HADRIAN's VILLA COMES TO LIFE FOR ANTONIUS SUBIA

HADRIAN must have delighted in forcing Patrician Romans to make the 20-mile (30 km) trek to his Tibur Villa in the rugged hill country east of Rome.

Perhaps the surroundings reminded him of his native Hispania. Perhaps he just despised Rome and its snooty residents because he had been taunted as a youth for his "Hispanic" accent and provincial manners. 

Whatever the reason, he spent most of his reign as emperor far away from Rome, traveling to the far-flung corners of his realm.

And when he wasn't traveling, he resided at his Villa, far removed from the city he abhorred. Anyone who wanted to see him was forced to make the journey over hill and dale out to Tibur. In the days of the "letica" or litter chair, it was an uncomfortable and wearying ordeal.

And it still is, even in these days of rapid transit and buses.

"He must have enjoyed making them come all the way out here," Flamen ANTONIUS SUBIA told Priest Hernestus as they waited for one of the notorious overcrowded and unairconditioned "Blue Buses" that ferry passengers from a suburban commuter rail station out to Tivoli ... and then walking a couple of miles along dusty roads to the imperial compound.

Arriving hot and weary, you then ascend a steepish incline to the walls of the Villa itself before finally arriving, out of breath, at the top of a small hill surrounded by magnificent pines, cypress and olive trees.

It is then that you realize what Hadrian loved about this place. A cool breeze wafts across the hilltop, carrying with it the scent of pine, cedar and wild roses and other flowering plants.

Antonius had never been to Hadrian's Villa until his Sacred Pilgrimage, but he knows the layout of the compound by heart, having studied its floor plans and schematic drawings for years.

"So people would arrive here," Antonius said, pointing to the entry portals only a few meters from the enormous bath complex. 

"And they would immediately be invited into the baths to freshen up before being admitted into the presence of the Emperor."

Even in a ruinous state, the baths are breathtakingly enormous, towering the equivalent of six stories overhead.

The private quarters are less easily discerned today, though Antonyus marched through them as if he had always been at home there.

"Just imagine, this is where Hadrian slept," he said in awe.

"And where do you suppose Antinous had his quarters? He must have had separate quarters of his own," Hernestus wondered.

"Somewhere with a nice view, no doubt," Antonius speculated.

The Canopus area of the compound is still stunning even today. At the end of a long pool flanked by Greco-Egyptian style statuary is a seashell motif alcove.

"This is where they dined," Antonius said with a sweep of his hand around the curved base of the alcove, "on dining couches all along here."

Very few tourists were there the day Antonius visited the Villa, just one group from a charter bus and a few hardy souls who had made the rather harrowing trip on a careening and over-crowded public bus and the trek on foot from the bus stop.

No one was paying any attention to what appeared to be a barren field between the baths and the Canopus. There was no sign indicating that this was the very heart of Hadrian's Villa, the most sacred part of the complex.

The ANTINOEION — the Temple of Antinous.

This was where the OBELISK OF ANTINOUS originally stood. This is possibly where the Lost Tomb of Antinous is located.

The Antinoeion is adjacent to the curving entry pathway. It is the spiritual cornerstone of Hadrian's Villa.

"It was the first thing that anyone saw as they approached," Antonius said with a smile reflecting the satisfaction that Hadrian must have felt. "He made them acknowledge Antinous as a God."

Despite repeated promises by curators of the Villa to erect a sign, there is nothing to mark the sprawling temple complex which may yet conceal the Lost Tomb of Antinous.

Antonyus stood for a long time at the low fence which cordons off the area. To the other tourists, it was just a barren field with a few remnants of marble marking foundations of a few buildings and a plinth where an obelisk may have stood.

But for Antonius, this was Sacred Ground. This was where the Ancient Priests of Antinous had laid down the precepts of a beautiful new religion based on tolerance, love and beauty. This was where Hadrian himself came to commune with his Beloved.

A cool breeze wafted across the field, bringing with it the scent of late summer roses, pine and cedar and the sound of cicadas in the olive trees beyond the field, only a portion of which has been excavated in very recent years.

The rest of the weed-overgrown field is a ripple of mounds of earth. Or are these mounds actually the remains of still more structures, possible the Lost Tomb itself?

"There has to be much more buried under there," Antonius said. "There just has to be."

Click here to join Antonius on his tour of Hadrian's Villa:

ROMAN SKELETONS BURIED HOLDING HANDS NOW HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS TWO MALES

TWO ancient Roman skeletons, who mysteriously were buried holding hands, now have been identified as two males, researchers have revealed.

In 2009, archaeologists discovered the remains in the Italian city of Modena. The pair were dubbed the "Lovers of Modena" by the media, the assumption being that they were a heterosexual couple.

The researchers at that time could not determine the gender of the skeletons when they were found in Italy in 2009 because they were badly preserved.

But a new technique, using the protein on tooth enamel, revealed their sex.

The actual relationship between the skeletons from the 4-6th Century AD remains a mystery.

The researchers say the two adult males were intentionally buried hand-in-hand.

Some of the suggestions for the link between the two skeletons are that they are siblings, cousins or soldiers who died together in battle, study author Federico Lugli told Italy's Rai news site (in Italian).

Researchers suggest that their burial site could have been a war cemetery.
The researchers from Italy's University of Bologna said in Scientific Reports that the findings had profound implications for understanding funeral practices at that time in Italy.

ROME'S GREAT TEMPLE OF JUPITER DEDICATED ON THIS DAY IN 509 BC

ON the 13th of September the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus atop the Capitoline Hill was dedicated in 509 BC. The ascent of Rome began! 

In the old Roman calendar, September was the seventh month of the year in counting March as the first. Among the festivals observed in September were several honoring Jupiter. 

He was hailed as the chief of the gods and had many epithets as a result.

As Jupiter Optimus Maximus, he occupied the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on the Capitoline hill with the goddesses Juno and Minerva. With them, he received a Lectisternium (September 13) and the Ludi Romani  (September 5-19). 

RUN LIKE PHEIDIPPIDES JUST DON'T DIE LIKE PHEIDIPPIDES

ON September 12, 490 BC, 10,000 Greeks use superior tactics to push 100,000 Persians back into the sea at the Battle of Marathon Bay ... forever changing the course of Western Civilization.

Though outnumbered 10 to 1, the Greeks won thanks to their new tactics.

Instead of individual soldiers fighting one-to-one duels, the Greeks rolled out their "phalanx" battle line of Hoplite soldiers who fought as one impenetrable unit.

The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten; the eventual Greek triumph in these wars can be seen to begin at Marathon. 

The battle also showed the Greeks that they were able to win battles without the Spartans, as they had heavily relied on Sparta previously. 

This win was largely due to the Athenians, and Marathon raised Greek esteem of them. Since the following two hundred years saw the rise of the Classical Greek civilization, which has been enduringly influential in western society, the Battle of Marathon is a pivotal moment in history.

The battle is perhaps now more famous as the inspiration for the marathon race. 

Although thought to be historically inaccurate, the legend of the Greek messenger Pheidippides running to Athens with news of the victory became the inspiration for this athletic event, introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics, and originally run between Marathon and Athens.

Pheidippides was a professional "hemerodrome" (foot courier) who was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. 

He ran 240 km (150 mi) in two days. Thanks to him, the Persians were defeated. 

He then ran the 40 km (26 mi) from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the words "Chairete, nikomen!" ("Rejoice, we are victorious!") ... before collapsing and dying ... uttering "Cairete" (Rejoice) with his final rasping gasp of breath.

Image at top of entry: "Man Runs First Marathon To Bring News of Greek Victory Over Persia" painting by Tom Lovell (1909–97)

GAY MARTYRS OF TERRORISM

ON September 11th we remember those gay and lesbian men and women who have died in terrorist attacks.

The magnificent Religion of Antinous is not just about beauty and male-on-male sex and it's not just one continuous gay cocktail party. Alas!

The word "alas," by the way is a Latin corruption of the Greek name "Hylas" ... the beloved young companion of Herakles/Hercules. In Mysia, handsome young Hylas was abducted by water nymphs and vanished below the waters of a stream.

Heartbroken Herakles went mad with grief, bellowing "Hylas! Hylas!" and ripping out trees as he frantically searched for his beloved. He never abandoned his search, and his cries of "Hylas! Hylas!" continue to echo through the ages every time we say the word "alas!"

Hadrian and his beloved drowned Antinous have always been associated with Herakles and his beloved drowned Hylas. And so ... alas! ... the Religion of Antinous is profoundly and irrevocably associated with tragedy and with grief. That is the reason why the sculptures of the Beauteous Boy never show him smiling and boyish. He always gazes off to one side, his head tilted slightly downward, with a wistful and slightly melancholy expression on his face.

It's as if he is always whispering, "Alas!"

And so it is fitting that the Ecclesia Antinoi Annals of Saints and Martyrs and Exemplars includes the names of many, many people who have died under tragic circumstances.

Some died of overdoses or suicide. Others, such as the gay college student Matthew Shepard who was bludgeoned to death in Wyoming, were murdered simply because they were gay. 

In Iran, coming out is tantamount to a death sentence. 

Many, many others have been taken by the scourge of AIDS.

And still others on our list, Aula Sancti Ecclesiae Antinoi, have suffered and died because they just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

On September 11th we remember those gay and lesbian men and women who  have died in terrorist attacks.

They include the gay waiters and pastry chefs in the Windows on the World restaurant on the 110th floor of the World Trade Center, and also the gay and lesbian office workers in the Twin Towers, and the gay passengers and crew aboard the hijacked planes.

They also include the gay victims of the subsequent bombings and atrocities in London, Madrid, Orlando and many other cities.

We don't know the names of most of those people. But one name stands out: Mark "Bear Trap" Bingham.

Mark, 31, was a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 and was flying home to see his mother. 

He made a phone call to his mother. He was so distracted by the chaos on  board the plane that he identified himself by his full name, saying, "Hi, Mom, this is Mark Bingham." 

He just had time to tell her he loved her and that his plane was being hijacked before the phone call abruptly ended.

Mark was a big man at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg) and was a rugged rugby athlete. He is believed to have been among the passengers who attempted to storm the cockpit to try to prevent the hijackers from using the plane to kill hundreds or thousands of additional victims.

That assumption is based on the fact that his lover of six years said he had repeatedly fought back against muggers and gay bashers and that Mark definitely would not have surrendered to his fate without first putting up a fight. "Mark was a fighter. He hated to lose ... at anything!"

Mark Bingham may never have even heard of Antinous, and the Ecclesia Antinoi had not been founded yet before he died. He most definitely never expected to be remembered as a gay martyr. And he scarcely could have imagined being memorialized in movies and on websites and in books and TV docu-dramas.

He surely never expected to become a symbol and an icon. But that is what he has become.

And so, on September 11th, we remember Mark "Bear Trap" Bingham as a symbol for all those gay people who happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when terrorists strike — as can happen to any of us.

Like Mark (and like Herakles, for that matter), we fight and struggle to do the best we can in our day-to-day lives, but sometimes things just turn out far differently from anything we could ever imagine. Sometimes tragically so ... Alas!

THE PLOTINA MOON VIRGO NEW MOON

TONIGHT's Virgo New Moon is the lunar phase which, in Antinous Moon Magic, is called the PLOTINA MOON in honor of Emperor Trajan's wife, the Empress Plotina, who lobbied on Hadrian's behalf, ensuring he would be Trajan's successor.

Hadrian was a favorite of Plotina's and she did everything in her power to further his career and to position him to succeed her husband Trajan as emperor. Indeed, it is said that, upon Trajan's death, Plotina forged his signature on a will naming Hadrian as his successor.

It has been speculated that she and Hadrian were lovers, though his preference for males and their age difference (she was old enough to be his mother) may make that speculation seem a bit far-fetched.

Whatever the case, Plotina showered Hadrian with love, favors and the wealth of her insights into the machinations and workings of the inner coterie surrounding the Emperor.

Thanks to Plotina's tutelage, Hadrian was well-equipped to become emperor.

Each lunar phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Plotina Moon is the Spirit of the Crone, the Wise Woman, the White Witch, the Great Mother Isis. She is a Spirit Guide.

She is not maternal like a mother, but instead she is more of a doting grandmother or great aunt. This Spirit has seen everything, been everywhere and experienced everything.

Life has few surprises left for this Spirit, and yet she marvels anew at each bright new day of discovery. There is always something yet to be discovered, some new secret to be unveiled, some riddle to be solved.

The Spirit of Plotina is ever seeking to reveal all and to share her vast grimoire of secret knowledge with her favorite protege.

The Virgo New Moon comes at the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere when crops have been harvested and leaves are beginning to fall and the heat of summer wanes. In the Southern Hemisphere, this is the New Moon signalling a time to put away winter clothes and plant for spring with the knowledge you have gained during the winter.

It is the same New Moon, and ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD gazes down on both hemispheres. The days are getting shorter and the days are getting longer. Yet, our Lunar Deity invites us to look beyond the calendar to seek the wisdom that the PLOTINA MOON has to offer us, wherever we live.

The key words for the PLOTINA MOON are: Wisdom. Experience. Magnanimity. Old Age. Wise Woman. Vast Intelligence.

This lunar phase represents deep inner wisdom that comes from the "school of hard knocks".

This is the wise old "curandera" (white witch) who needs no books or rituals because the magic is deep down inside her soul. She and the magic are one and the same.

On a superficial level, this lunar phase is a time to honor to an older person, an old gay wizard, for example, who is influential in your life. On a deeper level, it is inviting you to become better acquainted with the ancient "curandero" (gay wizard) in your soul.

IT'S SERPENTINE FOR THE PLOTINA MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

OUR scintillating astrology expert Hernestus has advised me that this moon phase is the Virgo New Moon, the Plotina Moon in the Antinous faith. This moon puts us in mind of our grandmothers, older wise women or the Pagan 'Crone'. 

Many women display great wisdom - we have all met such women or grown up with them.

Trajan's wife, Empress Plotina, was a guiding force behind Hadrian as he waited in the wings to become Emperor. She was not so much a mother figure as a wise and forceful guide who put his feet on the path to lofty heights.

My maternal grandmother was the 'Plotina' in my life. She was worldly, strong, indomitable and totally understood me. 

When my Dad tried to get me to do 'manly things' it was she who took Dad aside and explained to him that I was a 'sensitive' boy who should not be troubled with such nonsense!! Blessed be to her in her next life.

Embrace your feminine aspects - they are part of you and help to balance your more driven masculine and sexual nature. 

Crystals, are of course, often perceived as a 'girl' thing. I am studying to be a crystal healer and have met very few men who study this art. 

As I work with my crystals I call in guidance from my spirit guides and angels. My angels are male but my guides are female. It is nice having the balance - I think I do better work having this approach.

For this moon I would recommend that you meditate holding or being with an image of the following crystals:

Howlite - these are typically greenish white but can be artificially coloured. They help prepare your mind to receive wisdom and insights. Women are often very patient and this is a crystal which helps to embody this in you.

Serpentine - these many coloured/colored crystals (top photo) help you to understand the spiritual aspects of your life and help you to receive or retrieve insights and great wisdom from various sources.

Ametrine - these lovely crystals are a natural blend of Amethyst and Citrine crystal. They help you to unite your feminine and masculine aspects to overcome prejudice and take control of your life - just like my late grandmother did for me!

In Light and Life,

MARTIN

To get more advice from Martin Campbell and to find out how to contact him CLICK HERE.