Pancrates’ poem on the Lion Hunt
"…swifter than the steed of Adrastus, that once saved its master
easily, when he was fleeing through the press of battle. On such a
horse Antinous awaited the manslaying lion; in his left hand he held
the bridle-rein, in his right a spear tipped with adamant. Hadrian was
first to shoot forth his bronze spear; he wounded, but slew it not, for
it was his intent to miss the animal, wishing to test to the full how
straight the other aimed—he, lovely Antinous, son of the slayer of
Argus [Hermes]. Stricken, the beast was yet more aroused; with his paws
he tore the rough ground in anger; forth rose a cloud of dust, and
dimmed the sunlight. He raged like a wave of the surging sea, when the
West wind is awakened after the wind from Strymon [Boreas, the North
Wind]. Lightly upon both he leapt, and scourged his haunches and sides
with his tail, with his own dark whip…His eyes flashed dreadful fire
beneath the brows; he sent forth a shower of foam from his ravening
jaws to the ground, while his fangs gnashed within. From his massive
head and shaggy neck the mane rose and quivered; from his other limbs
it fell bushy as trees; on his back it was…like whetted spear points.
In such guise he went against the glorious god Antinous, like Typhoeus
of old against Zeus the Giant-Killer…."
Flower of Antinous
"Speaking of Alexandria, I know that in
that fair city there is a wreath called Antinoeios made from the lotus
bearing that name there. This grows in marshes in the summer season;
there are two colours, one resembling the rose; it is from this that
the wreath properly called Antinoeios is twined; the other is called
lotus, and its colour is blue. Pancrates, a poet of those regions whom
we knew, showed the Emperor Hadrian when he visited Alexandria the rosy
lotus as a great wonder, alleging that it was the one which should be
called Antinoeios, since it sprang, so he said, from the earth when it
received the blood of the Mauritanian lion which Hadrian had killed
when hunting in the part of Libya near Alexandria; it was a huge
creature that for a long time had ravaged the whole of Libya, of which
this lion had made many places uninhabitable. Hadrian, therefore,
pleased at the originality and novelty of his thought, granted him the
favour of maintenance in the temple of the Muses. The comic poet
Cratinus, also, calls the lotus a wreath plant in Odysseis, since all
leafy plants are spoken of as wreath plants by the Athenians. So
Pancrates in his poem says, not without elegance: “The thyme with its
woolly tufts, the white lily, the purple hyacinth, the flowers of blue
celandine, yes, and the rose which unfolds to the zephyrs of spring;
but not before, surely, has the earth brought to bloom the flower named
for Antinous.” - Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, Book XV
In regards to the Antinoeion Flower
"Neither the Athenian narcissus, nor the Lacedaemonian hyacinth, nor
the crocus was from the beginning a flower; and neither child Hylas in
Thrace, nor the cypress tree in Crete, nor the daphne was from the
beginning a plant. But Crocus was a Sicilian lad, child Hylas was a
beautiful Thracian, and Cypress was a beautiful boy. Daphne was a young
virgin maiden, daughter of the river, Narcissus was a beautiful Boetian
boy, and Hyakinthos was a young Spartan man in the bloom of his youth.
Herakles had Hylas, and Dionysus took him. Crocus joined Dionysus in
his Bacchic revels. Nymphs seized Narcissus, and Apollo took Hyakinthos
and Daphne. Nymphs killed Crocus, nymphs carried away Hylas, Cypress
threw himself down from rocks and the earth received Daphne when she
was fleeing. Narcissus in his arrogance loving himself like another
killed himself. Only one flower, the flower of Antinous, is sweeter
than all by far, not pale like the narcissus, pained by his taking; and
not pale like the hyacinth, imitating the color of a corpse. Someone
will gather garlands of lamented names, and will lament more the youth
of the dying men." - Tebtynis Papyrus prose miscellany
Excerpt from poem written for the accession of Diocletian
"...She rejoiced to find the ransom for the life of Antinous, memorial
of his hunt, palm of his victory,...
I revere, Narcissus, your shadowy reflection; I shed a tear for
Hyacinthus, who grasped the cruel discus; I pity your hunting of the
wild beast, Adonis. Yet the meadow of Antinous and his lovely new
flower envy not pool, not fatal discus, not boar. The nymphs began to
crown their tresses with the flower named after Antinous, which to this
day preserves the mighty spear of the hunter. Into the Nile he hurried
for purification of the blood of the lion, but the Moon upon more
brilliant hopes bade him shine as a star-like bridegroom and garlanding
the new light with a circle she took him for her husband. A city was
the gift of Hadrian, an island that of the Nile; the one lies rich in
vines beside its sweet neighbor, the other welcoming the chosen flower
of Achaea, has been crowned for her harbors as champion of the plain."
Lover’s Binding Spell, 3rd-4th c. CE
I entrust this binding spell to you chthonic gods, Pluto and Kore
Persephone Ereschigal and Adonis also called Barbaritha and Hermes
chthonian Thoth Phokensepseu Erektathou Misonktaik and Anoubis the
powerful Pseriphtha, who holds the keys of Hades, and to you chthonic
divine demons, the boys and girls prematurely dead, the young men and
women, year after year, month after month, day after day, hour after
hour, night after night; I conjure all the demons in this place to
assist this demon Antinous. Rouse yourself for me and go to each
place, to each neighbourhood, to each house and bind Ptolemais whom
Aias bore, the daughter of Horigenes, so that she should not be fucked,
buggered or should not give any pleasure to another man, except to me
alone Sarapammon, whom Area bore; and do not let her eat nor drink nor
resist nor go out nor find sleep except with me Sarapammon, whom Area
bore. I conjure you, Antinous spirit of the dead, in the name of the
Terrible and the Fearsome, the name at whose sound the earth opens up,
the name at whose sound the demons tremble in fear, the name at whose
sound rivers and rocks burst asunder. I conjure you, Antinous spirit
of the dead, by Barbaratham Cheloumbra Barouch Adonai and by Abrasax
and by Iao Pakeptoth Pakebraoth Sabarbaphaei and by Marmaraouoth and by
Marmarachtha Mamazagar. Do not disregard me, Antinous spirit of the
dead, but rouse yourself for me and go to each place, to each
neighbourhood, to each house and bring me Ptolemais, whom Aias bore,
the daughter of Horigenes; prevent her from eating, from drinking,
until she comes to me, Sarapammon, whom Area bore, and do not allow her
to accept the advances of any man other than me alone Sarapammon. Drag
her by the hair, the guts, until she does not reject me, Sarapammon,
whom Area bore, and I have her, Ptolemais, whom Aias bore, the daughter
of Horigenes, subject to me for the entire extent of my life, loving
me, desiring me, telling me what she thinks. If you do this, I will
release you.
Cult Calendar
[A third-person singular verb is always used in these entries, thus we
can assume that "The priest" is the subject referred to always; it is
also possible that it indicates a Roman bureaucratic official taking
his seat for legal affairs as well as religious ritual obligations, but
this is uncertain.]
Hathyr 3: Death and Deification of Antinous--"On the...of Zeus
[Panhellenios Eleutherios, i.e. Hadrian] and consecration of
Antinous...to the house of Brittanicus [a reference to Commodus?]...and
to the shrine of Fortune and to the Serapeum..."
Choiak 4: Birthday of Antinous--"On the birthday of Antinous he
sacrifices horse-rites...three days, whenever they are posted..."
(between 30th of November and 15th of December): Victories of
Deified Marcus Aurelius; Festival held because of a banquet; day on
which the Deified Hadrian entered the city [of Oxyrynchus?]--"on behalf
of the victories of the deified Aurelius Antoninus...and sits in the
Lageum...and booths of spectacles whenever...contest celebrated as a
result of a bequest...he offers incense in the Serapeum and sits in the
Lageum...On the day on which the deified Hadrian...the
city...gymnasiarchs enter the Sebasteum and sacrifices and the...and
goes in procession and sacrifices and sits in the Lageum, horse-rites."
Choiak 19: Birthday of the deified Lucius Verus--"On the
birthday of the deified Verus enters the Sebasteum and sacrifices
and...on the steps of the processional way and into the Serapeum
and..."
[Final fragments may indicate Tybi 4, the birthday of Titus,
Tybi 29, the birthday of Hadrian, and the existence of two temples, a
Herakleion and an Apolloneion.]
Dionysius of Alexandria’s Periegete
[Periegete is a long
hexametric poem in Greek, written sometime between 130 and 138 by
Dionysius, an Alexandrian poet and resident of the Museion in that
city. The subject of the poem is a description of the various regions
of the world, in effect a virtual guidebook; and given Hadrian's
interest in travel and his wide-ranging journeys, its dedication to him
and subject matter no doubt would have intrigued him and appealed
greatly. We know the identity of the poet via an acrostich in it,
revealing him to be "Dionysius of Pharos," but there is a further
identified acrostich in the poem which relates to Antinous in the
section encompassing lines 513-537. This acrostich reads "THEOS HERMES
EPI HADRIANOU," "To the God Hermes under Hadrian," no doubt therefore a
dedication to Antinous, who was equated to Hermes, the Arcadian god, in
many circumstances, including on Alexandrian coins. There is a further
allusion to Antinous in three successive lines concerned with Bithynia
in the section encompasing lines 788-798, praising the river Rhebas as
beautiful above all others; this rather obscure creek is near to
Antinous' birthplace, and the way in which it is praised as being so
comely, again, has been taken as a reference to the beauty of Antinous.
The two selections below from the poem are that which contains the
acrostich, and the section containing the Rhebas reference.]
But admirably deep is the course of the Aegean Sea,
which on either side includes countless islands,
thither to the narrow waters of the Athamantidian Helles;
there lies Sestos and opposite the port Abydos.
Those belonging to Europe, you ship them through on the left-hand side
and those belonging to Asia, on the right-hand side;
stretched out far towards the Boreas, to the star-sign of the Bear.
Alongside Europe, Makris lies stretched out, island of the Abantians,
Skyros, which rises steeply; and Peparethos, windblown,
from there also Lemnos shows itself, the stony island of Hephaistos
and the ancient Thasos, which Demeter has richly blessed.
Imbros then, and Samos, the Thracian one, seat of the Korybantes.
Those lying closest to Asia are those
which encircle Delos, hence called "Kyklades."
All these offer repentance to Apollo in a choral dance
when sweet spring begins again, where in the mountains,
far away from men, the clear-sounding nightingale is nesting.
Thereupon, all through the floods, the Sporadic Islands are glittering to you;
as if through the cloudless air you saw the stars,
the might of Boreas has dispersed the wet clouds.
Then the Ionic Isles, next to the settlement of Kaunos,
thereafter Samos the Lovely, seat of Pelasgian Hera,
Chios, at the foot of the sun-climbing Pelinnaion.
From there, the mountains of the Aeolic Isles reveal themselves to you.
Lesbos with magnificent plains and the lovely island of Tenedos.
TO THE GOD HERMES UNDER HADRIAN
And on holy ground the Mariandinians, among whom
the big brassy-voiced dog of infernal Kronos--
once drawn from the deep by valiant Herakles
as it is told--expels from its jaws stinking froth;
this the earth receives and disaster comes forth to mankind.
Close to these borders the Bithynians dwell on fertile soil;
the Rhebas River sends its sweet current,
the Rhebas which has chosen its course at the mouth of the Pontos,
the Rhebas whose waters extend as the most beautiful on earth.
So many people have built upon the Pontos;
those that I've mentioned first are the tribes of the Scythian peoples.
The Obelisk of Antinous
translation by David Kraetzer based on text of Hugo Meyer et al.; version by Phillip Bernhardt-House
This is probably the most important text as far as our knowledge of the
ancient cult of Antinous goes. It was written on four sides of an
Obelisk by someone with a somewhat incomplete knowledge of
hieroglyphics, probably roughly translated from a Latin or Greek
original. It is quite likely that Hadrian himself had a hand in the
words on this monument. The Obelisk itself has a varied history,
possibly originating in Egypt but most probably it was located in
Italy; the latest excavations at the Antinoeion at Hadrian's Villa seem
to indicate it used to be at the center of the small temple complex
there. Its inscription describes its location as at or near Antinous'
tomb (rather than a cenotaph), which seems to have been at Hadrian’s
Villa. The inscription further gives details of the offices of his
cult, as well as linking his worship to the imperial cult, particularly
Hadrian and Sabina (who were still alive when the text was originally
written). Antinous is here syncretized completely to Osiris. The
Obelisk is now located in Rome. Another translation and discussion of
the Obelisk is given in Mary Boatright's book Hadrian and the City of
Rome.
EAST FACE
A request for salvation, which is expressed by Osiris-Antinous, whose
heart exceedingly rejoices, since he recognized his shape after
revival, and he has seen his father Re-Harakhte. His heart spoke:
“O Re-Harakhte, highest of the gods, who hears the calling of gods and
men, the transfigured and the dead; hear also the call of Hadrian, who
approaches you! Give Hadrian reward for this, who has done this for
me, Antinous, your beloved son,
“the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, who established a cult practice in
the temple sanctuaries for all men, with which the gods are pleased;
who is loved by Hapi and all the gods, the Lord of Crowns, Hadrianus
Caesar, who may live, be whole and healthy, who may live eternally,
like Re,
“with a prospering and newly-risen age! He is the Lord of Welfare, the
ruler of all countries, the Distinguished Noble Augustus. The nobles
of Egypt bow to him, and the Nine Arches are united under his soles as
with the Pharaohs, the rulers of both Upper and Lower Egypt. They come
to being under his word every day. His might goes as far as the
borders of the whole area of this country in its four world-regions.
“The bulls and their cows mingle lustily and multiply their offspring
for Hadrian, to please his heart and that of his great and beloved
queen, the queenly ruler of both Upper and Lower Egypt and their
cities, Sabina Sebaste Augusta, may she live, be whole and healthy, and
may she live eternally.
“Hapi, father of the gods, make the acres fertile for them and arrange
the inundation for them in its time to overflow the two countries,
Upper and Lower Egypt!”
WEST FACE
The God, Osiris-Antinous the Justified, has become a youth, with
perfect countenance and festively-decorated eyes, …strength, whose
heart is glad like the heart of a strong-armed hero, after he received
the order of the gods at the time of his death.
On Antinous will be repeated every ritual of the hours of Osiris
together with each of his ceremonies in secret. His teachings will be
spread to the whole country, helpful in the instruction and effective
in the expression. Nothing comparable has been done for the earlier
ancestors until today;
And the same goes for his altars, his temples and his titles while he
breathes the air of life and his reputation comes to being in the
hearts of mankind.
Lord of Hermopolis, Lord of the Words of Gods, Thoth! Rejuvenate
Antinous’ Ba [soul] like all things at their time, in the night and by
day, at all times, and every second! The love for Antinous is in the
hearts of his followers and the awe of him with all…and his praise with
all his subjects when they worship him.
He takes his seat in the Hall of the Just, the transfigured and the
clarified and the splendid, who are in the entourage of Osiris in the
Realm of the Dead, while the Lord of Eternity gives him justification.
They let his words endure on the Earth, because their hearts are
pleased by him.
He goes anywhere he pleases. The doorkeepers of the underworld, they
say to him, “Praise to you!” They loose their door-bolts and open
their gates before him from millions of millions of years every day.
His lifespan, never will it wither.
NORTH FACE
The God, Osiris-Antinous the Justified, is there; an arena was prepared
in his place in Egypt, Antinoöpolis, which is named after him, for the
strong athletes who are in this country and for the rowers and the
runners of the whole country, and for all people, who belong to the
place of the holy scriptures, where Thoth is.
And they are bestowed with honor-prizes and garlands upon their heads,
while they are rewarded with many good things. One sacrifices on his
altars daily, after offering the sacrifice of the gods each day. He is
praised by the men of the arts of Thoth according to his glory.
He goes out of his places to numerous temples in the whole country and
he hears the pleas of he who calls upon him; he heals the diseases of
the needy ones by sending a dream. Once he has accomplished his works
among the living, he takes on every shape of his heart,
because the semen of god is truly in his body…his Mother’s
whole body heals. He was raised at his birthplace by…
SOUTH FACE
The god, who is there, he rests in this place, which is in the middle
of the border-fields of the Lord of Welfare, the Princeps of Rome. He
is known as god in the godly places of Egypt. Temple sanctuaries are
erected for him, and he is worshipped as a god by the prophets and
priests of Upper and Lower Egypt, as well as by the inhabitants of
Egypt.
A city was named after him. The troops of Greece, the cult members,
that belong to Upper and Lower Egypt, who are in the temples of Egypt,
they come out of their towns and villages and are given cultivated
land, to make their lives good beyond all measures.
A temple sanctuary of this god is therein, who is called
Osiris-Antinous the Justified, built from good white stone, surrounded
by statues of the gods and the sphinxes, as well as numerous pillars,
as they were made by the ancestors before, and as they were made by the
Greeks as well.
All gods and goddesses will give him the air of life, so that he breathes rejuvenated.
