THE TEMPLE OF ANTINOUS WEBSITE WENT ONLINE ON THIS DATE IN 2002

TODAY is the 19th Anniversary of the Antinous website going online, the first official proclamation of the restoration of the Religion of Antinous since the end of the ancient cult!

This is what the original version looked like back on March 11th, 2002.

Click here to visit the TEMPLE OF ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD website.
May Antinous bless it with many years to come!

Ave Antinous!

~Flamen Antonius Subia 

ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON March 9 the Religion of Antinous honors Robert Mapplethorpe, Saint of Antinous.

In 1990, the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center and its director were charged with "Pandering Obscenity" after an exhibition of Mapplethorpe?s photographs. 

They were eventually acquitted but the event fueled a national debate over federal funding of the arts in the United States. 

The debate, which has affected American art ever since, focuses on whether tax dollars should be spent on projects which political conservatives deem objectionable. Specifically, the debate is over whether gay-theme art should be funded.

Robert Mapplethorpe died from AIDS on 9 March 1989, at age 42, one year before his art spawned the controversy, so he was only able to speak through his photographs.

His subject matter portrayed homosexually charged images of nude men.

The controversy that Robert Mapplethorpe sparked exposed the double standard by which homosexual art is judged against heterosexual art. He revealed that nudity is most "obscene" to non-gays when it involves males.

We proclaim his sainthood to be heroic and dedicated to Antinous, because Robert Mapplethrope beautifully photographed a plaster statue of Antinous (shown at left), indicating that he must have known our God and in some way loved him.

WE CELEBRATE THE WEDDING OF VENUS/APHRODITE & ANTINOUS/ADONIS

THE 9th of March is the festival of the wedding of Aphrodite and Adonis. 

Antinous has always been identified with Adonis, as the famous Farnese statue shows here. So the union of Adonis and Aphrodite is the joining of Antinous male energies with Venus female energies … to form a more complete you.

There is a lovely description of this festival in "The Golden Bough" by J G Frazer:

"Images of Aphrodite and Adonis were displayed on two couches, beside them were set ripe fruits of all kinds, plants growing in flower-pots, green bowers twined with anise, golden boxes of myrrh, cakes of meal, honey and oil, made in the likeness of things that creep and things that fly. The marriage of the lovers was celebrated."

So today is a good time for any love magic, but particularly magic to cement or confirm a relationship, or to encourage a partner to want to make a commitment.

WE PRAISE THE GODDESS ARTEMIS/DIANA GUARDIAN OF ANIMALS AND VEGETATION

THE 8th of March is the festival of Artemis/Diana as guardian of animals and vegetation.

In the Northern Hemisphere spring is on the way ... and for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere winter is coming.

Regardless where you live, leave food for wild birds and other small animals which might need sustenance at this transitional season.

We remember that Diana is the twin sister of Apollo. And because Antinous is often assimilated to Apollo, he therefore substitutes as the twin of Diana, though he can often be viewed as her male double.

That means Antinous is Diana/Artemis/Hecate. She is a goddess of wisdom and can lead us even out of the darkest night, she carries torches to illuminate any tricky path, so call to her whenever you are desperate for help … like all the small creatures under her care at this transitional time of year.

WE JOYFULLY CELEBRATE THE JUNONALIA FEAST OF JUNO QUEEN OF HEAVEN

ON March 7th we observe the Junonalia feast of the Roman goddess Juno, with whom Hadrian's wife and consort Empress Sabina is identified ritually. (Art by ANTONIUS SUBIA).

On this day, Ancient Romans observed the Junonalia to honor their Queen of Heaven. This festival was celebrated by the matrons of Rome in which a procession of 27 girls accompanied a statue of Juno carved out of a cypress tree.

There were processions in which statues of Juno were carried through the streets and ending at the Temple of Juno. Prayers and generous offerings of flowers and flowering plants were brought to Juno.

There was dancing, merriment, and wonderful feasting (for the Romans were known for their feasts). From how it sounded, it would be very similar to a modern "girls night out."

The Junonalia was also attested in a fragmentary poem De Iunonalibus, attributed to Claudian. In it, Juno is addressed as mistress of the celestial pole, and the spouse and sister of the king of heaven.

Her function as a goddess of marital bonds is also noted. Although the text is conjectural at this point, she may be asked to grant a return.

The Junonalia may have concluded a three-day festival begun March 5th with the Isidis Navigium (Sailing of Isis). In the Metamorphoses of the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, Isis is addressed as Queen of Heaven, and by the 2nd Century a number of goddesses, including Juno, shared the epithet Caelestis.

As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called Regina (Queen) and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a the Juno Capitolina (Capitoline Triad) in Rome. Juno was a daughter of Saturn and sister (but also the wife) of the chief god Jupiter, as well as being the mother of Mars and Vulcan.

Juno's theology is one of the most complex and disputed issues in Roman religion. Even more than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse epithets, names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included Pronuba and Cinxia (she who loses the bride's girdle).

Juno looked after the women of Rome, with her Greek equivalent as Hera and her Etruscan counterpart was Uni. Hera was the Greek goddess for love and marriage, so Juno was Rome's goddess of love and marriage.

Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans was apparent in her attire, as she often appeared sitting with a peacock armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, whose goatskin was called the aegis.

Ancient etymologies associated Juno’s name with iuvare (to aid, benefit) and iuvenescendo (rejuvenate), sometimes connecting it to the renewal of the new and waxing moon. This perhaps implied the idea of a moon goddess.

THE ASCENSION OF MARCUS AURELIUS AND LUCIUS VERUS AS CO-EMPERORS

UPON the occasion of the Death and Apotheosis of Antoninus Pius on 7th March 161 AD, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus became co-Emperors, both surnamed Antoninus, a name which the ancient Romans equate with inestimable glory.

Marcus being the elder and wiser, was given the title Augustus, while Lucius took the name Caesar. 

They remained cordial to one another though their vastly different characters were always a cause of discord, though never of rivalry or outright animosity. 

They were a harmonious and cooperative pair of rulers, the only example of effective imperial brotherhood in the long history of Rome.

ANTONIUS SUBIA CELEBRATES THE FEAST OF THE SHIP OF ISIS AT PHILAE ISLAND

MARCH 5th is the Navigum Isidis, or Ploiaphesia, the feast of the Ship of Isis. This celebrates Isis both as Moon Goddess and Queen of the Sea ... the Moon being the source of the tides. 

At this time a great procession would go down to the sea and carry with them a boat full of offerings to the Goddess, milk would be poured on the waters, then the boat loaded with gifts would be sent out to sea. 

Apuleius (1st CenturyAD) has described the ceremony in great detail and concludes: "When the ship was loaded with generous gifts and prayers for good fortune, they cut the anchor cables and she slipped across the bay of Alexandria with a serene breeze behind her that seemed to have sprung up for her sake alone. When she stood so far out to sea that we could no longer keep her in view, the priests took up the holy emblems and started happily back towards the temple." 

Our spiritual leader ANTONIUS SUBIA, during his sacred pilgrimage to Egypt, visited the last Temple of Isis where these ceremonies were celebrated.

A highlight of my pilgrimage to Egypt

Was the Philae Island Temple 

On the Upper Nile

Last stand of the Pagan religion.

Long after Theodosius outlawed the old religions,

The priests of Isis continued their devotions.

It was a great honor to visit that beautiful little island

And there is a corridor called Hadrian's gate

In my photo at the top of this entry!

Ave Antinous!

~ANTONIUS SUBIA

                        MORE PHOTOS BELOW: