity.
ReplyDeleteIt was not just the post Mediaeval world that had Classical Revivals. In Rome, there were successive Hellenist Revivals - as in 18th and 19th century Europe a man was not considered educated unless he had French, in Rome, you were a hayseed if you didn't have Greek. Arrian of Nicomedia's 2nd century Anabasis of Alexander ( Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις) was written in period Greek. Hadrian reigned from 117 to 138CE, and his beard was a deliberate affectation to appear as a Greek. He compared himself to Alexander the Great, despite the fact that Alexander was, in the fashion of his day, clean shaven.
Homosexual relations in Ancient Rome - before the advent of Christianity - were known as the "Greek vice" and were viewed idiosyncratically compared with many other ancient cultures. Such relations were primarily based on social status, the higher cast man being what we today would call the "top" with the lower status partner being the "bottom". Relations of this sort were indeed publicly tolerated as was the case with Hadrian and Antinous.
The first time I saw that bust of Hadrian in London in 1988, I instantly developed a crush on him. Since then I have visited his wall on the Scottish border as well as his tomb and villa in Italy, plus collected quite a collection of photos of statues and busts of him. I was surprised to hear that he mistreated the Britons, given that he is considered one of the Five Good Emperors.
DeleteI was in fact referring to the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-136CE. According to Cassius Dio, 580,000 Jews perished in the war and many more died of hunger and disease or were taken into slavery. Hadrian renamed Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina and erected a temple of Jupiter on the Temple Mount. He then ordered his legions to sow the soil with salt. He renamed the Provincia Iudaea, Syria Palestina. He is responsible for the exile. Many thought Shimon Bar Kochba (Simon the Star) to be the Messiah but he was finally defeated. A statue of him stands today on the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem. That Hadrian is regarded as one of the Five Good Emperors only demonstrates the partiality of modern scholarship. But then, victors always write history.
DeleteWhat a great looking duo! And talk about your Power Couple.
ReplyDeleteOne was Emperor of the World and the other an actual god
(although unfortunately he had to die first).
Hadrian was one of several very good looking Emperors. I did a series based on them on my old tumblr. Maybe I should do another here.
DeleteMan kann seehen warum Antinous der Favorit war. Die Alten waren in Sachen Sex nicht so ruckstandig. Das antike Rom und Athen hatten eine homosexuelle Zivilisation und Kultur.
ReplyDelete-austriche
It was millennia before Western culture even approached the level of acceptance the Greeks and Romans had for gays.
Deletesa avanserte var deres samfunn og sivilisasjon. deres homofile kultur gjenspeiles i krater og vaser i hellas og mosaikkene i roma, bilder sa eksplisitte at de er under restiksjoner i dag. seksuell frihet og kunstnerisk frihet baner vei for et frit samfunn og sivilisasjon. *osloson
ReplyDeleteThe same Romans who were so advanced in architecture, engineering, art, and their approach to homosexuality also had a sport where men sometimes fought to the death, enslaved millions of people, and were hell bent on conquering other cultures for several centuries. Nothing is ever black and white.
DeleteThe ancient Greeks and Romans had warrior cultures that pretty much led to the acceptance of homosexuality out of necessity. What man could be denied his carnal needs, especially when they were constantly at war. A lot more goes on in wartimes than people will admit....:)
ReplyDeleteTrue.
DeleteStarodavna Dakija, Illirija in Panonija bi to dvoje dobro poznale.
ReplyDelete