IT is with great joy that we, the Priesthood of the Temple of Antinous, solemnly announce the coming of the 6th Antinous Games!
To be Celebrated on the Day of the Sacred Lion Hunt
6 Days before the Calends of September
On the 30th of August 2026 (Year of Antinous 1895)
We invite Artists, Poets, Musicians, Performers and Athletes
To prepare submissions for the sacred competition
In honor of Antinous the Gay God
The theme is open to interpretation
With suggested emphasis on Antinous
Or Gay Pagan Spirituality.
Three winners will be selected by a panel of judges.
Fabulous prizes will be awarded!
May the gods of Olympus be with us as we formally announce
The 6th Sacred Games of Antinous
AVE ANTINOUS!
Send Submissions to: antinouspriest@gmail.com
Rules of Submission:
The Deadline to Enter is August 27th, 2026
All submissions must be about Antinous, or include Antinous as their theme or subject matter, or in some discernible way reference Antinous. Performance submissions can be about Homotheosis, Gay Spirituality, Paganism, LGBTQ experiences, or even Abstract but must either demonstrate a connection to Antinous or must begin or end with the submitter stating that their performance is dedicated to Antinous. Athletic submissions must begin, or end with a stated dedication to Antinous.
The following are acceptable categories:
ART
MUSIC
DANCE
THEATER
PERFORMANCE ART
POETRY
LITERATURE
ATHLETICS
REQUIREMENTS:
-ART must be submitted as photographs and emailed to antinouspriest@gmail.com
-MUSIC can be submitted as an audio-only file, or as a recorded video performance (preferred)
-DANCE, THEATER and PERFORMANCE ART pieces must be submitted as video and must not exceed standard YouTube time-length requirements.
-ATHLETICS can include any form of athletic demonstration such as weight-lifting, exercise, running, track and field, wrestling, yoga, gymnastics, or any form imaginable that can be captured in short video form.
-LITERATURE can be fiction, nonfiction, essays, academic research papers, or autobiographical works. It is recommended that Literary submissions be reasonably short in form, although there is no official limitation to the length of form of a submission. If submitting a novel or book, a short treatment or synopsis is recommended and a link to where the full work can be purchased or downloaded. Blog entry submissions or articles will also be accepted, a link to the blog page or article must be provided
Additional submissions that do not fall into the above categories will be considered at the discretion of the Convener of the Games.
RULES:
1) All Submission must be about Antinous. Performance pieces and Athletics must be verbally dedicated to Antinous. No non-Antinous related Submissions will be accepted. The decision as to whether a submission conforms to this requirement will be made by the Convener of the Games
2) Only One Entry can be submitted per Competitor. Multiple pieces can be submitted but they will all be considered One entry and will be presented together as a single Submission.
3) All submissions must be the original work of the Competitor. Additional participants in the entry are allowed, but only the submitter will be considered to be the Competitor and only the submitter will be eligible to receive an award.
4) No submissions made during a previous Sacred Games of Antinous will be allowed
5) All Competitors must be over the age of 18 to participate
6) Submissions must conform to the rules of usage of Facebook and YouTube
7) Submissions must not violate copyright laws or any other federal, state or local laws.
Three awards will be given:
ART - paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography
LITERATURE - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, novels, articles, memes
PERFORMANCE - theater, performance art, dance, ceremonies, athletics, music (including audio only)
One of the three winners will be proclaimed the overall champion and will receive the grand-prize, which will include the traditional bronze tripod.
Everyone has heard of the Ancient Olympics, but there were other Games held in antiquity, and among the most famous were the Games of Antinous, which were called the Megala Antinoeia ... the Great Games of Antinous. These were Sacred Games which were held in Antinoopolis, Bithynia and in Mantinea."
The most famous Games were held at Antinoopolis, the city founded by Emperor Hadrian in Egypt at the spot along the Nile where Antinous had drowned in the year 130 AD.
The competitors were primarily young men called Ephebes.
In Antinoopolis these included swimming and boat races in the Nile.
The over-all winner was consecrated as the living embodiment of Antinous and given citizenship in Antinoopolis, with an all-expense-paid life of luxury and adoration.
He was worshiped in the temple as the representative of Antinous, the emblem of youth and masculinity. He was the Divine Ephebe.
The Great Antinoeia, as the Games of Antinous were called, were held for hundreds of years.
But little was known of the actual competitions until a fragile papyrus was deciphered recently which revealed some intriguing and somewhat shocking details about the Games of Antinous of the year 267 AD and two wrestlers named NICANTINOUS AND DEMETRIUS.
The Games of Antinous faded into obscurity ... but have been revived in the past decade by us. They are held every four years during the cycle of the blooming of the ROSY LOTUS OF ANTINOUS AFTER THE LION HUNT in August.
The modern-day Religion of Antinous revived the Sacred Games 20 years ago. This is the VI ANTINOEIAD of the modern era, and entry is open to everyone wishing to honor Antinous with their own artistic, academic or athletic talents.
"These Games are open to all ... regardless whether you are gay and regardless of gender," Antonius Subia says.
"You can submit any form of artistic endeavor ... poems, paintings, videos or literary works. But you can also submit dancing, running or other physical effort ... as long as you provide documentation of your performance art," he explained.
Prizes will be awarded to winners, details of which are to be unveiled on this blog in coming days and weeks as the deadline approaches.
For enquiries and submissions, contact us here: antinouspriest@gmail.com
