The Statue of Antinous at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

is an ancient statue that was found during excavations in

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; ; – ) was a Greek youth from Bithynia, a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshippe ...

was a young Greek of extraordinary beauty from

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

, who became the beloved companion or lover of the Roman emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

but later died in the Nile under mysterious circumstances.

History

Stricken by the death of Antinous, Hadrian, who was an admirer and a passionate devotee of classical Greek Antiquity, and also a patron of the

Oracle of Delphi An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophecy, prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by Deity, deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divina ...

, gave orders that statues of the beautiful young man, whom he had loved so passionately, should be erected in all sanctuaries and cities of his vast empire. Furthermore he decreed the institution and establishment of Games in honor of Antinous, who thereafter was honoured and worshipped as a god. Thus a statue of Antinous was erected within the sanctuary of Delphi, after his death, in 130 AD, and it was one of the most beautiful and impressive cult statues. During the excavations, the statue was discovered upright on its pedestal, next to the wall of a brick chamber, alongside the holy Temple. Roman coins minted to honour Αntinous show the statue accompanied by the epithet "Propylaeus", from which it is legitimate to infer that it was originally placed at the entrance to the sanctuary. The statue suffered damage and was broken at the height of the knee, so that it had to be moved closer to the temple of Apollo, in a sort of chapel, where it was found during excavations in relatively good condition. Its idealized characteristics as well as the intense polishing of its marble surface with a special oil (which helped it to survive gleaming and in excellent condition) indicate that it belongs to the time of the radical Hadrian.

Description

Taking a closer look at the statue, the head of young Antinous is tilted to the side as if he is in a state of reflection. Around its thick and masterfully carved hair (which surrounds the face and falls on the forehead and cheeks, lending a mournful quality to its beautiful, full of vain youthful figure), several holes can be seen by which a bronze laurel wreath was once attached. His body is carved in representation of that beautiful nudity which belonged to the figures of gods and heroes of classical antiquity,Panos Valavanis, ''Sanctuaries and Games in ancient Greece. Olympia - Delphi, Isthmia - Nemea - Athens'', (Athens, 2004). and the posture is typically

contrapposto ( 'counterpoise'), in the visual arts, is a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the axial plane. First appearing in Ancient Greece in the early 5th ...

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Delphi Antinous Collection of the Delphi Archaeological Museum Hellenistic-style Roman sculptures Sculptures of Antinous Statues in Greece Nude sculptures in Greece Sculptures of men in Greece Marble sculptures in Greece Archaeological discoveries in Central Greece Sculptures in Delphi Nude sculptures of men

History

Description

See also

References

External links