ON JULY 10th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the Apotheosis of Hadrian. After a prolonged illness, at Baiae, on the Bay of Naples, Hadrian died on July 10, 138.
His ashes were placed in the mausoleum on the bank of the Tibur that is now called Castel Sant'Angelo.
After the death of the gentle Antinous, Hadrian became embittered and mistrustful, capricious and cruel.
When Hadrian died, the Senate wished to condemn his memory for atrocities committed against them during his final years.
But his successor, Antoninus Pius, persuaded them to declare Hadrian a God.
A temple was built for him known as the Hadrianeum on the Campus Marius, the remains of which are now part of the Roman Stock Exchange.
Flamen Antinoalis Antonyus Subia explains:
"Hadrian the God is venerated as the manifestation of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Earth, the ruler and guiding force behind the Antonine Dynasty, the most sacred family of emperors, whose reign is the Golden Age of Rome, because of the peace and prosperity that it maintained, which was the result of the wisdom of Hadrian's far-sighted and divine plan stretching out over the world. We worship and adore Hadrian the God, Savior of the Cosmos."
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