THE APOTHEOSIS OF AELIUS CAESAR

ON December 31st we commemorate the Apotheosis of Aelius Caesar.

Hadrian adopted Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus, and called him Aelius Verus Caesar (portraits by Priest Uendi).

It was said that beauty was his only recommendation. His poor health soon overtook him and Hadrian is reported to have said, "We have leaned against a tottering wall and have wasted the four hundred million sentences which we gave to the populace and the soldiers on the adoption of Commodus."

He died on the Calends of January in the year 138 ... only a few months before Hadrian ... from an overdose of medicine given to help him make a speech to the Senate thanking Hadrian for the succession.

After Aelius Caesar's death, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius (September 19, 86 - March 7, 161) on the condition that Antoninus Pius adopt the younger Lucius Verus and Hadrian's great-nephew by marriage, Marcus Aurelius (April 26, 121 - March 17, 180).

Marcus later co-ruled with Lucius as Marcus Aurelius until Lucius' death in 169, at which time he was sole ruler until his own death in 180. Collectively, they are remembered as the Antonine Dynasty of emperors who ruled wisely over a period noted for its peace and prosperity.

In his classic text The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 18th Century historian Edward Gibbon considers the reign of the Antonines, as well as those of their predecessors Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian, the height of the Roman Empire, after which time the empire began its inexorable decline.

Aelius Caesar is a major character in Marguerite Yourcenar's epic historical novel Mémoires d'Hadrien (Memoirs of Hadrian).

Lucius, as we affectionately call him, is the recipient of much bittersweet love and adoration from followers of the Religion of Antinous. 

For us he represents so many pretty young men whose bright futures are thwarted by tragic illness.

Aelius Caesar is often called the Western Favorite, because of the possibility that he rivaled Antinous for Hadrian's love.

We venerate Aelius Caesar as the fallen Prince of Flowers, the spiritual twin brother of Antinous whose death is the end of the Saturnalia.
 

ANTINOUS WELCOMES ALL

AS we celebrate the Saturnalia on the cusp of 2015/16 we welcome the hundreds of new subscribers and followers on this blog and on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM  and  TWITTER.

Antinous welcomes you!

Antinous, last of the Classical deities, embraces all others. 

He is the Gay God who embraces all Gays from all cultures and from all nations. 

Just as each gay man is different, His ancient statues depict HIM in the guise of Hermes, Dionysus, Apollo and many others. 

The image on this page by ANDRÉ DURAND shows a new follower adoring Antinous (as Osiris) in the inner-most alcove of the Canopus Pool at Hadrian's Villa.

Antinous welcomes all, regardless of cultural origins or religious beliefs.

There is no record that Antinous has ever fought against or squabbled with any deity. Instead, he prefers to cloak himself in their starry mantle and become one with them.

Antonyus Nikias Subia is the spiritual leader of our religion. Check out the online TEMPLE OF ANTINOUS. 

Some of us, like Antonius, worship Antinous to the exclusion of all other deities. 

But there are lots of Wiccans in this group, as well as Buddhists, Hindus, along with Jews, Christians and many, many fallen Catholics ... plus the odd Chaos "magickian" as well as none-of-the-above individualists.

All ages are represented, from 19 to 99. They are scattered around the world on all continents ... with the possible exception of Antarctica! 

Temples are in the process of being established in Mexico and -Brazil, where there is a huge contingent of Antinous worshipers.

So feel free to introduce yourself to the group and to tell us where you're coming from ... physically and spiritually.

Whether you decide to stay or whether you are "just browsing" and decide to move on elsewhere ... may the love of the Most Great and Good God, the Blessed Boy Antinous, enter your heart and fill it with His love and joy.

May He become one with you, as He has with so many mortals and deities throughout the ages. And may you discover Him in your heart and may you take the spiritual plunge to god-man-sameness," a process Antonius Subia calls HOMOTHEOSIS.

'MUD BRICK MANHATTAN' ON THE NILE HAD HIGH-RISE COMMERCE TOWERS

ONE of the most beautiful sculptures of Antinous comes from the Ancient Egyptian the city of Naukratis, which experts now say was a major Greek trading port on a branch of the Nile River with high-rise towers of commerce.

It is possible that Hadrian and Antinous visited this bustling trade center in 130 AD ... and a gorgeous marble head of Antinous wearing a myrtle wreath sacred, myrtle being sacred to Aphrodite and there being a well-known shrine to Aphrodite in Naukrates, which was located on the west arm of the Nile not to far upstream from Canopus and Hierakleion.

Archaeologists had thought that they had found everything there was to find in the ruins of this ancient city. 

But a new excavation by the British Museum has turned up thousands of new artifacts and revealed an even bigger, bustling city, of "tower houses" that stood three to six stories tall.

Naukratis was "a mud-brick Manhattan" with a population of around 16,000, the project's leader told the Guardian. 

Among the new finds were wood from Greek ships … evidence backing up Herodotus' description of the city as a port served by cargo ships, even though it's fairly far inland from the Mediterranean Sea.

Just as London on the Thames has a lively port with access to the English Channel, Naukratis was a major Nile port with access to the sea.  

The excavation also turned up construction materials, two temple sites, and revealed the city's harbor location. 

To top that off, the team found Egyptian figurines associated with a "festival of drunkenness," the Guardian says.

Naukratis was first rediscovered more than 130 years ago, by British Egyptologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie. The city was one of the most sought after ancient places, but no one was quite sure where it had been located.

Petrie found it essentially by accident. Setting out from Cairo, he happened upon the right spot, where, he wrote:

The whole ground is thick with early Greek pottery, and it seemed almost a sacrilege to walk over the heaps with the fine lustrous black ware crunching under one[’]s boots. Pieces with fret pattern, honeysuckle pattern, heads, arms, legs of figures, horses, & such like lovely things were soon picked up; both in black figures on an orange ground, & red figures on a black ground, mostly with incised outlines. It seemed as if I was wandering in the smashings of the Museum vase-rooms.

After extensive early excavations, it seemed like most of those treasure had been gathered up … such as the stunning Antinous Naukratis head. 

But as the new excavation proved, there was plenty more to be discovered.

Naukrates was a Greek colony in Egypt dating back to the 6th Century BC ... the 26th Dynasty, that age of "recon" revival in all things lovely and magical. 

And Nectanebo I, last of the magician/kings of Egypt, erected a splendid Old-Kingdom-style stele at Naukrates praising the sacred relationship between the old gods of Egypt and the "new" gods of Greece and their interconnectedness. 

Basically, it's a tax decree stele, but the sacred references are the most enlightening bit since Egyptian tax money helped to support the Greek gods ... seeing as how they were all Egyptian gods as well.

By Hadrian's time, of course, Naukratis had been eclipsed by Alexandria. 

But it was still a major Greek trading town with a long Hellenistic tradition and with several well-known Greek temples. Besides the one to Aphrodite, there were also shrines and temples to Apollo, Hera, Dioscuri and others. 

It was a well-known Hellenistic enclave and important old Greek merchant town. 

So Hadrian would have known about it. Who knows whether he and the Beauteous Boy actually stopped off there, seeing as how it was pretty much in serious decline by the 2nd Century AD. 

But it makes sense that an Antinous head might have been produced there.

EDWARD PERRY 'NED' WARREN SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON December 28th the Religion of Antinous celebrates the life of Saint Edward Perry "Ned" Warren, who died on this day in 1928. 

Estranged and ostracized by "decent" socialites, Saint Ned Warren was a famed gay Bostonian art collector who virtually single-handedly built up the collections of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston Museum of Fine Arts through his passion for Classical art.

As a sissified schoolboy who suffered the taunts of bullies, he wrote a poem comparing a classmate in whom he was infatuated to Antinous.

He and his lover John Marshall travelled around Europe seeking out and buying art treasures for great museums. They were referred to snidely as "the bachelors of art" among society circles in Britain and America. 

But Warren was so fabulously rich, and museums depended on him  so much, that nobody dared say anything to his face about his blatant homosexuality. His gifts to the Boston MFA made up 90 per cent of its Classical collection, one of the finest in the world.

Even so, he found puritanical Boston deeply disagreeable, and spent most of his life in England when he was not at his apartment in Rome.

The famous Warren Cup and Rodin's statue The Kiss are just two of the most well-known objects he rounded up -- both of which were rejected by museums in Britain and America as being too raunchy. Museum curators feared museum-goers could be lured into thinking unwholesome thoughts.


Warren in fact actually commissioned the The Kiss from Rodin, explicitly saying he wanted large genitals on the man. To this day, photographs of the famous statue tend to avoid a full-frontal male view for that very reason.

The Warren Cup is a solid silver goblet which dates back to the 1st Century CE/AD and was found near Jerusalem. It is believed that it was deposited along with other valuables (some gold coins, jewellery and other precious items) in a cache by the servants of a fleeing Roman nobleman during one of several Jewish uprisings. It is even possible that it was buried during the uprising that was crushed by Hadrian's legions. 

The cup itself is considerably older, and may date to Republican times. And it is done in a retro-style which was a bit archaic even when it was new.

As the photos demonstrate, the Warren Cup shows two scenes (one on each side of the cup) of a man and a youth having sex on a couch. The silverwork is exquisitely done and the hair and draperies and facial expressions are beautifully rendered. It also reflects a bit of tongue-in-cheek wit by showing a servant boy peering curiously around a door frame at the lovers.

On one side a young man (barely more than a boy himself) is having his way with a young boy. On the other side, an older man with a beard is having anal sex with a younger man who is seated on top of him and holding onto what appears to be perhaps part of the drapes of a canopy bed. A servant looks on from the doorway off to the right side.

Saint Ned is believed to have purchased the Warren Cup from an antiquities dealer in Italy.
His efforts to sell it to museums in London and the U.S. were rebuffed.

The Warren Cup's unabashedly gay sex theme is impossible to ignore. The cup has been controversial in the art world ever since it first came to light in the 19th Century.

For many, many years, museums on both sides of the Atlantic refused to obtain it (despite its unquestionable value as a remarkably important historical piece of art) because of Victorian and Edwardian moral objections to its "immoral and beastly" theme.

At one time a curator for the British Museum was interested in acquiring the Warren Cub.

But other experts reminded him that one of the members of the board of directors of the British Museum was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The result was that museum officials were loathe to show his reverence even a photograph of the cup, let alone ask him to condone purchasing it for the collection.

So the cup languished in Warren's personal collection for many years and changed hands many times after his death, never ever being put on public display.

The British Museum finally purchased the Warren Cup for a large sum in 1999 -- and even then there was much titillation in the tabloid press.

Ned Warren wrote extensively about his views that homosexuality is a spiritual state of being, something divinely magical. Taunted as a schoolboy for being a bookworm and a sissy (he would get up at 5 a.m. to read Greek until breakfast), he nonetheless had many crushes on other schoolboys. He wrote about them all in his diary, and even wrote a poem about one especially beautiful boy whom he called a modern Antinous.

As an adult, he continued to proclaim his notion of idealized homosexual love, much to the distress of his family in Boston.

He even wrote a book entitled The Defence of Uranian Love about the same time that Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was published. 

He also used his wealth to sponsor the educations of numerous boys and young men who showed promise but had no money.

He was very generous and had a big heart. For example, he heard that the daughter of a vicar in his district in England had become pregnant out of wedlock and was going to be forced to give up the child. 

Saying "this is as bad as Boston," he was so outraged that he legally adopted the little boy himself. He allowed mother and son to live upstairs in his home in England at his expense and loudly defied anyone to besmirch her honor or that of Travis, the little boy.

Ned Warren and his lover John Marshall had a stormy, on-again off-again relationship, but they were together at their flat in Rome in February of 1928. On the evening of the 15th, John went to bed early not feeling well. Ned tiptoed in later and kissed him good night and got in bed beside him. John was dead by morning.

Ned never recovered from that blow. He returned to England, where his health declined rapidly. Saying he couldn't face Christmas and New Year's without John, he died in a nursing home in England on December 28, 1928, at the age of 68.

He was cremated on January 1, 1929. But because he had always been blatant about his homosexuality, no members of his family attended the funeral and none of the museums that had benefitted so much from his largesse sent a representative to the memorial service.

His ashes were buried in the non-Catholic cemetery in Bagni di Lucca, Italy, a town known as a spa in Etruscan and Roman times.
  
We honor Edward Perry "Ned" Warren, 1860-1928, who wrote a poem likening a boy he loved to Antinous.

SIX 'NEW' STRUCTURES OPEN IN POMPEII AFTER EMERGENCY RENOVATIONS

VISITORS to ancient Pompeii have freshly restored marvels to admire, including a merchant’s luxuriously decorated home and a more modest middle-class dwelling.

A business where Pompeii residents brought fabrics to be cared for and a structure with thermal bathing areas are also among the six buildings now open to the public after a major restoration.

The Italian government declared a state of emergency in 2008 at the crumbling site.

And in 2010 the House of Gladiators collapsed. 

But a UNESCO report in 2012 found little had been done.

Pompeii in recent years has been plagued by union disputes, which left tourists locked out, and the collapse of some ruins, with a chronic shortage of funds for maintenance.

But the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi expressed optimism at the unveiling of restored ruins in the city destroyed in 79 AD by a volcanic eruption. He said: “We made news with the collapses, now we are making news with restoration.”

One of the most eagerly anticipated restorations is of the Fullonica di Stephanus, a specially designed laundry equipped with large baths for rinsing dirty tunics and basins for dyeing fabrics. 

There was a press for ironing and a place to store urine, which was collected in public toilets and used to get out tough stains.

Clothes would be trampled by workers in tubs at the back of the premises.

Another building that opened on December 25 is the Casa del Criptoportico, a luxury villa with a garden that also was restored. 

The ancient home features four thermals baths covered in stucco and mosaics of Nile pygmies. 

The name Criptoportico comes from the long, covered corridor of the house. It has large windows to allow light into an adjacent sitting room.

Four other homes were opened to the public: la Casa di Paquius Proculus, la Casa del Sacerdos Amandus, la Casa di Fabius Amandio and la Casa dell'Efebo.

GREECE ALLOWS CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES IMMEDIATELY

HADRIAN loved all things Greek ... especially Antinous ... and now Greeks can legally love same-sex partners.

Starting 24 December 2015, same-sex civil partnerships are legal.

This comes after years of opposition from the Greek Orthodox Church and following a controversial European court ruling.

Although Greece allowed such agreements for heterosexual couples in 2008, it had excluded homosexual couples, a move which the European Court of Human Rights ruled discriminatory in 2013.

Last week the Greek parliament brought legislation in line with the court's demands.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has promised social reforms to mitigate the negative impact of its EU/IMF bailout, said the bill closed "a cycle of embarrassment for the nation".

"Today we recognize the right of all people, regardless gender and sexual orientation, to live together and choose their own path in life as they see it fit. To have equal rights in life and death like all Greek citizens," Tsipras told parliament.

The bill does not allow same-sex couples to marry or adopt children and does not give them similar pension, labour and tax rights, gay activists said.

"We have to say that it is a very small step in comparison to the great, the huge inequalities faced by the LGBTQ+ people in Greece," said activist Dimitra Kyrilou, a civil engineer.

The bill was rejected by the Orthodox Church, the Communist party and the far-right Golden Dawn Party, whose leader said "church bells should toll mournfully across the country".

A growing number of European countries have established legislation allowing registered partnership rights to same-sex couples, including Britain, Spain and Cyprus, but the issue remains contentious in many other EU nations.

The image at the top of this entry is a montage by ANDRÉ DURAND of two GLBT protesters (dressed as Orthodox priests), who staged a kiss-in outside the Greek parliament, with a statue of Antinous/Osiris and with the Acropolis in the background. André entitles it "Agápe" ... the Greek word for brotherly love, charity, the love of a God for a man and of a man for his God.

THE SATURNALIA THE GOLDEN AGE OF SATURN

IN celebration of the return of Antinous Invictus, for the five days between December 25th and the 1st of January, we commemorate the Golden Age of the reign of Saturn.

This is a time outside of time, and an occasion for joy and freedom from the world.

The divine twins are born, Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys, Castor and Pollux, Freyr and Freya (for whom this time is also known as Yule).

(Image: Antinous as the Ghost of Christmas Present by S.L. GORE.)

We celebrate the Saturnalia with indulgence and as the festival of Liberty and total Freedom. There shall be no authority and no submission during this sacred period.

There is to be no war, and no form of violence committed, only peace and harmony and the many joys of ecstasy are allowed.

The rejoicing of the Saturnalia ends with the apotheosis of the Prince of Flowers, Aelius Caesar, on January 1st.

LOVELY 'BIRTH OF MITHRAS' SCULPTURE OLDEST DEPICTION OF ZODIAC IN BRITAIN

ON what is now Christmas Day, troops on Hadrian's Wall 1,800 years ago were celebrating the birthday of the god Mithras.

Born on December 25, Mithras was worshipped at sites on at least three locations along the Wall.

This stunning sculpture of Mithras was discovered at Housesteads Roman fort in the 19th Century.

The stone relief shows Mithras emerging from the Orphic Egg – the symbol of eternal time.

The god is surrounded by an egg-shaped representation of the signs of the zodiac, representing the cosmos.

This is the earliest representation of the signs of the zodiac to be found in Britain.

It would have been lit from behind to present a powerful image for worshippers entering the semi-underground temple at Chapel Hill at Housesteads.

The sculpture is one of the main exhibits in a collection of Mithraic items from the Wall on show at the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

"It is one of the best collections of Mithraic material in the world," said Andrew Parkin, keeper of archaeology at Tyne Wear Archives and Museums.

It was totally repaired and conserved in recent years and is one of the most breath-taking works of art at the museum.

The carving is on display underneath a relief sculpture which shows a scene of Mithras slaying a bull, which was also found at Housesteads and was a common depiction in Mithraic temples.

"Our Mithras stone is a unique and powerful Roman object that blends several religious traditions," Andrew said. "We still have offerings left at the museum at Christmas time. Previously we've had a pot plant, pine cones, money and even a Chocolate Orange."

The stone is part of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne's collection.

The cult of Mithras was popular amongst the military and originated around 1400 BC in Persia.

It was confined to male worshippers and involved progression through several grades of worship with different ranks and costumes.

Mithraic temples have been identified in Northumberland at Housesteads, Rudchester and Carrawburgh, where three altars were found along with the remains of cockerels which had probably been sacrificed and statues of the god's helpers.

The complex imagery of the Housesteads sculpture suggests the sophistication of the cult at the fort. The celebration of Christmas became superimposed on earlier religious and ritual practices.

"To some extent there have always been mid-winter festivals at what is the darkest part of the year to mark the turning point when it will begin getting lighter," said Andrew. "In the early days Christianity was competing with a lot of different cults around the world."

Mithras was celebrated as the Lord of Ages and a god of light, who is often shown carrying a torch and bringing light to the world.

ANTINOUS ARRIVES IN DELPHI SITE OF THE FAMED APOLLO ORACLE

DURING the December Solstice, the Religion of Antinous commemorates the magical day in the year 128 AD when Antinous and Hadrian visited the Oracle of Delphi. 

Hadrian and Antinous entered Delphi at the magical time when Dionysus was the supreme deity of the shrine. 

They solemnly advanced in procession up the sacred way, and entered the Temple of Apollo, the oracle of Apollo.

The Oracle may not have been in consultation, and there is no evidence of Antinous or Hadrian receiving her words. 

Antinous was further instructed in the mysteries of Orpheus by his priests who were a religious order devoted to Dionysus, and limited to men.

Having been initiated in Athens into the dark mysteries that Orpheus revealed of death and resurrection, Antinous was here shown the high Orphic Secrets of Creation.

The meaning of the egg of the dark bird of Night was infused into the deepening abyss the mystery of Antinous during this visit.

And the full brilliance of Antinous Invictus was ignited as Phanes-Beauty, Eros-Love, and Zagreus-Ecstasy were awakened within him.

An exquisite statue of Antinous was discovered at Delphi. The forearms had been broken off, but the ancient priests had lovingly buried the statue standing upright.

That was the way it was found in the 19th Century, incredibly intact except for the missing forearms.

Alas, Antinous would drown in the similarly magical waters of the River Nile only a few scant months after visiting Delphi, during what we call the imperial "Three-Year Peregrination" ... the wondrous and fateful final three-year Eastern Empire travels of Hadrian and Antinous. 

THE RETURN OF THE CAPRICORN GODS By Our Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

THE Solstice occurred at 4:48 Universal Time Tuesday (Monday evening in the US and Mexico) and huge crowds celebrated sunrise at Stonehenge. Born under the Sun Sign of the goat, Antonius Subia shares this tribute to Capricorn:

I am a Capricorn

My brother Capricorn gods are the ones who save the world

I look to them for inspiration and I see that I am nothing in comparison

They tell me that I am just a little goat

My hooves have only made a few rocks to fall

I still have great mountain ranges yet to climb

When I was 14, I climbed to the top of the Mountain in El Paso

I saw the whole world stretched out before me as far as the eye could see

5,600 feet above sea level, the highest I have ever been

Except in an airplane

Coming down however was more difficult

There were some death defying moments

There was a situation when I thought we were going to fall to our deaths

But we made it and crawled down to civilization

Having spent a few moments high upon the summit among the gods.

The Power of the Capricorn Gods is with us Again tonight!

Ave Antinoe!!!

~ ANTONIUS SUBIA

ODE TO CAPRICORNUS By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

WITH the Solstice, the Sun enters the sign of Capricornus ... the Sun Sign of Antonius Subia and the home sign of the Star of Antinous. 

Antonius Subia says: 

Capricornus is Here Again!

Can't tell you all how relieved I am to see him!

Already I am feeling the alleviation

of proximity to Father Saturn,

And now we make our closest approach to the Star of Antinous!

So near...so far...could reach out my hand and touch him

and grasp dreams.

Help me Capricornus ... to climb to the summit,

not to be pushed down by the oscillations of fate.

Even if this mountain is no more than a pile of dung,

we Capricornians will always plant out flag at the top.

Not until we reach the place where we are closest to the gods

Will a Capricorn ever be content or happy or at peace.

Yet the thing that makes us so gloomy and hard on ourselves

is the cold realization that when we finally reach the top of the mountain

We will most likely be standing there all alone.

~ ANTONIUS SUBIA

ANTINOUS INVICTUS AND THE SOLSTICE

ON Tuesday at 04:47 Universal Time (8:48 p.m. Monday at the Hollywood Temple of Antinous) the sun "stands still" ("Sol Stasis") — the December 21/22, 2015, Solstice. 

This is a special day every year in the Religion of Antinous for it marks the return of Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun.

The return of the sun is the Conquest of Unconquered Light over chaos and darkness, the emergence of Phanes-Eros-Dionysus from the cosmic egg (image at right).

On this day, we observe the moment when the unknown god Bythus-Narcissus gazed into the pool of the abyss and saw his own reflection. 

His image caused the birth of the thrice-great Phanes-Eros-Zagreus, the saviors, who together are called Antinous Invictus.

The three-fold mystery of their birth is the descent of Phanes-Beauty, Eros-Love and Zagreus-Ecstasy into our world. 

These great spirits are the divine light of Antinous the God, it is their presence at the ground of our soul that is our immortal spark.

Within us all is the perfect image of the perfect face of light and love, a reflection of Narcissus-Bythus gazing down into the darkness of our world.

Antinous Invictus the perfect image of the perfect face of light and love will illuminate the way ahead.

It was Hadrian's dream to create the perfect civilization ... a civilization based on the Hellenistic principles of love, beauty, learning and tolerance. And it was his dream to create the perfect religion ... a religion which would encompass all others.

In the Northern Hemisphere today is the Winter Solstice and the days will be getting longer now. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the Summer Solstice and the days will become shorter now.

Wherever you live on this blue marble of ours, it is the same moment in the eye of Antinous the Gay God.

ONE-OF-A-KIND ARTIST BOOK ABOUT ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD

ONE of our favorite artists has just released a one-of-a-kind book entitled "Antinous the Gay God."

New York artist CARMINE SANTANIELLO announced it today.

Closed it is 20 x 15 cm (8 x 6 inches) and it folds out to a width of 120 cm (48 inches).

Handmade archival papers are lithographed with chine colle and assembled into hard covered illustrated artist books with accordion folded pages.

Carmine says: "My recent works are mixed media monoprints utilizing urban images that I photograph are included in my art along with drawing through a printmaking process - Paper Lithography.

"I am greatly inspired by urban images such as graffiti, dripping/splattered paint, marred subway tiles, posted bills etc.

"To me I see them as intriguing environments that work so well to house my figures and portraits.

"For me, artistically as well as aesthetically the combination of the two creates an emotionally charged work of art.

"I also love the contrast of the beautiful male form in a somewhat abstract urban setting. The juxtaposition of the two - artistically as well as aesthetically - creates an emotionally charged work of art."

FOR PURCHASE INQUIRES PLEASE EMAIL:Carcs2@aol.com

To check out more images by Carmine: CLICK HERE.

A TRUE SAINT OF ANTINOUS: GAY MAN GAVE LIFE TO SAVE OTHERS

A gay man's courage in the face of imminent death helped most hostages at his café in the heart of Sydney to escape ... though he paid for his bravery with his life.

Worshipers of Antinous in Australia and New Zealand have canonized Tori Johnson as a Saint of Antinous ... the first Saint of Antinous from Australia ... for wrestling a gunman to the ground ... giving a chance for others to flee to safety.

Tori, an openly gay man who had been with his partner Thomas Zinn for 14 years, was the manager of Lindt Chocolat Café in busy Martin Square in the heart of the financial district of Sydney in mid-December 2014. 

He was on duty when an Islamic radical held the staff and customers as hostages for 11 hours ... before Tori rushed him in order to permit the other hostages to flee to safety ... resulting in Tori's death.

Tori, 34, who was one of two persons killed during the Sydney siege, soon became a national symbol of heroism. Candlelight vigils along with statues and memorials have commemorated his selfless heroism for trying to snatch the weapon from the gunman to allow the other hostages to escape. 

His parents and his lover became the focus of a nation's grief and gratitude.

"We are so proud of our beautiful boy Tori, gone from this earth but forever in our memories as the most amazing life partner, son and brother we could ever wish for," the family said in a statement.

Friends of Tori described him as "a loving, placid and very gentle soul ... a true gentleman".

Co-workers said they were not the least bit surprised at his bravery.

"He was an amazing man," said Peter Manettas, who worked with Tori for nearly seven years. 

"He was a selfless person who always put staff above everyone," Manettas said. "He always put himself second."

Others spoke of his loving compassion for everyone, even strangers.

When Tori heard of a 6-year-old boy (photo at left) who had never eaten a candy Easter egg because of a rare food-allergy disorder, Tori invited the boy and his family to the café. 

He created a giant Easter egg made entirely of pure chocolate … one of the few foods that the boy could eat safely.

"My son still talks about it all the time," said the boy's mother, Mercedez Hinchcliff. "It taught him that some people do go out of their way for other people."

Tori Johnson is a true Saint of Antinous!

GOLDEN MASK BACK ON VIEW IN CAIRO BUT IS IT TUT'S OR NEFERTITI'S MASK?

THE famous golden mask is back on display at the Cairo Museum .. amidst a growing mystery as to whether it belongs to Tutankhamun or to Nefertiti.

At a news conference at the museum, experts said they used beeswax to reattach the beard ... using the same beeswax technique that the Ancient Egyptians had used.

They also discovered a hitherto unknown golden rod inside the beard for attaching it to the chin of the mask.

The mask fell victim to a BOTCHED REPAIR JOB over a year ago when it was lifted from its glass display case and the braided divine beard, precariously held in place by a small pin, came loose.

The staff panicked and glued it back on with epoxy resin.

The good news is that the glue is gone, the beard is back on in a proper fashion.

The restoration allowed an EXAMINATION that supports Dr. Nicholas Reeves' theory. 

He believes NEFERTITI could be buried in secret chambers, says  believes that Tutankhamun's famous mask was actually made for a female predecessor: his step-mother, Nefertiti.

But for now, Tutankhamun's golden mask is back on show, delighting visitors who will no doubt be taking an unprecedented interest in his chin.

In July 2015 Reeves published evidence that Tut's tomb had originally belonged to his stepmother Nefertiti.

He believes her remains may still be hidden there ... in hidden chambers concealed behind secret doors.

This blog's was among the first to report his theory.

Our initial story in July (which you can READ HERE) made headlines around the world.

JALALUDDIN RUMI SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON December 17th the Religion of Antinous celebrates the life of the Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi who dedicated his life to the illumination he received through the love of another man.

The mystic lover and poet Jalaluddin Rumi, better known simply as Rumi, was united with his beloved on this day. 

Born in Afghanistan in 1207 CE, his family moved to Turkey while he was still young. 

In the city of Konya, not far from the Bithynian birthplace of Antinous, Jalaluddin Rumi established himself as a traditional Islamic teacher.

But then one day he met Shams-e-Tabriz, a wandering Sufi mystic. 

Shams set Jalaluddin free from worldly concern and revealed the inward love of god as expressed through music, poetry and the whirling dance that simultaneously confuses and centers the soul of one who spins.

When Shams mysteriously disappeared, Jalaluddin went in search of him, only to discover that Shams was within his own heart.

From that day forward, Jalaluddin Rumi became a profound teacher of mystic eloquence whose poetry refers to god as the Lover within. 

The homoerotic character of Jalaluddin Rumi's spirituality, referring both to his love for Shams and his love for god, has ingratiated him to gay men because of the depth and sensitivity and sacred intimacy that his words exude.

Jalaluddin Rumi and his Mevlevi Order are the last remnants of the Bithynian-Phrygian ecstasy cults of Dionysus and Attis, and they are distantly connected to the Religion of Antinous, through the mystical charge of homoerotic spirituality.

Jalaluddin Rumi expressed total love, proclaiming that all religions were one. And on the day of his funeral, his bier was followed by a procession made up of representatives from five different faiths.

We sanctify Jalaluddin Rumi as a Saint in the Religion of Antinous. He died on December 17th, 1234.

TRANSGENDER SEX WORKERS TARGETED BY POLICE IN POMPEII VICE CRACKDOWN

THE oldest profession of all appears to be alive and well in Pompeii after a blitz by vice police near the ancient city netted €200,000 in fines from street prostitutes and their customers in just two weeks.

Many of those targeted by police were transgender sex workers, some of whom actually entertained customers in the ruins of Pompeii.

Most, however, mingled with tourists lining up for admittance into the famous archaeological site and found customers that way.

On average the 30 or so prostitutes working in Pompeii were each fined six times in 15 days.

That came after authorities ordered a crackdown in streets where visitors arrive from all over the world to gather to enter the celebrated archaeological site.

The links between past and present activities have not been lost on locals. Ancient Pompeii was one giant, seaside fleshpot for Rome’s upper classes, where aristocrats and merchants thought nothing of mixing business with pleasure, before it was destroyed by a devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius  in 79 AD.

At that time the city was not embarrassed to advertise the carnal pleasures on offer. 

Erotic art is found in several of Pompeii's villas.

And in 2006 thousands of tourists queued to see the city’s most extravagant brothel.

The Lupanare ... from the Latin word lupa for prostitute ... was re-opened after a lengthy restoration and has drawn huge crowds ever since.

Last year three tourists... a Frenchman and two Italian women ... were caught HAVING A THREESOME inside the ruins of the ancient brothel.

In the 21st Century, the sex trade is more frowned upon than in the 1st Century. 

In addition to handing out €400 fines during this months's raids, the police issued local "expulsion" orders to 12 women to prevent them from re-entering the area.

Four others were accused of having breached existing orders.

Police also arrested one prostitute and a client who were caught in flagrant.

Naples's Il Mattino newspaper said the action took place mainly in the three streets Via Villa dei Misteri, Porta Marina Inferiore and Via Plinio, all close to the archaeological site, where the prostitutes worked day and night and even mingled with tourists or commuters there and in the nearby train station.

Many were dressing in dowdier clothes to throw police off the scent, while others were conducting business in the local supermarket, approaching potential customers with the age-old question: "Have you got a light?" Affirmative responses led to a discussion of menu prices that range from €30 to €100, not including the cost of a hotel. 

BIRTH OF THE DIVINE LUCIUS VERUS

ON December 15th the Religion of Antinous celebrates the birth of the Divine Lucius Verus, who was born 48 days after the death of ANTINOUS in the year 130 AD (Year 19 of Antinous). As an 8-year-old boy he was hand-picked by Hadrian to become future co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius.

And Hadrian's wisdom in choosing him was realized when Lucius Verus proved to be a wise and diligent leader who combined efficiency in government along with a sense of charisma and high-drama style.


A handsome young man with naturally sandy-blond hair, he instructed his team of imperial stylists to sprinkle gold dust in his carefully coiffed hair and beard to highlight the natural blond sheen. 

Verus led a high-stepping lifestyle and kept a coterie of glitterati, actors and favourites with him. He had a replica tavern built in his house -- a sort of in-house Studio 54 -- where he staged lavish parties with his friends until dawn. 

He also enjoyed roaming around the city among the population, without acknowledging his identity. The games of the circus were another passion in his life, especially chariot racing.


Lucius Ceionius Aelius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus was the son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, His mother's name was Avidia. After the unexpected death of young Lucius's father, Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian then adopted Antoninus Pius to be his successor, and ordered that Antoninus adopt Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian's 17-year-old nephew, and the 8-year-old Lucius who took the name Lucius Verus.

As a boy Lucius Verus was educated by the foremost Roman scholars including the historian Marcus Cornelius Fronto. He was watched over by a devoted freedman of his father named Nicomedes, a name with Bithynian connotations and of almost homosexual allusion.

Originally Hadrian desired that Lucius should marry Faustina the Younger, daughter of Antoninus, but then Antoninus canceled this arrangement and Faustina married Marcus Aurelius instead. Lucius married Lucilla, the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, in 161 a year after becoming Emperor in 161.

War broke out with the Parthians and Marcus Aurelius sent Lucius Verus to head the Campaign, but he is said to have spent his time drinking and banqueting, leaving the war in the capable hands of his  generals. It was a wise decision. For this victory, he was awarded a triumph.


In general, the duties of running the government were left in the hands of Marcus Aurelius, while Lucius Verus spent his time with actors and musicians, and at the chariot races. 

He is said to have excelled his eccentric father Lucius Aelius in ostentatiously exhibiting his pleasures on an Imperial scale, much to the disapproval of the stoic Marcus Aurelius. The two co-emperors, however, always maintained cordial relations.

Lucius Verus was born in the year 130, only 48 days after the Death of Antinous. This is of course very important to consider, and certainly must have left a life-long impression of Lucius Verus. Considerations of reincarnation are open for contemplation.

His death in the year 169 was sudden and unexpected, occurring during a military inspection, likely due to dysentery or possibly smallpox, as he died during a widespread epidemic known as the "Antonine Plague". 

Despite the minor differences between them, Marcus Aureliusgrieved the loss of his adoptive brother. He accompanied the body to Rome, where he offered games to honour his memory. After the funeral, the senate declared Verus divine to be worshipped as Divus Verus.

Many people (even modern-day pagans) balk at believing in the divinity of the emperors, preferring instead the Classical deities of the Roman Republic.

Pagans find it extremely difficult to worship human beings as legitimate gods, because they have no believable supernatural powers, it's too obvious. There are other reasons of course, but this is one.

Why not Worship Lucius Verus and Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius and all the Antonines, why not call out to them, why not praise them and declare our loyalty to them and hope for whatever benefit we might gain? 

The odds seem as favorable with them as with anything else that people call Gods.

For this reason, among others...we turn to ANTINOUS...because he IS a human being...and he WAS deified...ANTINOUS is in every way Both God and Man...we can believe whatever we want about him...but only so long as we do not delude ourselves into thinking that we can placate ANTINOUS, that by worshiping HIM, that we will somehow purchase his good favor...that we will be rewarded for our good faith.

We don't see any harm in asking ANTINOUS to give us the Moon and the Stars and the Beautiful Things of the Land and the Sea...and we are proud to ask ANTINOUS to watch over His People, all the Homosexuals of the World, to protect them and Guide into the Future.

This may seem to be a violation of our personal creed of not asking for fulfillment of our selfish whims...but it is not a violation of that creed...perhaps because it is not for ourselves...and also because we  do not expect ANTINOUS to respond in any way or form...it is not so much a response from ANTINOUS Himself that we are seeking, but a Response from the Antinous within Our Hearts and from the Antinous within All of Our Hearts.

It is We who must watch over ourselves and the whole world...through the Power of Antinous Love within us all.

Lucius Verus IS a god and he represents the Power of the Antinous Love which resides within us all.