THIS SUPERB COIN OF ANTINOUS CAN BE YOURS — FOR ONLY $3,000

THIS stunning ancient Antinous drachma coin is up for auction ... and estimated to fetch $3,000 ... proving once again that "Antinomania" is very much alive amongst collectors. 

It is literally in "mint condition" ... as pristine as the day it was minted more than 1,800 years ago.

In ancient times, Antinous coins and medallions were carried as amulets and talismans by his worshipers. Most people could not read, but they could understand the symbolism on his coins. 

This is a coin showing Antinous as Hermes/Mercury on both side. CLICK HERE for details on the auction.

On one side Antinous is seen in profile wearing the Egyptian HEM-HEM crown of rulership. On the other side, Antinous as Hermes/Mercury rides a horse and holds a caduceus.

It was minted in Alexandria Egypt in about 136 AD ... six years after the death of Antinous in Egypt.

In his authoritative book about Antinous, BELOVED AND GOD, Royston Lambert points out that in ancient times many followers of the Blessed Youth felt it was necessary to have a tangible representation of Antinous with them at all times for protection and for blessings.

Lambert writes: 

Some of the devotees evidently could not bear to be parted from the beneficial and reassuring presence of their Antinous. 
People of modest means who were lucky enough to get their hands on one of his commemorative coins would carry it with them for protection, often even wearing them.
Many were pierced by holes and hung from the neck as talismans: Antinous' image offering protection against evil, sickness and death. 
Other such medallions were mounted in frames to adorn household altars, and others were buried with the dead to invoke the god's aid on the perilous journey into the unknown.

GEMINIDS METEOR SHOWER PEAKS DURING TONIGHT'S FULL MOON

AMAZING meteor shower this week! Go outside about 20:00 hours (8 p.m.) and look up to see the GEMINIDS ... meteors shooting out of Gemini. The Geminid meteor shower appears every year about this time and is our best shooting star display, with more than 100 meteors appearing each hour. Sadly, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere the winter weather makes viewing bad. But if you are lucky enough to live in the Southern Hemisphere, you have a perfect view on a clear summer night! This year's spectacle is especially good because the GEMINI FULL MOON points the way to the source of the shooting stars.

Meteoro chuveiro incrível esta semana! Vá para fora cerca de 20:00 horas ( 8 pm ) e olhar para cima para ver os Geminidas ... meteoros que disparam fora de Gêmeos. A chuva de meteoros Geminid aparece todos os anos sobre este tempo e é a nossa melhor exibição estrela cadente , com mais de 100 meteoros aparecem de hora em hora . Infelizmente, se você vive no Hemisfério Norte o inverno torna a visualização ruim. Mas se você tiver sorte o suficiente para viver no Hemisfério Sul , você tem uma vista perfeita em uma noite de verão, claro !

Increíble lluvia de meteoros de esta semana! Salir a la calle a unos 20:00 horas ( 8 pm) y mirar hacia arriba para ver las Gemínidas ... meteoros tiro de Géminis. La lluvia de meteoros Gemínidas aparece cada año en esta época y es nuestra mejor visualización de estrella fugaz , con más de 100 meteoros que aparecen cada hora . Lamentablemente, si usted vive en el hemisferio norte el clima de invierno hace que la visualización malo. Pero si tienes la suerte de vivir en el hemisferio sur , se tiene una vista perfecta en una clara noche de verano !

ANTINOUS GUADALUPE AND THE MIRACLE OF THE PINK LOTUSES

THE Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe (Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe) is a popular Catholic feast that celebrates the belief that a man encountered the Virgin Mary, Mexico’s patron saint, in Mexico City on December 9 and 12, 1531.

It was said that she was the reincarnation of the Aztec goddess Tonantzin.

Born on the banks of the Rio Grande between the US and Mexico, Antonius Subia was inspired to paint this portrait of Antinous as Guadalupe. 

Antonius says:

I told them I had seen Antinous on the hilltop but they didn't believe me, something about drugs and alcohol and that I am a Mexican, and must be delusional.

So I let my poncho unfold and pink lotus flowers fell to the floor and behold there was a miraculous image of ANTINOUS on my poncho, by no means painted by human hands!

"Rebuild my Temple, Antonyus," he said to me in Nahuatl.

~ANTONYUS SUBIA

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 on 16 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!

CARDINAL ALESSANDRO ALBANI SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON December 11th the Religion of Antinous honors SAINT ALESSANDRO ALBANI, who was an Italian aristocrat and cardinal, and a collector and patron of the arts. 

It is largely thanks to Cardinal Albani that Antinous experienced a resurgence of interest in the 18th Century which continues to this day.

It is also believed that Albani secretly worshiped the Beauteous Boy as a gay god.

Albani became a trend-setter and an arbiter of taste. Albani, whose sexuality was ambivalent, and the openly gay Winkelmann more or less single-handedly launched a craze throughout the European aristocracy for Classical art.

When he was 29, by special dispensation from his uncle Pope Clement XI, Alessandro Albani was made a Cardinal, although he had never been a priest or member of a lower order. 

Indeed, he would have preferred to pursue a military career. But chronic eye problems, which eventually resulted in total blindness in old age, convinced him to take up his uncle's generous offer.

He is said to have been a continuing cause of great concern to his uncle, due to his worldly and irreligious obsessions, first among these his passion for art.

Cardinal Albani used his vast wealth to collect Classical art, and to patronize artists of his day, such as Anton Raphael Mengs, and the "Father of Archaeology" Johann Joachim Winckelmann, who was an open homosexual.

The art collection of Cardinal Albani contained an extraordinary number of statues of Antinous, and these were studied by Winckelmann, who had taken up residence in the sprawling and very lavish Villa Albani outside of Rome (pictured at left).

And Antinous was the pre-eminent example of male beauty in Classical art. Every aristocrat in Europe wanted a statue or Antinous. And monarchs such as Frederick the Great of Prussia (who never married and favored intimate friendships with males) sent out experts to find statues of Antinous.

Thus, the science of archaeology was born largely through a desire by aristocrats to furnish their palaces with the sort of Antinous-style Classical art which Albani had made fashionable.

By the time he died on December 11th in the year 1779, it was rumored that Cardinal Albani, along with his intimate friends Winckelmann and neo-classicist painter Anton Mengs, had been secret worshippers of Antinous and Priapus.

It was asserted that they reinstated the religion of the Beloved Boy as a kind of underground cult along with other, unnamed persons.

For this reason, though based largely on rumor, Cardinal Alessandro Albani is sanctified as a Saint of the Religion of Antinous.

Although he was a Cardinal of the Catholic Faith, he may in fact have been the first High Priest of Antinous since the extermination of the ancient religion 1,300 years before.

Albani's secret cult ... assuming it truly existed ... is the only known predecessor since ancient times to the current Religion of Antinous.

ANTINOUS HOLLYWOOD STAR KELLY MANTLE MAKES ACADEMY AWARD HISTORY

A Hollywood star of stage, screen and television who is the longtime boyfriend of ANTONIUS SUBIA, founder of the modern religion of Antinous, has made Academy Awards history ... by being in contention in both the male and female categories.

Best known for appearing on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, KELLY MANTLE is making a splash this year with a role in comedy Confessions Of A Womanizer.

Kelly responded by tweeting "I am honored and humbled to be considered" on his TWITTER account.

Kelly is well-known on both coasts of the United States as a singer, composer, stand-up comedian and as a stage actor.

As a contestant on season six of RuPaul's Drag Race, Kelly is known to television viewers around the world.

Kelly and Antonius have been together since before the start of the Hollywood Temple of Antinous 15 years ago. 

Kelly has been an unending source of inspiration and support.

The film has put forward Kelly for consideration at the Academy Awards and, in a first, Kelly is up for both of the gender-segregated supporting role categories.

Director and writer Miguel Ali confirmed the news. He said: "The Academy Awards have confirmed that Kelly Mantle will be considered for both the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for his role in Confessions of a Womanizer ... this is in recognition of Kelly's androgynous identity.

"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in Oscar history that a person will be considered for an acting Oscar in both gender categories.

"Of course ... I hope we get Kelly nominated. Regardless, we are bringing spotlight to our androgynous and transgender community. I'm grateful for the path that has already been carved by transgender-androgynous-empowering Oscar-contending films like Tangerine and others.

"I firmly believe that our androgynous/transgender acting community is the most untapped resource in Hollywood. We need to bring them more attention, and by doing so, we will create more empathy for our androgynous/transgender brothers and sisters.

"I also couldn't be more impressed by the Academy Awards. What a wonderful institution.

"There is no doubt in my mind, that amongst Hollywood, they are doing everything they can to spotlight our androgynous and transgender community."

Although any film can submit an actor for consideration, actually landing a nomination is another matter.

The nominees are usually announced at the end of January.

THIS STUNNING VIDEO RECREATES LOCATIONS IN HADRIAN'S LIFE

A stunning video by the ALTAIR4 team of 3-D archaeological recreations portrays locations in Emperor Hadrian's life.

The video shows portions of Hadrian's Villa, Nero's Golden House, the Acropolis in Athens, the Temple of Isis at Philae and Karnak in ancient Thebes....

Click HERE for more 3-D archaeological recreations.