ANTINOUS THE GOOD

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Antinous (Antinoos) [Greek: ] - (born 110 or 111 CE, died 130 CE) Inscriptions from antiquity called him "Antinous the Good" ( , , O Kalos Antinoos, kalos in the sense of "beautiful and good"; also , , O Agathos Antinoos, agathos meaning 'good' ).[1] His parentage is uncertain. Antinous was born in Claudiopolis (modern Bolu or Boli) from the ancient Roman province of Bithynia (north-central modern Turkey), a place of Thracian [2] culture. Most of the details of his life are uncertain and are often the subject of dispute. He is thought to have been a youth of extraordinary character [3] who was the favorite of the emperor Hadrian, one of the so-called Five Good Emperors. The two traveled together during Hadrian's journeying, and it is almost certain that they were both initiated at Eleusis and likely into other Mysteries as well. The cult that arose around Antinous is connected with his death at a very tender age, perhaps twenty years old. There are various stories, conflicting stories, about the manner of his passing. He was found dead in Egypt in the river Nile. Some say that he accidentally drowned. Critics claimed he committed suicide or was offered in sacrifice to benefit Hadrian's health. Perhaps the most compelling myth concerning the death of Antinous is a follows. While visiting Egypt, Antinous inquired of a soothsayer whether Hadrian would live to see old age. The augur replied that unless someone were to give up his life for Hadrian, the emperor would die prematurely. Antinous, deeply devoted to Hadrian, walked into the river Nile and drowned. [4] For his great arte Antinous was deified by the Gods.

The Egyptian priests believed that one who loses his life to the Nile becomes a God. In Mystery Religion, it is said that the soul migrates, what is called palingenesa or reincarnation. From this perspective, there is really only one death, the final death. Therefore, the death of Antinous on the Nile was his last death; he had achieved a great victory: the end of life as a mortal and the beginning of his new life as a God. It is said that Hadrian was distraught at the loss of Antinoos. A popular cult arose, encouraged by the emperor, to worship Antinous, that extended throughout the Greek and Roman world.[5] At the place where Antinous was deified, Hadrian set up a city, Antinoopolis (Greek: , ; modern Sheikh 'Ibada), where a Greco-Egyptian form of worship was set up in his honor. It is likely here that the Obelisk of Antinous was originally installed (later it was moved to Rome) and on it's southern face, in hieroglyphics it is written: "All the Gods and Goddesses will give him the breath of life, so that he breathes, eternally rejuvenated."[21]

Antinous is the divine ephebos, a Hero (as can be found on many of the coins minted in his honor), a Daemon, and a God. "He goes from his city to many temples in the whole country and he hears the requests of those who pray to him, and he heals the needy ill by sending them a dream."[22] He is a Kouros [6] in the tradition of Kleovis and Viton (Cleobis and Bito). [7] "Through sacrificial goodness he had conquered death and now he offered similar salvation, protection and good works to all men and fertility to their crops and animals." [8] Antinous is seen as a chthonic God and a God of nature, associated with rivers, and with the power of renewal. He is the patron of children who have died. Like Asklepios, he is said to heal people in dreams. His cultus is associated in particular with Dionysos, Osiris, Hermes, and Mystery Religion.

In the potent and widespread Orphic myth, he (Antinoos) was the 'divine child', Dionysos Zagreus, offspring of Zeus and Demeter (or Persephone), torn to pieces by the Titans and reconceived through Semele. That Antinous was regarded principally as a conqueror of death is made abundantly clear by the Obelisk: 'the guardians of the gate of the kingdom of the underworld say "Praise to you!", to him. They loosen their bolts and open their gates before him, many years long, daily, as his duration of life is the sun, never in eternity elapsing.' The Obelisk announces his 'salvation', his being 'raised again to life'....Like Dionysos and Demeter in particular, he appeared as a dynamic God of change who underwent suffering, abnegation and triumph." [9] In mortal life,

Antinous was said to be beautiful in countenance and body. Thus, in iconography he is represented as an extraordinarily resplendent youth, a Ganymede. Antinous possesses kalokagathia, the harmonious joining of outward beauty with inward development. He has attained makariotis, a blessed joy gained through his heroic death. His attributes are the Red Lotus (said to have sprung from the blood of the murderous Mauritanian lion that Hadrian and Antinous defeated), a star [10] (signifying the supernova that occurred near the time of Antinous' death), and the constellation of Antinous, which appears 'below' the constellation of Aquila, (Adler in German) the Eagle. [11] Antinous is often portrayed with the adornments of other Gods such as Hermes, Dionysos, Apollon, or even the Egyptian God Osiris. Therefore, the symbols of other deities are also associated with him, ornaments such as the kerykeion [caduceus] (because of his association with Hermes) and a wreath of ivy around his head (because of his association with Dionysos). There were numerous sculptures of Antinous. They rank high among the most beautiful art created in the later years of antiquity. Many of these works have survived. Strange as it may seem, the Vatican (as well as other museums) has a large collection of statues of Antinous (http://antinoos.info/antinous.htm).

One of the most famous sculptures of the God was found at the oracular sanctuary of Apollon at Delphi; the statue can be seen in the archaeological museum there today. This author has stood in front of the Delphi Antinoos and can attest that the pictures do not do it justice. The Parian marble statue has a luster and a deep translucence which cannot be captured with a camera, leaving the beholder spellbound. "At Delphi his statue was ritually polished with subtle oils for so many generations that even now it possesses the lustre of alabaster." [12] Because there is a dearth of information regarding the worship of Antinous, we are left with little detail as to how exactly he was venerated, but from what is known, his cult follows a familiar pattern. There were games in his honor [15] and oracles [16] and it can be assumed that he was venerated in a manner similar to other deities. [17] Devotion to the God was widespread, from Britain to Antinoopolis in Egypt, the city founded in his honor by Hadrian (modern Sheikh 'Ibada). This is not disputed; there exists coinage, knowledge of temples, and other evidence found throughout the Graeco-Roman world. It is sometimes asserted that his cultus is more Roman than Hellenic, yet in antiquity there is evidence that his worship was perhaps more prevalent in the Greek states than in Rome itself. [23] Some of what we know about the worship of the God, and about Antinous himself, has been gathered from critics outside the religion from the early Christian Church, a damning source, and likely the root of much conflicting information about the God. The Christians seem to have taken a particular distaste to his cultus and sharp attacks can be found in the works of many authors including Justin Martyr, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria. [19] The religion of Antinous was an easy target for these writers who were looking for ways to attack the older polytheistic religion. In some of these texts, the reader gets the impression that there may have been competition between the worship of Antinous and that of Jesus. Like the Neopythagorean philosopher Apollonios of Tyana (approx. 15-100 CE), there are miracles attributed to Antinous; these phenomena challenged the Christians, who tried to debunk them. But it was not only the Christians who disapproved; his cult had detractors among pagan writers as well. The emperor Julian [13] and Celsus [14] seemed to object his cultus, Pausanias commented rather ambiguously, [17] and Lucian gently kidded about him. [18] With all the fuss, it seems obvious that there was considerable love of Antinous. The scarcity of favorable literature about the God can be explained in that such literature is known to have been systematically destroyed in late antiquity once the Christians were comfortably predominant, alongside even the writings of their own that were condemned as 'heretical' and, therefore, dangerous to the new faith.

On account of the sensual beauty of the statues and assumptions concerning his relationship with Hadrian, the worship of Antinous is appealing to some in the contemporary homosexual community. It must be noted, however, that in ancient times, Antinous was worshiped by ordinary men, women, and children, without consideration of sexual preference. Homosexuality, as it is understood in the modern era (exclusive preference for one's own sex), did not appear to exist (commonly) in antiquity, at least from written record. A controlled relationship between an older patron and a youth of the same sex (paiderastia) was generally considered normal, wholesome, and a natural phase of one's adolescence and education, designed entirely for the benefit of the young ermenos to assist him in education and assimilation into society. The existence of such a relationship between Hadrian and Antinous is presumptive and cannot be definitively proven, and the character of this particular relationship, if it existed, is entirely conjecture. Such assumptions have roots in antiquity, primarily from critics of the cult. But examining the extant inscriptions, the work of those who worshiped and honored Antinous, there is no evidence that he was the lover of Hadrian. [20] In any case, if indeed Antinous was the ermenos or "beloved" of Hadrian, and if he had lived, he would most likely have gone on to become a happily married man, as was the usual case in such relationships at the onset of manhood. It is the opinion of this author, that while Antinous will certainly respond to the prayers of homosexual men, he is interested in all things and in the lives of all people, whether young, whether old, whether man, woman, or child, and his worship will yield tremendous benefit to these all without discrimination. While it is believed that the Gods have particular fields of interest, they are for everyone, not the select few. NOTES: [1] "...as coins and inscriptions proudly proclaim, 'Antinous the Good'. " (Royston Lambert in his work Beloved and God, 1984, p.3). "Coins: Hadrianotherai, Juliopolis as agathos. IG, XIV, 978a.: as kalos in the sense of beautiful and good. Statue as Agathodaimon in Berlin." (Lambert, p. 244, note 2 to Chapter One, referring to the above quotation) [2] Royston Lambert in his work Beloved and God, 1984, p. 17: "Claudiopolis, which was so proudly to announce itself the birthplace of Antinous, is at present called Bolu or Boli, after 'polis' (ed. city-state) in the classical name." Pliny the Younger was governor at the time of Antinous' birth.

Thrace and its culture is significant. It was an ally of the Trojans in the Iliad. Eumolpos, before becoming one of the first priests at Eleusis, was in banishment in Thrace. Although Bithynia was not part of ancient Thrace, the earliest settlers of Bithynia were from Thrace. This region has associations with many personages from the ancient world, in particular, Orpheus the great reformer of Hellenic faith. The influence of Orpheus and the cult of Dionysos were strong in Bithynia. In addition, Bithynia produced such personages as the great historians Arrian and Dio Cassius. [3] "He rises at dawn from his single bed and washes the sleep from his eyes with pure water and fastens his shirt and mantle at the shoulder. He leaves his father's home with eyes down and does not look at anyone he meets...He is followed by his slaves and tutors who carry...many-leaved writing tablets or books that relate the virtues of ancient deeds, or a tuneful lyre if he is going to his music master. After he has fortified his spirit zealously with the precepts of philosophy and nourished his mind with diverse knowledge, he perfects his body with noble exercise. He loves the horses of Thessaly and, after his own youth has been broken in like a colt's, he practices in peace the arts of war, throwing javelins and hurling spears with unerring aim. Next come the games of the palaestra, all glistening with oil, where under the heat of the midday sun his developing body is covered in dust and sweat which pours from his toils in the contests. Next a quick bath and a meal the frugality of which allows, shortly after, work to be resumed. For again his masters appear to expound the facts of history and to help him engrave on his memory which heroes distinguished themselves by courage, which by prudence and which by temperance and justice. When he has soaked his growing young soul in the dew of such virtues, he gives his appetite the reward of nature and thereafter he sleeps soundly amid dreams all the sweeter for the exertions of the day." (Calliscratidas about Antinous from Affairs of the Heart, Lambert, pp.2223) [4] Royston Lambert in his work Beloved and God, 1984, p. 134 says "The ancient historians seem to be unanimously suggesting voluntary sacrifice as the cause of death". The ancient writer Dio Cassius: "In Egypt also he rebuilt the city named henceforth for Antinous (ed. Antinopolis). Antinous was from Bithynium, a city of Bithynia, which we also call Claudiopolis; he had been a favourite of the emperor and had died in Egypt, either by falling into the Nile, as Hadrian writes, or, as the truth is, by being offered in sacrifice. For Hadrian, as I have stated, was always very curious and employed divinations and incantations of all kinds. Accordingly, he (ed. Hadrian) honoured Antinous, either because of his love for him or because the youth had voluntarily undertaken to die (it being necessary that a life should be surrendered

freely for the accomplishment of the ends Hadrian had in view)..." (Dio Cassius' Roman History, Epitome of Book LXIX, 11.2-3, translated by Earnest Cary in 1925, found in the 2005 edition, Dio Cassius VIII: Books 61-70, on pp.445-447) ["Dio uses the word hierourgetheis which technically means that Antinous was used as a sacrificial victim whose entrails would be searched and interpreted by magicians and priests for omens concerning the Emperor's future." (Lambert, p.133) ...a view certainly not held by the author of this essay. Hierourgetheis (Greek: , ) is unquestionably the word which Dio Cassius uses and not a translation because Dio Cassius wrote his book in Greek (observe the word in Cary p.444 in the Greek). This word is very particularly chosen because it does not mean just any generic sacrificial victim. Hierourgetheis is a very specific term; it refers to a human male sacrificial victim. The word for an animal sacrificial victim is hierourgethen (Greek: )] And a quote from the Historiae Augustae: "During a journey on the Nile he lost Antinous, his favourite, and for this youth he wept like a woman. Concerning this incident there are varying rumours; for some claim that he had devoted himself to death for Hadrian, and others--what both his beauty and Hadrian's sensuality suggest. But however this may be, the Greeks deified him at Hadrian's request, and declared that oracles were given through his agency, but these, it is commonly asserted, were composed by Hadrian himself." (Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Hadrian, XIV, 5-7, translated by David Magie in 1921, found in the 1979 edition, Vol.I, on p.45) And a quote (ed. perhaps the same quote as immediately above, but in Lambert's translation) of Sextus Aurelius Victor: "Others see his motives as pious and religious: for when Hadrian was desiring to prolong his life by any means, the magicians proposed that someone should die voluntarily on his behalf; everyone refused, Antinous alone offered himself: from that all the homage rendered to his memory." (Lambert, p.131, translation by Lambert himself from Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Hadrian, XIV. Having examined the translation by David Magie, I cannot find any other reference to Antinous in chapter XIV, so I would assume that this is again section 5-7, perhaps from a different Latin text; the translations are markedly different. Lambert, in his note concerning this refers to it as "very condensed Latin.") Concerning the Obelisk of Antinous: "On the east side Osirantinous addresses a prayer to ReHarachte, 'highest of the Gods, who hears the cry of Gods and of men, of the enlightened ones and of the dead'. He asks Re-Harachte to reward him -- Hadrian -- 'who has founded a rule of worship in the temples for all men... he that is beloved of Hapi and of all the Gods, the lord of diadems -- may he live, safe and sound, may he live for ever like Re, in a fresh and rejuvenated old age!' This last phrase carries an echo of Aurelius Victor's claim that Antinous had died so that Hadrian's life could be prolonged." (Hadrian: The Restless Emperor by Anthony R. Birley, 1997, found in the 1998 Routledge edition on p.255) "At Naples, for example, the phratria (brotherhood) of the Eunostidae was renamed, the label Antinoitae being added. The Boeotian hero Eunostus was perhaps believed to have gone voluntarily to his death." (Birley, p.253) "To sum up. Though we have no convincing proof, there exist more evidence and more compelling arguments in favour of Antinous' voluntary sacrifice than for his death by accident and none at all for his ritual immolation." (Lambert, p.141) See also this page: SACRIFICE

[5] "Accordingly, he (ed. Hadrian) honoured Antinous, either because of his love for him or because the youth had voluntarily undertaken to die (it being necessary that a life should be surrendered freely for the accomplishment of the ends Hadrian had in view), by building a city on the spot where he had suffered this fate and naming it after him; and he also set up statues, or rather sacred images of him, practically all over the world." (Dio Cassius' Roman History, Epitome of Book LXIX, 11.3-4, translated by Earnest Cary in 1925, found in the 2005 edition, Dio Cassius VIII: Books 61-70, on pp.445-447) [6] Kouros (pl. Kourai or Kouroi) - (Greek: , ; plural is , ) Kouros literally means "young man." The word can be used in the contemporary Greek language to mean simply "boy." In ancient Greek art, however, kouros refers to a style of sculpture, nude statues of standing young men, depicted in a particular style which began to appear in the Archaic period around 600 BCE. The posture of these sculptures is decidedly erect with the left (the active) foot forward. The youths are portrayed in perfect physical condition, if not overtly muscular. The hair is usually long and flowing, rather than tied up. Many books call these statues "Apollo" but it is not certain whether this is so, except in limited instances where it can be demonstrated. The faces are often smiling, as though the young men were in a ceremonial procession. Kouros are much more than just beautiful statues. They are mystic symbols, symbolic of the deified soul. Their countenance expresses what is known as the Divine Smile (the archaic smile, archaicon midiama; Greek: ). This smile is their response to the experience of divinity. They have achieved this divinity through valor and have attained a special happiness called Makariotis (, ), a blessed joy gained through heroic death. In some cases, kouros represent historic personages, ephebes who, just before death, attained supreme virtue and have become deified. These young men achieved great arete before dying, youths such as Kleovis and Viton, as detailed in Herodotus' Histories (Book I, Chapter 31). The statues of these kouros, sculpted by Polymedes, have survived and are in the Delphi Museum. They were a gift from the people of Argos to Apollo at his sanctuary in Delphi. Kleovis and Viton were the sons of Cydippe, the Priestess of Hera at Argos. When the oxen did not arrive in time to transport their mother to an important ceremony, her sons took the yoke of the carriage and dragged her to the temple. Their struggle was so extraordinary that Cydippe prayed that they receive the best gift a man can receive. The brothers died in their sleep. Because of their extraordinary piety, the Gods deified them. Kleovis and Viton then beheld the Divine World....and they smiled. They are kouros.

The etymology of the English word "courage" is usually traced thus: Middle English corage, from Anglo-French curage, from quer, coer, "heart," from the Latin cor, but there are scholars who trace it from kore, koure, kouros. There is an excellent book with many photographs of kouros: http://www.amazon.com/Kouroi-Archaic-Development-KourosSculpture/dp/087817317X/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225585329&sr=1-19 [7] "Cleobis and Bito," Solon answered; "they were of Argive race; their fortune was enough for their wants, and they were besides endowed with so much bodily strength that they had both gained prizes at the Games. Also this tale is told of them:--There was a great festival in honour of the Goddess Hera at Argos, to which their mother must needs be taken in a car. Now the oxen did not come home from the field in time: so the youths, fearful of being too late, put the yoke on their own necks, and themselves drew the car in which their mother rode. Five and forty furlongs did they draw her, and stopped before the temple. This deed of theirs was witnessed by the whole assembly of worshippers, and then their life closed in the best possible way. Herein, too, God showed forth most evidently, how much better a thing for man death is than life. For the Argive men, who stood around the car, extolled the vast strength of the youths; and the Argive women extolled the mother who was blessed with such a pair of sons; and the mother herself, overjoyed at the deed and at the praises it had won, standing straight before the image, besought the Goddess to bestow on Cleobis and Bito, the sons who had so mightily honoured her, the highest blessing to which mortals can attain. Her prayer ended, they offered sacrifice and partook of the holy banquet, after which the two youths fell asleep in the temple. They never woke more, but so passed from the earth. The Argives, looking on them as among the best of men, caused statues of them to be made, which they gave to the shrine at Delphi." (Herodotus' The Histories, Book I, Chapter 31, translated by George Rawlinson in 1910, found in the 1997 edition on pp.19-20) [8] Beloved and God by Royston Lambert, 1984, p. 182. Also, on p.139 of the same text: "That he had triumphed over death by himself becoming immortal and a God was self-evident." (ed. self-evident in the cult of Antinoos). [9] Lambert, p. 181 and 182 [10] "Finally, he (ed. Hadrian) declared that he had seen a star which he took to be that of Antinous, and gladly lent an ear to the fictitious tales woven by his associates to the effect that the star had really come into being from the spirit of Antinous and had then appeared for the first time." (Dio Cassius' Roman History, Epitome of Book LXIX, 11.4, translated by Earnest Cary in 1925, found in the 2005 edition, Dio Cassius VIII: Books 61-70, on p.447) [11] Detail from Uranographia (ca.1801), a map of the sky, by Johann Bode, showing the constellations of Antinous and Aquila (Adler in German). The constellation of Antinous is now thought of as obsolete, but in Ptolemy's Almagest it was described as a subdivision of the southern part of the constellation of Aquila. "The star some distance under the tail of Aquila, touching the Milky Way {9 stars, 1 of the second magnitude, 4 of the third, 1 of the fourth, 3 of the fifth} The stars around Aquila, to which the name 'Antinous' is given." (Ptolemy's Almagest, Book VII 5. Constellation XVI: Aquila; translated by G.J. Toomer 1984, found in the 1998 edition on p.357, Number in Constellation: 9) [12] Lambert, p.186 [13] In Julian's The Caesars. To read the actual text, visit this page: Detractors of the Cult of Antinous. [14] In Celsus' On the True Doctrine, VI. To read the actual text, visit this page: Detractors of the Cult of Antinous

[15] Here we are speaking of games not as an entertainment, but as a religious offering, similar to the more familiar pan-Hellenic Olympian (for Zeus) or Pythian (for Apollon) Games. The ancient Greek word for games is Agones (Greek: ). These were games conducted as a gift to the God, for which one competed for a prize called an athlon (Greek: ) in an agon (Greek: ), contest. They were conducted at all major shrines for deities. The Agones for Antinous included not only athletic contest, but also poetic and musical: "His official festivals and games possessed an unusual artistic element...Poetry and music played a prominent opening part in the games of Athens, Eleusis, Antinoopolis and elsewhere." (Lambert, p.187) [16] "...the Greeks deified him at Hadrian's request, and declared that oracles were given through his agency..." (Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Hadrian, XIV, 7, translated by David Magie in 1921, found in the 1979 edition, Vol.I, on p.45) [17] "They (ed. the Mantineans) have accepted ANTINOUS as a God: his shrine is the newest in Mantineia. The emperor Hadrian was extraordinarily enthusiastic about him: personally I never saw him in his lifetime, but I have seen him in statues and in paintings. He has formal honours elsewhere as well as at Mantineia, and there is a city in Egypt on the Nile named after Antinous. He received his honours at Mantineia in the following way: Antinous was born at Bithynion above the Sangarios river, and by ancestry the Bithynians are Arkadians and in fact Mantineans. So the king instituted a cult to him in Mantineia as well, with a sacrifice to him every year, and games in his honour every four years. There is a house in the Mantinean TRAINING-GROUND with statues of Antinous, worth seeing for the stone of its decoration and for its paintings, most of which present Antinous as Dionysos, even apart from the statues." (Pausanias' Guide to Greece, Book VIII, Arkadia, 9.7-9, translated by Peter Levi in 1971, found here in the 1979 edition, Volume 2: Southern Greece, on pp.392-393) [18] In Lucian of Samosata's The Gods in Council 8-10. Visit this page to read the text in question: Detractors of the Cult of Antinous [19] Visit this page to read some of the criticisms of the cult of Antinous by Christian (and pagan) writers: Detractors of the Cult of Antinous [20] "...the inscriptions of Antinoos, unlike certain of the literary texts, never refer to him as Hadrian's lover." (New Heroes In Antiquity by Christopher P. Jones, 2010, Harvard University Press, p.82) [21] Hadrian: The Restless Emperor by Anthony R. Birley, 1997, found in the 1998 Routledge edition on p.256. In a note, 43, on p.350, Birley comments that the location of the Obelisk of Antinous has been established as originally at Antinoopolis by A. Grimm and D. Kessler, and that the translation from the Obelisk used here follows Meyer. The original location of the Obelisk is disputed. [22] From the south side of the Obeliscus Antinoi. (based on the translations of the Egyptologists A. Erman and O. Wintermute, as found in Hadrian and the City of Rome by Mary Taliaferro Boatwright, 1987, Princeton University Press, p. 245) This ability of healing through dreams is reminiscent of the way that the God Asklepios healed at his temples. [23] "But the worship of Antinous was confined to the East. In the Latin West he made no impression upon the imagination of men, and here little attention was paid to the Greek youth....He was never acknowledged there publicly, as it would have required a decree of the senate; and he had no temple in Rome. There are no Roman coins of Antinous, but a few inscriptions prove the existence of his worship there and in Italy, and for this the emperor was probably indebted to the Greeks." (The Emperor Hadrian: A Picture of the Graeco-Roman World in His Time by Ferdinand Gregorovius, translated by Mary E. Robinson, 1898; Macmillan, pp.309-310) The author goes on to demonstrate that there is some evidence of cultus to

Antinous in Italy, but not to the level found in the eastern empire (inscriptions found on the field of Mars, from the temple of Isis, the colossal Antinous as Osiris of the villa at Tivoli, and others). DISCLAIMERS: This website and all its contents have no affiliation with any other organization. The presence of quotations from outside sources does not imply agreement or disagreement, approval or disapproval of any material from this website by the authors of the sources quoted. Furthermore, the presence of quotations from outside sources does not imply agreement or disagreement, approval or disapproval by the author of this website. These quotations are provided purely for the education of the reader. IMAGE COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: The presence of images from outside sources does not imply agreement or disagreement, approval or disapproval of any material on this website by the photographers of these images. Please visit this page for copyright information concerning the images: IMAGE COPYRIGHT INFORMATION CONTACT: AntinoustheGood@comcast.net

The radiance of lios was magnificent that day he pondered Antinous. "Such a compelling and touching story, but the boy is dead." At that moment a resplendent youth ran across his field of vision, the boys feet and face engulfed in ther, as though he were engaged in gymnastic sport with Gods. "No! I am alive! See me run!" The word for a God is Theos (Greek: , ). This word is etymologically related to theo (Greek: ) "to run." This represents a horse, a divine horse who can run swiftly, as the progressed soul can run swiftly to accomplish its goal. COPYRIGHT: All original (non-quoted) material found in AntinoustheGood.org is protected by copyright. The owner will consider kindly any request to reprint any part of this text if you send your concerns to AntinoustheGood@comcast.net. 2010 by Antinous the Good.org. http://sites.google.com/a/antinousthegood.org/https-www-google-com-a-cpanelantinousthegood-org/