NIANKHKHNUM and KHNUMHOTEP SAINTS OF ANTINOUS

ON November 11th the Religion of Antinous honors two men whose love for each other has survived the fall of all ancient civilizations.

We honor Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, Blessed Saints of Antinous.They lived in Egypt 2,000 years before the siege of Troy. 

They had been dead and forgotten for 2,650 years when Hadrian and Antinous visited Mennefer (Memphis) Egypt in 130 AD. 

Most likely Hadrian and Antinous stood directly on top of (or very nearly on top of) the lost tomb of these two men — two men who were buried together at the Memphis necropolis some 4,500 years ago.

When the tomb was discovered in 1964 it sent shock waves through the dusty world of Egyptology. The vividly painted reliefs on the walls of the tomb showed an intimate embrace between two male Royal Manicurists — the first recorded depiction of an openly homosexual couple.
Prudish Egyptologists have argued ever since that the two men were "just good friends" or perhaps that they were possibly "twin brothers".

But recent research by more open-minded archaeologists, such as California-based EGYPTOLOGIST GREG REEDER, has offered compelling evidence that the two men were more than "just good friends" or "close brothers."

Greg Reeder has written and lectured extensively on this extraordinary tomb, which was uncovered in 1964 in the necropolis of Saqqara at Memphis, on the west bank of the Nile. The site atop a cliff overlooking the Nile has drawn tourists since ancient times. Julius Caesar and Cleopatra stood atop this cliff and gazed in awe at its ancient tomb structures.

Hadrian and Antinous almost certainly stood on this very same spot in October of the year 130 AD, only weeks before Antinous drowned in the Nile. Beneath their feet was the Lost Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. The sand has been removed and now that long-lost tomb is no longer lost.

And what a tomb it is! It has a splendid entrance and charming layout befitting a pleasant gay holiday retreat cottage — for an eternal, never-ending holiday vacation.

While grave robbers stripped the tomb of relics in antiquity, the wall paintings reveal tantalizing hints about its original occupants. The men are repeatedly depicted together, sometimes holding hands, sometimes with their arms around each other.

In two instances they are shown with their noses touching — the most intimate embrace permitted in Egyptian art of the time — tantamount to kissing. Their bodies are pressed so closely together that their groins rub against each other in a decidedly intimate sort of way. 

In Ancient Egypt, such male-male depictions were reserved for kings who merged with gods, not for two mortal men.

They are so close together that some Egyptologists have theorized that they may have been Siamese twins joined at the hips.

Other figures, identified as wives and children, are relegated to the background. In one scene, in which the two men share a final banquet before their journey into the afterlife, Niankhkhnum' s "wife" has been plastered over by the craftsmen who decorated the tomb. Khnumhotep's spouse fails to make an appearance at all — highly unusual in Egyptian tomb art, if not totally unprecedented.

Throughout the tomb, the two men are depicted in joyous pursuits, such as this relief vignette (right) showing one of them playing flute accompaniment as the other sings.

The magnificent reliefs show a variety of scenes involving nude or semi-nude males involved in all sorts of artistic and manly activities, such as one scene (below left) of a sort of "Egyptian Rodeo" bull-roping tournament with accompanying scenes of a raucous "beef barbecue" feast.

Or the scene (below right) of athletic youths — so sparingly attired you can see they are circumcised — engaged in a playful mock battle using reed skiffs on the Nile.

Throughout the tomb, the reliefs show men, men, men (and a few token females) engaged in service to the tomb's two male occupants who are — unprecedented in Egyptian Sacred Art — wholly committed to each other. Other tombs invariably show man-and-wife. Not this one.

Hieroglyphs describe the men as "Overseers of the Royal Manicurists" to pharaoh. 
Ostensibly, they were responsible for the care of the pharaoh's hands and were among the select few permitted to touch the ruler. 

However, it is also possible that the title "Royal Manicurist" could be a ceremonial honor similar to the "Order of the Garter".

Though the hieroglyphs say nothing of the two men's relationship, Greg Reeder, an Egyptologist based in San Francisco, believes the wall paintings suggest homosexuality is the answer. Reeder points out that Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep clearly chose to depict themselves in poses usually restricted to husbands and wives in other tombs. 

"Same-sex desire must be considered as a probable explanation," Reeder said at a lecture in Britain which made headlines a couple of years ago.

"We can only say for certain that the carvings show a profound intimacy between the two men, and the people who built the tomb were possibly unsure how to portray this," the US archaeologist noted.

The tomb was restored by German archaeologists in the late 1970s and opened to the public in the 1990s.

While gay tour operators have not targeted the site, in large part because Egypt outlaws homosexual activity, Greg Reeder's articles and lectures have created gay interest in this long-lost tomb.

"It has now become famous and lots of gay tourists go there," he says with scholarly pride.

Reeder notes that, regardless of whether the two men were sexual lovers, they were definitely two men who loved each other so much that they wanted to spend all eternity in an intimate embrace.

Even their two names are intertwined. Over the entrance to one chamber their names are mingled together so that Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep become "NiankhKHNUMhotep" — Peace and Life joined in the ram-headed Source-of-the-Nile Deity Khnum, clearly their mutual sacred patron.

Thus, their names blend together, forming a single name: "Joined in Life and Joined in Peace at the Source of All That Lives and Dies and is Born Again for All Eternity". Such is the subtlety of the Egyptian language, which turns a name into a commitment.
Our Flamen Antinoalis Antonyus Subia says:

"Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep is one of the earliest and most vivid portrayals of homosexual love, crossing all boundaries, binding two men and two families for all time, and demonstrating the profound antiquity and sacredness of our form of love." 

Thanks largely to the bold and candid research of Greg Reeder, the names of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep have been rescued from oblivion, so that their KAs might live forever — together! 

SAINT ARTHUR RIMBAUD

ON November 10th the Religion of Antinous honors St. Arthur Rimbaud, the free-spirited French poet whose openly gay lifestyle shocked even the most avant garde artists of London and Paris in the late 19th Century.

On this day, in 1891, the poet Arthur Rimbaud, Saint of Antinous, died of cancer just three months short of his 37th birthday. Despite his early death, he was already an acclaimed and highly controversial literary figure.

In his youth, Rimbaud had been what we would nowadays call a twink. A schoolboy friend said he was prettier than any of the girls and that he had "the most beautiful pale blue eyes" he had ever seen.

Raised by a staunchly Catholic single mother in isolation in the country, Rimbaud ran away to Paris at age 16 with no money but with a prodigious talent for poetry — he had already published a couple of highly praised poems.

In Paris, Rimbaud's behavior became outwardly provocative. The mild-mannered country boy started drinking, speaking rudely and writing scatological poems, stealing books from local shops, and instead of his previous neat appearance and in defiance of short-hair fashions, he began to wear his hair rebelliously long.

At the same time he wrote to an old school teacher of his who had encouraged his poetic talents, telling him about his method for attaining poetical transcendence or visionary power through a "long, intimidating, immense and rational derangement of all the senses. The sufferings are enormous, but one must be strong, be born a poet, and I have recognized myself as a poet."

Still a teenager, he was friends with radical Communists in Paris known as the Communards (hence the name of the '80s pop group) and he even wrote a poem about being sodomized by drunken Communard paramilitary men entitled "Le Coeur Supplicié" (The Tortured Heart).

He solicited the friendship of the established poet Paul Verlaine by audaciously writing a love letter to him and enclosing two hotly sexy poems, including the hypnotic, gradually shocking "Le Dormeur du Val" (The Sleeper of the Vale), in which the forces of Nature more or less rape a sleeping soldier.
  
Verlaine, who was intrigued by Rimbaud, sent a reply that stated, "Come, dear great soul. We await you; we desire you," along with a one-way ticket to Paris.

Verlaine was so smitten with the 17-year-old Rimbaud, that he abandoned his heavily pregnant 17-year-old wife and took up living with Rimbaud instead. Verlaine quit his job to become what he called "a full-time professional drunk" At left is a caricature of Rimbaud that Verlaine lovingly sketched about that time.

All of Paris was shocked by their behavior which, even among avant-garde artists, was considered scandalous.

The two of them fled to London, where they lived the life of starving artists. Rimbaud spent most of his time in the Reading Room of the British Museum for the simple reason that "heating, lighting, pens and ink were free", he later said. 

Verlaine and Rimbaud had a volatile on-again, off-again relationship punctuated by drunken bitch fights and which climaxed with Verlaine firing a gunshot at Rimbaud which resulted in a wrist wound.

In his 20s and early 30s, Rimbaud was a vagabond poet who traveled the world, mostly on foot, doing odd jobs and writing poems. There is a marble plaque on the island of Java commemorating his short visit there as a soldier in the Dutch Colonial Army — he decided the military life was not for him and deserted almost immediately upon arrival there and returned to Europe.He was living on the Horn of Africa with an Ethiopian mistress (he had had several lovers of both sexes, basically one in every port) when his health began to deteriorate due to what would later be diagnosed as cancer — alas, the diagnosis would be made too late to save his life.

He was 17 years old when he wrote the poem The Drunken Boat: 

"..Lighter than a cork, I danced on the waves which men call eternal rollers of victims, for ten nights, without once missing the foolish eye of the harbor lights! Sweeter than the flesh of sour apples to children, the green water penetrated my pinewood hull and washed me clean of the bluish wine-stains and the splashes of vomit, carrying away both rudder and anchor. And from that time on I bathed in the Poem of the Sea, star-infused and churned into milk, devouring the green azures; where, entranced and pallid, a dreaming drowned man sometimes goes down; where, suddenly dyeing the bluenesses- deliriums and slow rhythms under the gleams of the daylight, stronger than alcohol, vaster than music-ferment the bitter redness of love."

 We dedicate this poem and the course of the free and disordered life  of St. Arthur Rimbaud to the period of 72 Archons, and our difficult passage towards godliness.

THE DEATH OF HEPHAESTION RECALLS THE DEATH OF ANTINOUS

THE 10th of November 324 BC is thought to be the day when Hephaestion died in the arms of Alexander the Great. Ancient writers said Hephaestion was "... by far the dearest of all Alexander's companions. He had been brought up with Alexander and shared all his secrets." This friendship lasted throughout their lives, and was compared, by others as well as themselves, to that of Achilles and Patroclus ... and by later generations to Hadrian and Antinous.

10 de novembro de 324 aC é o dia em que Hefestião morreu nos braços de Alexandre, o Grande. Escritores antigos disseram que Hefesto era "... de longe o mais querido de todos os companheiros de Alexandre. Ele havia sido educado com Alexandre e compartilhado todos os seus segredos". Essa amizade durou por toda a vida, e foi comparada, por outros como eles próprios, à de Aquiles e Patroclus ... e por gerações posteriores a Adriano e Antinous.

10 de noviembre de 324 AC es el día en que Hefestión murió en los brazos de Alejandro Magno. Escritores antiguos dijeron que Hefestión era "... de lejos el más querido de todos los compañeros de Alejandro. Había sido educado con Alejandro y compartido todos sus secretos". Esta amistad duró toda su vida, y fue comparada, por otros tanto como ellos mismos, a la de Aquiles y Patroclus ... y por generaciones posteriores a Hadrian y Antinous.

ANTONIUS SUBIA SHOWS YOU HOW TO MAKE ANTINOUS PRAYER BEADS

THERE are Catholic rosary beads, Eastern Orthodox beads, Swedish Lutheran Frälserkransen beads, Islamic prayer beads, Buddhist meditation beads, Hindu japa mala beads and even Wiccan prayer beads ... now several adherents of Antinous are designing prayer beads.

This photo shows Antinous Prayer Beads designed and created by Antonius Subia. Click here to read how he hand-crafted the FLAMEN ANTONIUS SUBIA PRAYER BEADS.

Priests Uendi and Hernestus also have created their own special prayer beads ... very different in design and function from Antonius Subia's beads.

Priest Hernestus calls his the "Antinous Moon Magic" beads and describes them in full detail HERE.

They consist of 52 beads symbolizing the 52 primary annual lunar phases, each of which represents a specific archetypal spirit in Antinous Moon Magic (photo at left).

In addition, there are some 30 additional beads representing various major "Saints of Antinous" and "Blessed Souls of Antinous."

There are also has beads for what Hernestus calls his "Sorgenkinder" (German for "special needs children") ... beads for persons or situations which require urgent spiritual attention.

Priest Julien's beads have a unique flavor all their own and he uses them in his daily meditations and prayers (photo below right).

Many other modern-day Antinous adherents have created their own Antinous Prayer Beads.

You can construct a set of prayer beads with a variety of themes and use them in rituals to express your particular beliefs and spiritual interests.

Let's look at ideas for two different types of Pagan prayer beads. The first  set is a devotional one that honors the elements, the changing seasons, and the phases of the moon. The second pays tribute to Antinous.

You will need:

• Beads in colors representing ASPECTS OF ANTINOUS you treasure
• Beads that symbolize some of the attributes of the deity
• Spacer beads in color of your choice
• Beading wire or string

Sort your beads and arrange them so they for a pattern that you like. You may want to try different patterns and designs and see which feels right for you.

Once you have your beads aligned the way you like them, string them on the beading wire and knot it securely. To use your beads in ritual, assign a prayer or short devotional to each bead. As you count them, recite the prayers.

For some more great ideas on how to construct and use Antinous prayer beads, read Donald L. Engstrom-Reese's excellent essay at We Are Walking in Beauty.

Here is a stunning set of Antinous Prayer Beads created by a modern-day adherent of the Most Great and Good God Antinous … Angelo Louis Montiserrat:

ANTINOOPOLIS MUMMY PORTRAITS WERE TRUE TO LIFE, EXPERTS SAY

ANTINOOPOLIS is the site of some of the most spectacular portrait art ever found in Egypt. 

Art experts have always marveled at the exquisite encaustic (melted wax mixed with paint) portraits which were used as face plates on mummy cases at Antinoopolis and the nearby Fayoum Oasis.

At Antinoopolis, wealthy people even sheathed their mummies in gold leaf, turning their dead loved ones into virtual golden statues, according to FRENCH EXPERTS. 

But no one knew how accurate the portraits on those elaborate mummies were.

 Now experts using advanced forensic science have proved that the paintings were true-to-life portraits of the deceased when they had been alive.

“It was pretty exciting,” said Bob Brier, an Egyptologist at Long Island University and lead author of a new study published in the German Egyptological journal ZÄS Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde (Journal for Egyptian Language and Studies).  

“We didn’t know what we were going to find,” Brier said.

Brier and colleagues used a CT scanner to produce physical models of the mummies’ skulls. Then a crime artist, who only knew the mummy’s age and gender, used the models to recreate the mummies’ faces. The painstaking process took seven days per mummy.

“We were dying to see what it looked like,” Brier said.

The team then compared the faces to painted portraits entombed with the bandaged bodies.

Two of the four match-ups were strikingly similar.

A mummy from the British Museum was a small woman in her early 20s with delicate features, a narrow face and thick lips. Her face appears to match the features of her portrait. (Image credit: Caroline Wilkinson/University of Dundee Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification)

“It is believed that they were almost certainly painted during the lifetimes of the individuals and clearly were not idealized images,” Brier said of the portraits.

A second mummy from the British Museum was a large man in his 50s with a broad face, thick brow, flat nose, and heavy jaw. His face was very similar to his portrait, which may have been painted when he was younger. (Image credit: Caroline Wilkinson/University of Dundee Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification)

But one face didn’t match the portrait at all, leading the researchers to believe the ancient embalmers might have wrapped the mummy with the wrong portrait.

A mummy from the Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen was a young man in his 30s with a wide nose, broad cheekbones, thick lips and rounded jawline.  This face looked quite different from the portrait, hinting that a switch might have occurred. (Image credit: Caroline Wilkinson/University of Dundee Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification)

“It is possible that during the mummification procedure, when several bodies were being mummified at the same time, a mismatch occurred,” Brier said.

The fourth mummy’s nose looked more refined in the portrait than in the researchers’ prediction, but his “other facial features and proportions were so consistent between the reconstruction and portrait that no mix-up was indicated here,” Brier said.

A mummy from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was a man in his early 30s with a wide nose, square jaw and thick lips. His "touched up" portrait appears to show a younger man with a more narrow nose but similar lips and jaw. (Image credit: Caroline Wilkinson/University of Dundee Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification)

The study sheds light on the purpose of the portraits, which represented a shift from symbolic art to realistic art after the Romans conquered Egypt in 30 B.C.

“This study convinced us that some of these portraits were dead-on,” Brier said, adding that some portraits were likely styled to be more flattering to the deceased.

Brier would like to extend the study to include more mummies. But  while there are more than 1,000 mummy portraits, less than 100 are still attached to the people they depict, he said.

“The difficulty is finding portraits that are still bound to the mummy,” he said. “Many portraits were taken off the mummies and sold during the 19th century and early part of the 20th century.”

THE FAITHFUL DOG AND THE GLADIATOR KILLED BY A MAN HE DEFEATED

WE love this new painting by RAFFAELE CARUSO, one of our favorite artists. It is based on the true-life story of a gladiator and his faithful dog.

Urbicus was a 22-year-old "secutor" gladiator in the 2nd Century AD who won 13 fights in the arena at Mediolanum (Milan) before being apparently murdered by a man he had defeated. 

His wife Laurica erected a funeral stele to him and his daughters Olympia (who lived only five months) and Fortuna. 

The bas-relief on the stele showed him holding a sword and shield with his faithful dog at his feet.

The stele inscription provides all these facts and ends with the words: "I warn you to kill those whom you have defeated!"

AMAZING ANCIENT DOCUMENTS FOUND DESCRIBING THE RELIGION OF ANTINOUS

UNTIL now, the Obelisk of Antinous was the only sacred text from the ancient religion of Antinous.

But now, experts have discovered three scraps of papyrus from the area near Antinoopolis which are authentic ancient texts describing Antinous.

Italy's Istituto Papirologico Vitelli announced this week that "a truly exceptional hieratic text" which comes from the famous library cache of Tebtunis near Antinoopolis is an Osiris ritual related to the religion of Antinous. It dates to the 1st and 2nd Centuries, during the heyday of the religion of Antinous.

In an as yet unpublished paper, still unpublished, Andrea Kucharek of Heidelberg University mentions Emperor Hadrian and Antinous himself.

The first reads "Wsi -r- Nelndi Neln[ws]" (Wsir-Andinws) ... or Osiris-Antinous. In this papyrus, Hadrian himself celebrates the Egyptian rites that will allow the young man to identify with the ruler of the afterlife, and to awaken to the new life. 

The second fragment preserves part of the cartouche with the name of Emperor Hadrian, "Hdri ini inns" (Hdriians): unusually with an initial "h" at the beginning which is quite rare in hieratiic documents, and appears only in documents related to the religion of Antinous ... and on the obelisk. 

In the third fragment, the name Antinous is written "Andin", with a subsequent determinative for cities. That means the word is the name of Antinoopolis in Egyptian writing.

Sadly, the paper was burnt just at the end of the papyrus roll, depriving us of accurate handwriting!

These astounding documents are in this preliminary report: A. Cook, Papyrus PSI inv. I 130: a new Egyptian source on the cult of Antinoos, GM 257 (2019). Bust of Osiri-Antinoo: Louvre (Ma433), from Villa Adriana.