Hadrian and Antinous

Hadrian and Antinous There were many relationships that changed the course of history forever. Most have one thing in common, one in a high position being influenced by their significant other. The effect of Cleopatra on Antony, Josephine on Napoleon, and Ann Boleyn on Henry the Eighth changed the world forever. Yet to Rome, the effect of Antinous on Hadrian was just as important. Hadrian loved Antinous and for this he ruined his legacy as …

…his private, and the strain between the two greatly damaged his public affairs and his health. With Antinous drowning in the Nile, his body would have been taken by the Egyptians for embalming. They believed this was necessary to proceed into the afterlife. That is why it is conceived that Hadrian would allow this to take place. Whether or not the body was entombed there, it was about two months before Hadrian himself left Egypt.