Introduction

The 110 Epistles of Antinous were written by the hand of the God Himself. They were all addressed to His childhood friend, Lysicles, and were inaugurated as a result of the God's anxiety at their separation following the earthquake that shook Bithynia — an event that would set in motion His eventual career within the Imperial household. Subsequent letters, however, make explicit that Antinous believed Lysicles to have never received any of the pieces, yet he continued to address them to his ever-receding friend as a source of personal comfort and continuity in the midst of an increasingly tumultuous life.

As a first-person chronicle of His evolution, the Epistles are a priceless treasure to the Celebrants of Antinous. They represent an unparalleled source of information concerning not only his physical whereabouts in the Empire, but, far more importantly, his churning state-of-mind as he painfully matured from boyish bumpkin into resplendent God.

The Epistles are most conveniently grouped into four distinct stages, which correspond to discreet and identifiable periods of the God's development as a mortal. The first stage is usually called "The Young Schoolboy" and is comprised of nine letters. It is estimated that the first one (Arrival at Caelian Hill) was composed approximately four to six weeks after the God's arrival at the Paedagogium ad Caput Africae (elementary school); the ninth (The Surprise Inspection) within a week of His having left it and found Himself installed at the Paedagogium of the Domus Gelotiana, on the Palatine Hill.

The second stage is often referred to as "The Court Page" group, and is made up of 45 distinct documents. (Although The Surprise Inspection was technically written from the Palatine, its subject matter deals with the events on the Caelian and thus is not considered a part of the second group.) The letters from this group give us some remarkable insights into the detailed workings of the court — not from the viewpoint of its Emperor who commanded it, nor of the functionaries that conducted it, but of its lowest-ranking members who oiled the gears of its operation. This group also affords us a "front-row seat" into the God's steady climb through the ranks of the Household famuli to finally win His place at Hadrian's side.

By the time we reach the third stage, Antinous has become "The Imperial Favourite." Within the scope of these letters, He is officially counted among the amici of the Emperor — those that were kept closest to Hadrian's side and shared with him his most intimate details. This group begins with Hadrian's long-overdue announcement concerning Antinous' new status as Favourite, and ends (admittedly, arbitrarily) with the god's realization that Lysicles was not to be found in Antioch as He had once been promised.

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This is a photograph of the 3' x 3' glass-tile Antinous mosaic by Shawn Postoff. Click for larger view.

The fourth group, commonly known as "The Searching Soul", shows us the young God as he struggles to overcome the mounting miseries and difficulties that swirl through and around his life. Although always hopeful, Antinous nevertheless reveals himself to be mired in the midst of an immense and crushing inner turmoil. It is from the texts of this fourth and final group that we may chart the spectacular course of the God's maturing relationship with Hadrian as it inexorably unfolded toward His supreme sacrifice upon the Nile.

The titles of the Epistles were not given by Antinous, and are considered by scholars to be a later addition. Similarly, the numbers are added for convenience, and represent the relatively undisputed order of their composition.