This well preserved marble sculpture, unearthed during excavations in Delphi in 1894, portrays Antinoüs (or Antinoos), a Bithynian Greek youth of extraordinary beauty, who became the beloved companion or lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Antinoüs reportedly drowned in the Nile in 130 C.E. and was subsequently deified by Hadrian, who was so shattered by his premature death that he ordered statues and busts of the beloved youth placed in various cities, temples, and sanctuaries throughout the Roman Empire, including in the Temple of Apollo.
The Statue of Antinoüs at Delphi exemplifies the evolution of ancient portraiture. Its melancholy beauty, the graceful angle of the head and the high polish of the marble surface embody the spirit of the Roman Imperial age, when there was a tendency to revive classical Greek ideals of masculine beauty.
The photograph above (photographer unknown) shows the excavation site at Delphi on the day that the statue was discovered in 1894. It was unearthed by a team of French archaeologists who in 1891 were granted permission by the Greek government to excavate at Delphi. Most of the workers were locals from the village of Kastri which, before it was relocated, was built almost on top of the ancient religious site.
Related Off-site Link:
Mesmerizing Photo the Moment Ancient Masterpiece Is Unearthed at Delphi – Tasos Kokkinidis (Greek Reporter, Juky 22, 2018).
See also the previous posts:
• Antinoüs
• The Death of Antinoüs
• Ganymede and Zeus
Recommended Reading:
• Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous by Royston Lambert
• Eromenos by Melanie McDonald
• Antinous: A Romance of Ancient Rome by George Taylor
Image: Photographer unknown.
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