Beloved of Hadrian

This is a lovely image of the Farnese Antinous which is currently in the National Archeological Museum in Naples.  It is called the Antinous Farnese because of its prior location at the entrance of the Carracci Gallery in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.  The statue was one of the myriads which were produced after the young man's death and deification in October, 130 CE.  He had been the beloved of the emperor for probably six years and the mythos of the young god was that he had laid down his earthly life as a sacrifice to the Olympians to save the life of his lover Hadrian.  The emperor in gratitude founded the city of Antinopolis at the site of the death and ordered the inclusion of Antinous into the ranks of the gods.

Reproduction for sale on Zazzle