THE FESTIVAL OF MAAT AS ALL DEITIES INCLUDING ANTINOUS

THE 15th of June is the Egyptian festival when Ma'at unites as one with all the deities of the heavens. This is when all the gods take on the principle of Ma'at ... including Antinous as the final god of Egypt and ultimate Classical deity. Ma'at is often thought of as representing justice, but her true function is balance. If something has been pushed off kilter, then Ma'at embodies the power that restores equilibrium. This means that she can be appealed to if you are the victim of an injustice, and she will ensure that harmony is restored. However be very sure that you are the victim, because Ma'at is impartial, and will restore balance whoever has been at fault - this is the reason that justice is often shown as blindfolded.

ANTINOUS SEES THE SEVENTH WONDER OF THE WORLD IN EPHESUS

ANTINOUS and Hadrian may not have seen all Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (they didn't make it to Babylon), but they definitely visited most of them ... including the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in June of 129 AD.

Antinous and Hadrian visited TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS in June of 129 AD.

The temple honoured a local goddess, called Artemis by the Greeks, their version of Diana goddess of the hunt, the wild, and childbirth. 

The temple was constructed of marble and was built by King Croesus of Lydia to replace an older site destroyed during a flood. Measuring 130 meters long (425 feet) and supported by columns 18 meters high (60 feet), it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The image above gives you something of an idea of what greeted the eyes of Emperor Hadrian and Antinous as they entered the fabled city of Ephesus during the cycle of the Summer Solstice in the year 129 AD as part of their three-year tour of the Eastern Empire.

Ephesus had 300,000 inhabitants at its peak in the time of Hadrian, and it drew thousands of devotees to the shrine of the goddess annually. Even today, Ephesus is one of the most complete and most splendid ancient sites in the world and still draws thousands of tourists every year. The Great Library of Ephesus, which Hadrian patronized and greatly expanded, has been lovingly restored.

The Temple of Ephesus was consecrated to Artemis in her Asian element as a Phrygian-Hittite goddess of the hunt, a youthful manifestation of the Great Goddess of Mount Ida and Dydimus.

The Ephesus form of Artemis looks strange to our eyes ... and looked strange to Roman eyes as well.

The Roman Artemis ... called Diana ... is a virgin huntress. She carries a bow and wears a short, simple tunic suitable for the chase.


But Artemis of Ephesus ... presumably more ancient ... stands stiffly upright with her bent elbows against her body, her forearms extended and her hands open. 

She wears a crown, and outlining her head is a nimbus decorated with winged bulls.

More bulls and other animals adorn the stiff garment that covers her lower body, almost like a mummy casing.

From her neck hangs a necklace of acorns  and a ring of zodiacal figures, and below this you see the most striking feature of Artemis of Ephesus .. a mass of pendulous, gourd-shaped protrusions that hang in a cluster from her upper body. 

At first glance, they appear to be multiple breasts. But in fact these protrusions are bulls' testicles.

We can only imagine the festive procession of the goddess through the streets of Ephesus and the sacrifice of scores of bulls to the virgin goddess at the temple ... a ritual which Antinous must have seen with his own eyes.

The Temple had burned down on the night that Alexander the Great was born, but after his conquest, Alexander ordered the reconstruction of the Temple, which was still standing when Hadrian and Antinous visited.

ANTONIUS SUBIA explains the parallels between Artemis and Antinous and why we celebrate this Sacred Event:

"Artemis is considered the female Antinous, as his divine twin, the only goddess to exhibit lesbian qualities. She was worshipped as Diana alongside Antinous by the funeral society of Lanuvium. Ephesus was one of the first cities to proclaim Hadrian a living God, and one of the first to adhere to his veneration as a Divus.

"The presence of Antinous and Hadrian with their very pronounced Artemisian qualities must have made a deep impression on the Ephesians, in that they were aware that the city was being visited by living gods. It is to Artemis of Ephesus that this day is Sacred, as the female twin of Antinous, the Bithynian hunter god."

KING LUDWIG II of BAVARIA SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON JUNE 13th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who died on this date in 1886 under mysterious circumstances in an Alpine lake. As with Antinous, his death is shrouded in myth and legend and it will never be known whether he drowned accidentally or whether he was assassinated.

Born August 25, 1845, Ludwig was only 18 when he ascended to the throne of Bavaria in 1864. He was the  last truly sovereign monarch of that Alpine nation, which was engulfed by Prussia during his reign and very much against his wishes.

While the king of Prussia was planning a war against France, and various other crowned heads of Europe were scheming and conniving to commit war and bloodshed, "Mad" King Ludwig (as he was called) devoted the entire resources of his land to the performing and visual arts, commissioning operas by Richard Wagner and building the most astounding fairy-tale castles and palaces.

In the build-up to the Franco-German war, as troops were marching off to battle, Ludwig did not bother to see off his military forces. Instead, he went off on a jaunt to Switzerland to confer with Wagner on plans for a Wagnerian opera house in Munich. The opera house was never built, due to opposition from local critics. Instead, it was built at the Bavarian town of Bayreuth to the specifications of the composer, paid for by Ludwig personally.

Shockingly, in a staunchly Roman Catholic land, Ludwig never married and instead surrounded himself with handsome manservants, artists and architects.

Indeed, Ludwig is best known as a closeted gay man whose legacy is intertwined with the history of art and architecture, as he commissioned the construction of several extravagant fantasy castles (the most famous being Neuschwanstein below) and was a devoted patron of Wagner, who might never have finished his "Ring" cycle without Ludwig's ostentatiously generous support.

In an age of fiercely militaristic nationalism, Ludwig came under intense pressures from his advisers to abandon his artistic projects and to devote himself to empire-building. Feeling harassed and irritated by his ministers, he considered dismissing the entire cabinet and replacing them with fresh faces. The cabinet decided to act first.

 Seeking a cause to depose Ludwig by constitutional means, the rebelling ministers decided on the rationale that he was mentally ill, and unable to rule.

Medical psychiatry was in its infancy, and a panel of "experts" assembled mostly anecdotal evidence of the king's "madness" to satisfy the ministers.

The list of "mad" behavior included his extreme shyness, his distaste for politics and state affairs, his complex and expensive flights of fancy (including moonlit picnics at which his young groomsmen were said to strip naked and dance), conversations with imaginary persons, sloppy and childish table manners and sending servants on lengthy and expensive expeditions to research architectural details in foreign lands.

He was deposed on June 9, 1886, and placed under house arrest at a castle on the shores of Lake Starnberg south of Munich where he was under the constant watchful eye of a psychiatrist.

On June 13, around 6:00 pm, Ludwig asked the psychiatrist to accompany him on a walk along the shore of Lake Starnberg. The doctor agreed, and told the guards not to follow them. The two men never returned. At 11:30 that night, searchers found both the king and his doctor dead, floating in the shallow water near the shore.

Ludwig was known to be a strong swimmer, the water was less than waist-deep where his body was found, and the official autopsy report indicated that no water was found in his lungs. Nonetheless, the official death certificate listed suicide by drowning. The death of the doctor was never explained.

Most other monarchs of his era have been forgotten, or else their names have been cursed by succeeding generations for laying the groundwork for the First World War. But Ludwig was only interested in laying the groundwork for grand architecture and enduring cultural masterpieces. His legacy of art and architecture ... and homoerotic romance ... continues to inspire and to enchant.

FELIZ DIA DOS NAMORADOS WHEN ANTINOUS SPROUTS WINGS OF CUPID

Feliz dia dos namorados! 12 de junho ... Happy Valentine’s Day in Brazil! 12th June (English below)

ANTÍNOO-EROS

Como a última divindade clássica do panteão romano, Antínoo, o Deus Gay, se fundia com muitos outros deuses antigos, que melhor expressavam determinado aspecto do Garoto ou ajudavam a disseminar o culto em determinada região. Antínoo foi comparado a (e identificado como) Dionísio, Apolo e até Diana, a Caçadora.

E, dentre as entidades nas quais Antínoo se metamorfoseava, estava Eros, o Cupido.

É Flamen Antonius Subia, Supremo Sacerdote da Religião de Antínoo, que diz: "Como Eros, Antínoo é Amor, é a força que a Beleza inspira nos homens. Antínoo é o amante que seguimos em nossos corações. Essa veneração da beleza e da sensualidade masculina é a pura expressão do amor de Antínoo-Eros.”

“Antínoo-Eros é o mais poderoso de todos os deuses, o mais inegável, aquele que nos domina quando menos esperamos, que facilmente nos abandona e nos deixa desolados, que é capaz de nos levar às raias da loucura, forçando-nos a cometer todo tipo de extravagâncias. Em Seu nome, estamos dispostos a entregar nossas vidas e morrer por quem Ele nos determinou amar. Nenhum outro deus tem esse poder. Antínoo-Eros é a única força a superar a Morte.”

Sim, é Antínoo, com as asas do Cupido, que se encarrega pessoalmente de flechar o coração de todo gay que se apaixona. Foi Ele que uniu os amantes-guerreiros de Esparta e o Batalhão Sagrado de Tebas. Que uniu Aquiles a Pátroclo, Felipe a Bartolomeu, Verlaine a Rimbaud.

Hoje, dia 12, quando você se perder no olhar do seu namorado, quem vai te encontrar vagando, sem rumo, e te guiar até o coração dele é ninguém menos que o Garoto em pessoa - Antínoo, o Deus Gay.

JUNE 12th – Valentine’s Day in Brazil

As the last Classical deity, Antinous the Gay God morphed with many previous deities, that better expressed some aspects of the Boy or helped the spreading of the religion to different regions. Antinous was compared to (and identified with) Apollo, Dionisos, even Diana the Huntress.

And among these deities Antinous also morphed into Amor/Eros, the Cupid.

Flamen Antonius Subia says: "As Eros, Antinous is love, the force that beauty inspires in men. Antinous is the lover after whom we follow in our hearts. The veneration of beauty and sensuality in men is an expression of the love of Antinous-Eros.”

"Antinous-Eros is the most powerful of all deities, the most undeniable, the one who overtakes us when we least expect him, the one who as easy deserts us and leaves us destitute, the one capable of driving us over the edge of insanity, forcing us to commit all manner of extravagances. In His name, we are willing to surrender our lives and die for the one whom he has deigned that we should love. No other god has this power. Antinous-Eros is the only force that can overcome death…."

Yes, it’s Antinous, sprouting Cupid’s wings, who personally sends an arrow through the heart of every gay man who falls in love. It was He who united the lovers-warriors of Sparta and the Sacred Band of Thebes ... who joined together Achilles and Patroclus, Phillip and Bartholomew, Verlaine and Rimbaud.

Today, when you lose yourself in your boyfriend’s eyes, He will find you wandering alone and guide you to your boy’s heart – Antinous the Gay God.

THE RISE OF THE STAR OF ANTINOUS

ON JUNE 11th, the Religion of Antinous celebrates the Rise of the Star of Antinous.  This is the date in our Liturgical Calendar when the Constellation of Antinous begins to rise over the horizon at sunset. It is visible on the eastern horizon along the banks of the Milky Way.

Wherever you live on Earth, you can see the Constellation of Antinous on starry nights from mid-June through late October when, in synchronicity with the Death of Antinous in late October, the Star of Antinous descends below the western horizon in the glare of the setting sun. 

The Constellation of Antinous is no longer recognized by astronomers (just as Pluto has been demoted to the rank of "dwarf planet"). But it is still visible from any point on Earth nestled between Sagittarius and Capricorn and in the talons of Aquila (the Eagle Constellation) representing the Imperial Eagle which carried Antinous to lofty heights.

The most visible identifiers are the three bright stars of Aquila — Altair at the crown of his head, Tarazad, and Alshain. Alshain is derived from Arabic for "Two Friends" which astrologers have cited as a hint as to how to interpret the Sign of Antinous.

The Star of Antinous is however difficult to see. Most people cannot see it at all. You won't find it on any star chart. Like the Star of Bethlehem, it is a mystery and a conundrum about which many theories have been written.

And even if you could see it, the light which reaches your eyes would have left the star thousands of years ago — perhaps about the time that Emperor Hadrian discovered the star.

The simple truth of the matter — and the most beautiful facet of all — is the fact that Hadrian discovered the Star of Antinous with his own tear-filled eyes as he looked skyward in grief after the death of his beloved Antinous. Distraught and weeping, the emperor stood under the canopy of the star-studded heavens and looked up the River Nile towards the spot where his Beloved Boy had died. And he saw a new star which he recognized as a celestial sign that the gods had taken Antinous to be one of them.

You have to realize that Hadrian was a keen astronomer/astrologer himself. He knew the heavens like the back of his hand and he was so adept at casting horoscopes that it was said he had determined the exact hour of his death. He built an observatory at his sumptious villa outside Rome. And the tour of Egypt had brought him into contact with the finest Egyptian magician/priests, one of whom taught him how to cast a binding spell which could give him dream-visions and could also cause someone to fall hopelessly in love with him or — depending on how it was cast — even cause that person to die in agony.

Hadrian was that sort of control freak. Despite the fact that he was the mightiest man on Earth who could send a man to death on a whim (and did so, on occasion), he also wanted control over the future. And he wanted to be able to force someone to love him and never, never leave him.

Much has been theorized about those fateful final days leading up to the death and deification of Antinous and Hadrian's discovery of the STAR OF ANTINOUS.

Yes, much has been written about these events and about Hadrian's obsession with magic and astrology and soothsayers. One of the more fanciful versions was published in a novel in the mid-1950s by the German author Ernst Sommer. Entitled simply Antinous, the novel suggests Antinous sacrificed his own life to save his beloved emperor during the imperial tour of Egypt in the year 130 AD.


The dramatic climax of the plot has Hadrian lying in a villa in Hermopolis, feverish and at death's door after having been bitten by a mosquito. The emperor writhes in bed, calling out Antinous's name. The Empress Sabina and heir-apparent Lucius, jealous but also fearful that the presence of Antinous might further agitate the emperor, issue orders that the boy be kept away from the emperor.

After several daring attempts to sneak into the villa, Antinous is finally put under house arrest aboard an imperial vessel anchored a few miles upstream near the fallen-down Temple of Bes (the future site of the Sacred City of Antinoopolis). Lucius has ordered that he be put in irons to prevent him from sneaking off to visit Hadrian. But the guards cannot bring themselves to place the beauteous boy in irons, in defiance of Lucius's orders. Instead, they merely confine him to his quarters below deck with a single porthole overlooking the nighttime waters of the Nile.

Sensing that the emperor is dying, Antinous realizes his love for Hadrian is boundless and that nothing can keep them apart. Thinking back to his discussions about life and death with Jewish Rabbis, Christian clerics and Egyptian priests of Osiris, he realizes that the day has come. The hour has arrived. It is time to surrender everything he has — in a pure act of love that will transform everything.

He opens the porthole hatch and sees an unusually bright star which seems to beckon. He steps out of his clothes and leaves them (his last earthly possessions) lying in a heap on the floor. He climbs deftly out the porthole and slips quietly into the water.

At the same moment, Hadrian breathes his last breath, to the horror of Sabina and Lucius and the others who are gathered at his bedside. In a state now beyond physical life, Hadrian opens his eyes to see Anubis standing before him with outstretched hands, lifting him out of bed and guiding him away down many dark corridors. At last, Hadrian is taken through a massive portal and into a chamber where Thoth is waiting beside scales placed before Osiris.

Thoth begins the Weighing of the Heart ceremony as Osiris asks who this person is who seeks admittance to his realm. In the midst of the solemn proceedings there is a loud banging at the portal and Anubis announces that someone has arrived to offer his own heart in exchange for the emperor's heart, so that Hadrian might live and walk the earth again. That person is standing unseen just outside the portal. After brief discussion, the Egyptian deities acknowledge that the Law of Maat specifically envisions such an exchange and that, indeed, it is the most sacred and powerful of covenants — surrendering one's own heart on the Scales of Truth for that of a loved one. Such love cannot be denied. The offer cannot be denied.

Genesthoi — So Be It Done!

Back at the death bed in the Hermopolis villa, Hadrian gasps suddenly and his eyelids fly open, to the amazement of everyone who thought he had just expired. Sensing what has happened, he speaks hoarsely of a vivid dream involving deities. He looks around and demands to know where Antinous is.

"Where is he? What have you done with him? I know he would be here at my side if he were physically able. Bring him to me at once!"

But as Sabina and Lucius stammer excuses, and before the runners can summon Antinous, a boat crewman bursts into the room with the news that Antinous is missing and presumed to have drowned in the Nile.

Hadrian suffers a relapse, but the Egyptian magic is well done. So he cannot die this time. As the search for Antinous continues, with hope waning each day, Hadrian retreats to the rooftop observatory of the villa in Hermopolis which has been placed at his disposal by a wealthy Hermopolite. The emperor stares into the heavens night after night, refusing to give up hope that Antinous might yet be alive, perhaps dazed and confused and lost somewhere along the river.

Then one night he looks into the heavens and sees the proof that he has been looking for since the disappearance of Antinous. He summons the empress and Lucius and the entire court and also calls for the chief astrologer of the Temple of Thoth in Hermopolis to come quickly.

He informs them that a new star has appeared in the heavens and that it is a celestial sign that Antinous has left this earthly existence to ascend to the pantheon of the gods. He has surrendered everything on behalf of his beloved emperor, just as he had always said he would. Everyone thinks Hadrian has suffered another relapse and is delusional with fever. But the astronomer arrives and swiftly confirms that the sharp-eyed emperor has indeed discovered an uncharted star.

As Hadrian leaves to issue orders for the deification of Antinous, construction of the city at the spot where he drowned and erection of temples throughout the world, the astronomer remains behind in the rooftop observatory with the wealthy owner of the house. Where precisely is this new star, the owner asks. "I know quite a bit about the stars for an amateur, but I can't for the life of me see anything at the spot in the heavens where Caesar was pointing just a while ago."

The astronomer says that the new star is definitely there and that astronomers throughout the world will confirm its existence and it will be recorded duly in all the star charts.

"Yes, but can't you point it out to me?" the wealthy man pleas. "I'm straining my eys looking, but I just can't see anything."

The astronomer answers, "And that is why you will never be a good  astronomer. You scan the heavens with your eyes, but not with your  heart."

So Hadrian looked into the nighttime skies and discovered a new star to point the way to that new religion. As a scholar and man of science he was able to see it with his own two eyes. Perhaps it was a super-nova which flared and then went out — who knows? He saw it and his court astronomers confirmed it and the Constellation of Antinous was recorded in the star charts for 19 centuries to come.

But more importantly, Hadrian discovered the Star of Antinous shining in his heart. The Death of Antinous showed him a way to make his vision of the perfect religion a reality on Earth. It was the Light he was seeking. It was the Light of Antinous.

So when you look up into the nighttime skies tonight in search of the Star of Antinous, don't be surprised if you can't find it with your physical eyes. You can't find it in physical space, which is why Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia calls it the Dark Star of Antinous. Look inside your heart and you will find it shining there with all the beauty of a dream of perfection ....

Lumen Antinoi Adiuva Nos!

(Light of Antinous, Sustain Us!)

WE WEEP FOR THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER HEROIC PROTECTOR OF ANTINOUS

IT was on 10 June 323 BC that Alexander the Great died at the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, according to the Babylonian astrological calendar.

His subjects wept and shaved their heads in mourning, some killed themselves, unable to imagine a world without their golden-haired leader.

Many theories have been put forth about the cause of death … poisoning … a decayed liver from alcohol excess … typhoid fever … malaria.

Egyptian and Chaldean embalmers who arrived on June 16 are said to have attested to Alexander's lifelike appearance. This was interpreted as a complication of typhoid fever, which causes a person to appear dead prior to death.

It was said to have taken two years to build an enormous funerary catafalque to convey the body from Babylon.

On its way back to Macedonia, the funerary cart with Alexander's body was met in Syria by one of Alexander's generals, the future ruler Ptolemy I Soter. 

In late 322 or early 321 BC Ptolemy diverted the body to Egypt where it was interred in Memphis, Egypt. 

In the late 4th or early 3rd Century BC Alexander's body was transferred from the Memphis tomb to Alexandria for reburial.

It was seen there by Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Augustus and possibly Hadrian and Antinous.

At some point, however, the whereabouts of Alexander's body became unknown.

In May 2014 Polish archaeologists claimed they found the LOST TOMB OF ALEXANDER in Alexandria.

Later in 2014 Greek archaeologists made a similar claim to have found the Tomb of Alexander at AMPHIPOLIS, but they eventually said they had been wrong.

We, the modern priests of Antinous, praise the glorious warrior Alexander of Macedonia, and elevate him, and worship him as a God, an example of the greatness of homosexuality, and a heroic protector of the Divine Antinous.

THE LANUVIUM INSCRIPTION EXPLAINED By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

THERE was a group in the town of Lanuvium, outside of Rome, who started a Fraternity, dedicated to Diana and Antinous. 

It was basically a Funeral organization, kind of like a Life Insurance Policy group, only with religious overtones. 

What is interesting about this document is that it was open to slaves, freedmen, and Roman Citizens, with specific requirements of how much each person was required to contribute to the Funeral of a Member. 

A proper Roman funeral was very expensive and certain ceremonies were believed to be indispensable if the dead person was going to find peace in the afterlife. 

This group insured that if you were a member, that a Full Antinous themed Roman ceremony would be conducted on your behalf even if your family did not have the money to pay for the ceremony. 

It's a beautiful document really, and represents how significant Antinous was during the zenith of his religion. 

Another matter that makes this document important is that it is the only place where the Birthday of Antinous was recorded as 5 days before the Kalends of December ... or November 27th.

This inscription was posted at the doors of the now lost and forgotten Temple of Antinous of Lanuvium a completely insignificant town outside of Rome. 

Which leads us to wonder how many other towns had Temples of Antinous ... and groups like this .... There is also a reference to the Fratria of Naples and the Adriatic League.

The Cult of Lanuvium were dedicated to Diana and Antinous, this is also one of the strongest connection that we can make historially to Diana as the Witch Goddess

Diana and Antinous are the same

male and female version of the same power essentially

The Lanuvium Text is extremely powerful...this is only an abbreviation of the first part:

LANUVIUM TEXT

"In the consulship of Lucius Ceionius Commodus
And Sextus Vettulenus Civica Pompeianus,
5 days before Ides of June.
At Lanuvium in the Temple of Antinous,
In which Lucius Caesennius Rufus, patron of the town,
Had ordered that a meeting be called through Lucius Pompeius
To us, Quinquennalis of the Cult of Diana and Antinous,
He promised that he would give from his liberality
The interest on One Sixth of 1,000 sestertii
Namely 400 sestertii on the birthday of Diana, the Ides of August
And 400 sestertii on the birthday of Antinoos, 5 days before Kalends of December
And he instructed the by-laws passed by us to be inscribed
On the inner side of the port of the temple of Antinoos
As recorded below.
In the consulships of Marcus Antonius Hiberus and Publius Mummius Sisenna
Kalends of January,
The Benevolent Society of Diana and Antinoos was constituted
Lucius Caesennius Rufus son of Lucius,
Of the Quirine tribe
Being for the third time sole magistrate and also patron…"

JOHANN JOACHIM WINCKELMANN SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON June 8th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the flamboyantly gay man who is the father of modern archaeology, our own Saint Johann Joachim Winckelmann.

Born in Stendal, Germany, on December 9, 1717, he is called the father of modern archaeology because of his scientific studies of the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy.

He was a student of classical art and his many writings, including the famous History of Ancient Art, are a testament to his adoration of the male form as manifested in Greek and Roman sculpture. He wrote openly about his homosexual relationships as early as 1763, and eventually found employment with Cardinal Allesandro Albani, whose art collection he catalogued.

Winckelmann is among the first to conduct a serious study of the art of Antinous, and to have written openly about the significance of the relationship between Hadrian and Antinous. 

He is also believed to have been part of the first revival of the Religion of Antinous, and Priapus, led in secret by Cardinal Albani.

Winckelmann was murdered in his hotel room in Trieste by a young man with whom he was having a casual love affair, on the 8th of June 1768.

He was stabbed multiple times including repeated wounds to the groin, evidently out of sexual violence.

For his work as a student of the art of Antinous, and as an early believer the Religion of Antinous, and for the violence of his death, Johann Joachim Winckelmann is revered as an Innocent Martyr of the Religion of Antinous, perhaps the most specifically Antinonine of all those who died as a consequence of their desire for beautiful men.

Notice the painting above by Anton Von Maron. Winckelmann sits in a magnificent costume, gazing on an engraving of Antinous and writing his thoughts, as though the painter has distracted him from his meditation ... but we can be be sure that Winckelmann wanted us to know that Antinous was at the forefront of his thoughts.

WE HONOR SAINT ALAN TURING WHO WAS CASTRATED FOR BEING GAY

ON June 7th we remember Alan Turing as a Saint of Antinous ... the scientist who broke the Nazi's Enigma code machine during World War II but who was convicted of sodomy after the war.

The namesake of the A.M. Turing Award, the "Nobel Prize of computing," Turing was castrated in 1952 as part of his punishment.

Having chosen chemical castration over a prison sentence, Turing killed himself on 7 June 1954.

He is credited with breaking the previously unbreakable Nazi code machine called "enigma" during World War II, which many say helped lead to an Allied victory over Germany's Adolf Hitler.

In 2014 he was officially pardoned posthumously by Queen Elizabeth II.

"A pardon from the queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man," British Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a statement. "Dr. Turing deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science."

Turing was just one of nearly 50,000 men who were sentenced under the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act that made homosexuality a crime. 

IS THIS A MOSAIC OF ANTINOUS?

IS this a mosaic depiction of Antinous? Archaeologists in Italy theorize that this mosaic north of Naples in the volcanic area known as "Campi Flegrei" could depict Antinous.

The mosaic represents what they indicate to be a bust of Antinous as god or genie of the vegetation.

Below that depiction is the image of Amor/Eros carrying a hare, surrounded by a sash with two heart-shaped ends.

In Classical art symbolism, a hare or rabbit was given by a man to another male as a symbol of amorous intent.  Amor/Eros/Cupic served as bunny courier.

The hypothesis of the Italian experts is that this mosaic also represents Antinous sacrificing himself (the hare) for love (Eros and the hearts) for the longevity and good fortune of Hadrian. If so, it would be the absolutely first image of a heart in the "modern" shape we all know.

FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA SAINT OF ANTINOUS

THE religion of Antinous honors St. Federico García Lorca, who was openly gay and who is one of the greatest poets of the Spanish language.

Born June 5th 1898, he was executed by the Fascists on August 19th 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. García Lorca's central themes are love, pride, passion and violent death, which also marked his own life.

The Spanish Civil was just getting underway in August 1936 and García Lorca was seen by the right-wing forces as an enemy. The author hid from the soldiers but he was eventually found.

An eyewitness has told that he was taken out of a Civil Government building by guards and Falangists belonging to the "Black Squad". García Lorca was shot in Granada without trial. The circumstances of his death are still shrouded in mystery. He was buried in a grave that he had been forced top dig for himself. 

According to some sources, he had to be finished off by a coup de grâce. One of his assassins later boasted, that he shot "two bullets into his arse for being a queer".

It was the end of a brilliant career as a poet and dramatist who was also remembered as a painter, pianist and composer.

In the 1920s he was close friends with Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, among many others who later became influential artists in Spain. Despite the accolades from artists and critics, he suffered from bouts of depression brought on largely by his inner conflict about his homosexuality.

He was tortured by the demands of being a celebrity in a homophobic society and the yearnings of his gay soul.

During his lifetime only a handful of close friends were allowed to read the collection of gay poems which would be published many years later as his Sonnets of Dark Love. Here is one of them, entitled Love Sleeps in the Poet's Heart:

You'll never understand my love for you,
because you dream inside me, fast asleep.
I hide you, persecuted though you weep,
from the penetrating steel voice of truth.
Normalcy stirs both flesh and blinding star,
and pierces even my despairing heart.
Confusing reasoning has eaten out
the wings on which your spirit fiercely soared:
onlookers who gather on the garden lawn
await your body and my bitter grief,
their jumping horses made of light, green manes.
But go on sleeping now, my life, my dear.
Hear my smashed blood rebuke their violins!
See how they still must spy on us, so near!

With the Catalan painter Salvador Dalí and the film director Louis Buñuel he worked in different productions.

Dalí and Lorca had met in 1923. From the beginning, Lorca was fascinated by the young Catalan's personality and looks. Also Dalí had admitted that Lorca impressed him deeply.

When Buñuel and Dalí made their famous surrealist short film Un Chien Andalou (1928), García Lorca was offended: he thought that the film was about him.

Lorca's friendship with Dalí inspired a poem, a defense of modern art and at the same time an expression of homosexual love. Dalí dedicated his painting of Saint Sebastian to his friend, who often compared himself to the tortured homoerotic martyr.

"Let us agree," Lorca wrote to Dalí, "that one of man's most beautiful postures is that of St. Sebastian."

"In my 'Saint Sebastian' I remember you," Salvador Dalí replied, ". . . and sometimes I think he IS you. Let's see whether Saint Sebastian turns out to be you."

García Lorca was capable only of a "tragic, passionate relationship," Dalí once wrote — a friendship pierced by the arrows of Saint Sebastian.

The Religion of Antinous honors this great artist who lived and loved tragically and passionately and who died tragically for being gay.

GEORGE CECIL IVES SAINT OF ANTINOUS

WE honor George Cecil Ives as a Saint of Antinous for his pioneering crusade in Victorian England to create a modern "Theban Band ... Army of Lovers" and usher in the age of gay spiritual activism.

He was born on October 1, 1867 in England. He died June 4, 1950. While in London, in 1892, a gentleman by the name of Lord Alfred Douglas encouraged him to join "The Cause", which was an early British movement to bring an end to homosexual persecution. 

Ives was a friend of Oscar Wilde and attempted to enlist him, but was unsuccessful.

In 1897, believing that "The Cause" could not be openly discussed due to the extreme moral restriction of his age, Ives decided to go underground and founded the Order of Chaeronea, which was a secret society for homosexuals.

The name and spirit of the order was taken from the battle in which the Sacred Band of Thebes, the corps of 300 pairs of gay lovers, was defeated by Alexander and Phillip at the Battle of Chaeronea. The 300 had to be annihilated by Alexander because they refused to surrender.

Taking this "Army of Lovers" as their model for courage in the face of oppression, the Order of Chaeronea organized powerful and wealthy homosexuals who were otherwise unable to meet in public, into a secret political and spiritual force.

Saint George Cecil Ives, the guiding light of this first religious organization devoted to the sacredness of homosexuality, worked closely with other prominent homosexuals of the time such as Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld and Edward Carpenter, both of whom are Blessed Saints of Antinous.

In his voluminous writings, George Cecil Ives refers to Walt Whitman (another Antinoian Saint) as "The Prophet" and used lines from Whitman's poetry in the ritual and ceremony of the Order of Chaeronea.

He is numbered as one of the Uranian poets, and referred to Antinous as a symbol of male beauty and perfection.

For his effort to undermine the oppression of homosexuals, for the holiness and sanctity upon which he upheld our sexuality, and for calling out to our beloved Antinous, we thank Saint George Cecil Ives, and pray to him to aid us in the continuation of his divinely inspired work. He died on this day in 1950.

WE HONOR SOCRATES AS A SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON June 4th the Religion of Antinous honors Saint Socrates ... the most Divine and gentlest of all Philosophers was born on this day in 469. He was the son of the sculptor Sophroniscus, an artist, whose profession Socrates attempted during his youth.

The artist's love of beauty was to be the foremost drive of his life. The fortune that his father's art left gave the young Socrates the independence to begin a life spent in the adoration and service of wisdom.

He was told that the Oracle of Delphi had pronounced that there was no man wiser than he, but because he felt that he was the greatest fool, he spent his life trying to disprove the Oracle by questioning the most purportedly wise men only to discover that those who professed wisdom were the least possessed of it.

His method of inquiry was the birth of human science because he found that those who understood virtue would naturally follow in its ways, while those who were ignorant of virtue would proceed without its benefit. 

He proclaimed that "the proper study of mankind is man," and his philosophy centered on temperance, piety, duty to parents, brotherly love, fidelity in friendship, and diligence.

He was an admirer of male, youthful beauty, and devoted his life towards the awakening of virtue in the hearts of young men. 

For this, in the year 400 B.C. he was put on trial by the many enemies he had made in the ruling classes of the city of Athens and condemned with these words: "Socrates is guilty of crime; first, for not worshipping the gods whom the city worships, and for introducing new divinities of his own; next for corrupting the youth. The penalty due is death."

He was sentenced to drink poison, which he readily accepted, dying as a virtuous martyr, for homosexuality and for human social consciousness. (Image: "Death of Socrates" by Roger Payne)

Though he never wrote a word, he is remembered through the writings of his student, Plato, whose legacy eclipsed that of Socrates, though it was delivered and upheld as the very words of Plato's master, the Divine Philosopher Socrates, who was said by Cicero to have bright the love of wisdom down from the heavens to mankind.

ALLEN GINSBERG SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON JUNE 3rd the Religion of Antinous honors Saint Allen Ginsberg who was born on this day. 

St. Allen Ginsberg was an early proponent of freedom for men who loved other men, having already in 1943 discovered within himself "mountains of homosexuality." 

He expressed this desire openly and graphically in his poetry.He also struck a note for gay marriage by listing Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong companion, as his spouse in his Who's Who entry.

Later homosexual writers saw his frank talk about homosexuality as an opening to speak more openly and honestly about something often before only hinted at or spoken of in metaphor.

Also, in writing about sexuality in graphic detail and in his frequent use of language seen as indecent he challenged — and ultimately changed — obscenity laws.

We consecrate Irwin Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 — April 5, 1997) as a Blessed Saint and Exemplar of Antinous for attacking what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in modern society.

WARREN LEE WILLIAMSON JUNE 2, 1939 - MARCH 13, 2012

BROTHERS,

(as Warren always saluted us) 

Today we remember our dear gay wizard friend Warren Lee Williamson, born on this day in 1939, and who  succumbed to bone cancer at a hospital in Dallas on March 13, 2012, leaving behind Bob, his life's companion of 45 years. 

I want to send out a huge blessing from the bottom of my heart to the Wizard Warren on the occasion of his birthday!
I know that he is sitting there on the deck of the ANTINOUS BARQUE OF MILLIONS OF YEARS,
watching the hot young ancient Greek sailors manning the oars,
sipping champagne from an old fashioned (Marie-Antionette) glass,
on an Egyptian chaise-lounge next to Hadrian and Antinous and Lucius and all the rest of the sacred gays,
when suddenly our prayers will waft up from down below (or where ever it is that we are)
And the ship's DJ will announce over the amazing speaker system that it's Warren's Birthday!
The whole ship will freak out...a disco ball will drop from the mast...and confetti will shoot from the cannons!

He is the first of the NEW BELIEVERS IN ANTINOUS to check in with his boarding pass for the Barque of Millions of Years.

May Antinous give the Blessed Wizard Warren a special First Class seat with a window.

I love the Wizard Warren...he always had something right out of the cosmos to say,
...he gave me a tremendous boost of confidence when I was feeling out of my mind.

Warren was the holy grandfather of the Religion of Antinous...he was a magic presence among us,

We still continue to feel the ripples of his magic course through us even now.

The Blessed Wizard Warren is now the first of us to stand before ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD!

I know that the Wizard will sit down with Antinous and explain to the ancient boy-god,

what all our modern crazy madness is about (because Antinous must surely be confused)

...and then, with a wave of a divine hand, Antinous will restore the Wizard Warren to his pinnacle of eternal youth,

And in that perfect state of bliss, Antinous will reveal all the mysteries of HOMOTHEOSIS

That can only be known to those who have shed their mortal flesh forever.

I hope to join them there one day on the ship of millions of years.

The Wizard Warren was the 1st champion of the FIRST ANTINOUS GAMES,

He won with a beautiful story and a Haiku poem.

There were other great submissions, of course,
...but it was obvious to me that Warren's submission was something deeper
Than a devotional tribute to Antinous might usually be,
but it had what I can only describe as A VOICE OF MILLIONS OF YEARS
and this is why I insisted that Warren be named the winner.

In Memory of the Great Wizard, I want to share these two emails that were sent by Warren in 2006 during the First Sacred Games,
They are wonderful to read because it is only now that the uncanny VOICE OF MILLIONS OF YEARS
Is clearly obvious.

The Wizard Warren Lives Forever!

ANTONYUS SUBIA

______________________________________

April 13th 2006

Brothers:
I do not know whether I should relate this evenings occurrence, or
just keep it to myself. I choose to tell you; think of me what you will.
I went to church this evening, Thursday before Easter, not because I am a christian but because I love the music. Arriving late, I sat at the back.
I don't know when I first noticed Him, but it was with disapproval.
In the pew in front of me, but at the other side of the sanctuary,
stood a young man, probably 17 or 18 years of age. I felt that he was too casually dressed for such an occasion; he wore a rock style T-shirt, short pants and what we used to call in the old days (1970's) "Jesus boots', the roman style lace up sandals. During the service I kept feeling myself drawn to him; I purposely tried to look away.
He seemed familiar. And I loved His curly hair; He seemed Mediterranean.
As the sermon droned on I kept hoping he would look back at me, and then he did! It was as if someone had slapped me in the face. I was stunned! It was Him........It was Him. I knew....I knew it was Him.
He smiled and my heart stopped. I stood for the hymn not even aware I was doing so. It was by Bernard of Clairvaux. During the second verse his eyes never left me and I realized I was singing it to Him.

What language shall I borrow,
To thank thee, dearest friend,
For this thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Let me be thine forever.
And, should I fainting be,
Oh, let me never, never,
Outlive my love to thee.

His eyes pierced to my soul, and his smile was more than I could bear. I kept thinking this was not happening.....it couldn't be! I have looked at his statues for years.....I know his visage well.......and it was Him.
At the moment the hymn ended he turned full front to me and I saw what rock band was emblazoned there on his T-shirt: OSIRIS RISING.
My knees went weak, and tears streamed down my cheeks. The woman next to me, thinking I had been overcome by the service, put her arm around me to comfort me.
The service over, I looked up to locate Him, to follow Him, but He was on the other side of the church and the crowd was thick. I saw Him move into the narthex and I pushed my way through the crowd to get there as quickly as possible. But of course, He was not there. He was no where to be found......and I looked for several minutes. I asked casually if anyone had seen the 'young man', but no, no one remembered seeing Him.
I left sadly, yet strangely content. Because I know deep inside it
was Him. So I know He is watching; He is more than myth, much more.
And I shall never forget that smile as long as I live. Antinous lives! 

-----------

(Following Submission to the First Antinous Games)

April 21st 2006

Dear Brothers:

Believing that the time of Antinous has truly come, that he is no longer a local phenomenon only, but has taken his place with the eternal Olympians, I offer the following haiku poem to His honor and for the glory of His games throughout the world.

"Antinous Epiphanios"

Maundy Thursday's King, 
Brazen, Antinous smiling,
Osiris Rising!

Also, a sad note. I attended both Good Friday and Easter services,
searching each face, hoping that He would be there. But, of course,
He was absent, as I reckoned He would be. I will keep searching,
but I knew it was but a single epiphany. He is indeed Antinous
Epiphanios!

I appreciated, so much, your comments. And I asked myself the same questions you did...........what would I have done had I met Him? I have no answer; I only felt compelled to touch His hand, to be with Him for a moment.

Glory to Antinous and peace to the Ecclesia Antinoi!

ANTINOUS VIVIT, AVE!

WE PRAISE GILBERT BAKER CREATOR OF THE RAINBOW FLAG

ANTINOUS embraces Gilbert Baker ... creator of the rainbow flag. He was a civil rights activist, army veteran and self-taught tailor. He created the symbol of the LGBTQ movement 40 years ago. He would have celebrated his 66th birthday during Pride 2017.

Gilbert Baker is a Saint of Antinous!

Antinous abraça Gilbert Baker ... criador da bandeira do arco-íris. Ele era um ativista de direitos civis, veterano do exército e alfaiate autodidata. Ele criou o símbolo do movimento LGBTQ há 39 anos. Ele teria celebrado seu 66º aniversário durante o Pride 2017 .

Antinous abraza a Gilbert Baker ... creador de la bandera del arco iris. Era activista de los derechos civiles, veterano del ejército y sastre autodidacta. Creó el símbolo del movimiento LGBTQ hace 39 años. Habría celebrado su 66 cumpleaños durante el Orgullo 2017 .

THE ANCIENT RENAISSANCE MAN IMHOTEP SET THE EGYPTIAN PRECEDENT FOR ANTINOUS TO BECOME A GOD

SOME 3,000 years before Antinous, the Egyptians deified another mortal commoner ... the ancient "Renaissance Man" Imhotep ... Egyptian magician, physician, scribe, sage, architect, astronomer, vizier, and priest.

Imhotep's many talents and vast acquired knowledge had such an effect on the Egyptian people that he became the first individual of non-royal birth to be deified ... setting a precedent for Antinous to attain the status of a god.

 Imhotep, or "he who cometh in peace," was born in Ankhtowe, a suburb of Memphis, Egypt. 

The month and day of his birth are noted precisely as the sixteenth day of Epiphi, third month of the Egyptian harvest (corresponding to May 31) but the year is not definitely recorded. 

It is known that Imhotep was a contemporary (living in the same time period) of the Pharaoh, or king of Egypt, Zoser (also known as  Neterikhet) of the Third Dynasty. But estimates of the era of his reign vary by as much as three hundred years, falling between 2980 and 2600 B.C.E.

Imhotep's father, Kanofer, a celebrated architect, was later known to be the first of a long line of master builders who contributed to Egyptian works through the reign of King Darius the First (522–486 B.C.E. ). His mother, Khreduonkh, who probably came from the province of Mendes, is known today for having been deified alongside her son, an Egyptian custom.

Vizier under King Zoser

The office of the vizier in politics was literally described as "supervisor of everything in this entire land." Only the best educated citizen could handle the range of duties of this position that worked closely with the Pharaoh, or king of Egypt.

The capital city was Mennefer (Memphis) called the city of the "White Walls" for the enormous walls around the Temple of Ptah compound (right).

As vizier, Imhotep was chief advisor to Zoser in both religious and practical matters, and he controlled the departments of the Judiciary (court system), Treasury, War, Agriculture, and the General Executive.

There are no historical records of Imhotep's acts as a political figure, but his wisdom as a religious advisor was widely recognized after he ended a terrible famine (a severe shortage of food) that dominated Egypt during seven years of Zoser's reign. It is said that the king was failing in his responsibility to please the god Khnum, and his neglect was causing the Nile to fall short of a flood level which would support Egyptian farms. 

Imhotep, having a vast knowledge of the proper traditions and methods of worship, was able to counsel Zoser on pleasing Hapi, the the god of the inundation, allowing the Nile to return to its usual flood level.

The first miracle attributed to Antinous was a bountiful Nile inundation in the year 131 AD. 

Architect of the famous pyramid at Sakkara

 The Step Pyramid at Sakkara is the only of Imhotep's achievements that can still be seen and appreciated today. Its reputation is largely based on Imhotep's accomplishments as the pyramid's inventor and builder. 

This pyramid for King Djoser, also called "Netjerikhet" (Incarnation of the Gods), was the first structure ever built of cut stone, and is by far the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the World, the seven structures of the ancient world that were astonishing accomplishments for their time. 

It took twenty years to complete—not very long, given the newness of the idea and the state of structural science in the Bronze Age (between 3000 B.C.E. and 1100 C. E.), the period of development where metals, particularly bronze, were used for the first time.

Imhotep wanted the tomb to accommodate the Pharaoh's rise into the heavens. To do this, he planned to improve upon the flat, rectangular mastabas, or built-in benches, which were the traditional tombal structures. 

The pyramid was raised on top of the base mastabas in five smaller steps, one on top of the other.

He added a passageway on the north side issuing upward within the structure from a sarcophagus chamber (where the stone coffin holding the mummy is kept) seventy-five feet below ground. 

The total height of the pyramid and base is just under two hundred feet, unimaginably large for a single structure before Imhotep's design.

The project at Sakkara was designed in its entirety as a way for the deceased to perform the rituals of the jubilee festival, or Hebsed. The complex consisted of many other buildings, as well as ornamental posts some thirty-seven feet high. 

The protection of the king and his burial gifts—about 36,000 vessels of alabaster, dolomite, aragonite, and other precious materials—was the other primary function of the burial site.

The entire complex was enclosed within a stone wall about thirty-five feet high. Imhotep added several false entrances to throw off possible tomb raiders. As a final measure, the king's treasure was lowered through vertical shafts around the tomb into a long corridor one hundred feet below ground. The digging of just this corridor without machines of any kind is an amazing accomplishment by modern standards.

When Antinous and Hadrian visited Egypt in the year 130 AD, they stood atop the plateau at Sakkara and marveled at the achievements of Imhotep.

It is likely that Imhotep was the architect and master builder of many other projects completed during a forty-year period of the Third Dynasty, though none of them compare in size or stylistic influence to the burial site at Sakkara. 

Imhotep was also the author of an encyclopedia of architecture that was used as a reference tool by Egyptian builders for thousands of years.
 

Physician-magician, God of medicine

As a god of medicine, Imhotep was beloved as a curer of everyday problems who could "provide remedies for all diseases," and "give sons to the childless."

Members of the cult of Imhotep in the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Dynasties (between 525 B.C.E. and 550 C. E.) would pay tribute to the God at his temple just outside Memphis. 

The temple also contained halls devoted to the teaching of medical methods, and to the preservation of the materia medica, which details the entirety of Egyptian medical knowledge which may actually have originated with Imhotep.

Imhotep's name was often grouped with such powerful deities as Thoth, God of Wisdom, Isis, the wonder-worker, and Ptah, a healer and the ancient God of Memphis. 

Although royal individuals were deified by the Egyptians, Imhotep is unique as the first non-royal man to be known by his own name as a god inferior in power only to Re (chief Sun-God). With that precedence in mind, the Egyptians had no objections to accepting Antinous as a God.

Imhotep was also a member of the great triad of Memphis, with Ptah, Imhotep's father among the gods, and Sekhmet, a goddess associated with childbirth.

It is a matter of debate today how much of Imhotep's reputation as a curer of disease stems from medical skill and how much comes from his command of magic and healing rituals.

More than 3,000 years before Antinous died in the Nile ... Imhotep set the precedent for deification of mortal non-royals in Egypt.