Wednesday, July 9, 2025

THE DAY HADRIAN WAS DECLARED
EMPEROR OF ROME



ON JULY 9th we commemorate the Ascension and Consecration of Hadrian — when he became master of the world after years of worrying and waiting. Hadrian was declared Emperor by the Legions when Trajan died suddenly while campaigning in Parthia on August 8th, 117 ... and nearly a year later, on July 9th, 118 AD, he formally became Emperor of Rome. 

In this illustration, you see Hadrian entering the Roman Forum at the height of his power. Standing behind him in the chariot is Antinous saying: "Respice post te! Hominem te esse memento! Memento mori!": "Look behind you! Remember that you are a man! Remember that you'll die!"

On this day in 117 AD, however, Hadrian truly had been in fear of death. Hadrian had been on tenterhooks for years wondering whether Trajan would formally adopt him as his heir. 

If Trajan died without the issue of succession being settled, it could result in civil war — or at least in the assassination of Hadrian by some other ambitious man.

It is said that the Divine Empress Plotina forged the will of her husband and gave the throne to Hadrian, who had been her protégé and friend for years.

After assuming power, Hadrian first settled the conflict with the Persian King, signing a peace treaty that was to last through the whole of his reign. As Trajan's military representative in the provinces, he had seen how the empire was beginning to over-reach its resources. So he set about consolidating things in the East, lest his Empire become embroiled in the sort of chronic blood-letting that modern superpowers now seek to extricate themselves from in that same region.

It is also said that he wanted to let the political dust settle back in Rome before returning to a city where his critics were waiting. Many thought him unfit. Hadrian was Hispanic — literally so. He was born in the province of Hispania and spoke Latin with a provincial "Hispanic accent" which was the cause of much derision by high-born Patricians when he was sent to Rome as a boy to be educated. He never liked Rome and, throughout his reign, spent as little time there as possible.

Settling other matters in the East, Hadrian waited a full year before  returning to Rome, and on July 9th, 118, he entered the Holy City and was formally and ritually installed as Emperor by the Senate. He was then consecrated as Pontifex Maximus, highest priest of the Roman Religion, and head of all foreign cults.

He inherited from the warrior-king Trajan the largest empire that the western world had ever known — Rome at her greatest size and strength — and he wisely chose not to continue to expand the frontiers, but to turn instead to the development of the interior.


He visited every province, traveling more than any other emperor before or after, dedicating his power to art, literature, legal reform and the promotion of peace, prosperity, and the united religious consciousness of Roman citizenship after his beloved Athenian model.

Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia says the following about this Sacred Day in our Liturgical Calendar:

"On this day, Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus was to assume responsibility as the spiritual leader of the Empire, Father of the Country with a vigor unparalleled by his predecessors, and was to be one of the foremost builders of cities, temples, and public structures world-wide. For his love of Antinous and the extraordinary gesture of deifying our god, we worship and venerate Hadrian as the founder of our faith and as our immortal father, the lover of Antinous."

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

MARTIN CAMPBELL'S HISTORICAL NOVEL
'QUEEN JULIUS CAESAR' IS A TRIUMPH



LOOKING for a holiday book tip? We can most assuredly say that, if you loved THE LOVE GOD, Martin Campbell's historical novel about the life of Antinous ... now you must read his new novel about the early life of Julius Caesar entitled "Queen Julius Caesar" ... now available in Kindle and paperback. ORDER HERE

This meticulously researched book (with 40 pages of glossary and appendices) is a fast-paced page-turner with swashbuckling pirates, orgies and political intrigue. And it has already spawned pre-publication controversy with its provocative title and the tag-line "Rome's greatest ruler was bisexual." 

But far more interestingly, Campbell shows how a cocky, privileged young Patrician, accustomed to getting his way, is forced through adversity and deprivation ... and the intervention of Eastern potentates ... to develop the qualities of character that will make him a great leader.

Along the way, he parlays physical and emotional disabilities (epilepsy, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and self-injury to allay emotional pain) into strengths which will enable him to outwit and outmaneuver his adversaries.

His lessons begin at sea on a galley loaded with gold when pirates commandeer his vessel and hold him for ransom. Cunningly, he informs his captors the ransom is too low, and he finagles and entraps the pirates.

Another man in such a hopeless and helpless situation would give up. But Campbell skillfully shows how Caesar used his wits and his obsessive-compulsive discipline and determination not only to save himself and his adjutants, but also to emerge victorious and to exact cruel vengeance which would earn Caesar a place in the history books as a man not to be trifled with. 

In addition, in Campbell's brilliant historical novel, 20-year-old Caesar's education in leadership comes in the arms (literally) of Nicomedes IV, king of Bithynia, and his consort Nysa. 

Prudish Victorian historians quibbled over the three-way relationship. But Julius Caesar's own troops lustily chanted: "Gallias Caesar subegit, Caesarem Nicomedes," (Caesar laid the Gauls low, Nicomedes laid Caesar low). Hence, the title of this book!

Campbell shows how young Julius Caesar observed the way Nicomedes charmed and coaxed and coerced his courtiers and his naval and land forces into doing his will ... without having to resort to blunt force in the traditional Roman way.

By the end of this at once charming and illuminating book, the reader has accompanied Julius Caesar from bumptious adolescence to manhood as a mature leader who can meet ... and defeat ... anything or anybody who gets in his way.

Through it all, the goddess Minerva provides off-stage asides to the reader in the tradition of the chorus in a Classical stage comedy.

Campbell is working on two more novels ... and we can't wait!

Monday, July 7, 2025

'THE LOVE GOD' BY MARTIN CAMPBELL
IS A BRILLIANT NOVEL ABOUT ANTINOUS


THE most brilliant novel about Antinous to appear in over half a century ... THE LOVE GOD ... is authored by our own MARTINUS CAMPBELL, priest of Antinous.

While that sounds like biased praise, we Antinomaniacs are hard to please and would not hesitate to pick apart a poorly researched book or one that denigrated Antinous, even if it were written by one of our best friends ... perhaps especially if it were. 

At the same time, a sycophantic book that presented Antinous as being cloyingly sweet and angelic would be unbearable and not believable.

So we are gratified (and greatly relieved) to report that this book truly is a remarkable work of historical fiction right up there with Marguerite Yourcenar's landmark MEMOIRS OF HADRIAN 60 years ago.

Martin traces the life of Antinous from the moment his tousle-haired head emerges from his mother's womb under auspicious stars in Asia Minor to the moment his head sinks beneath the swirling waters of the Nile on a starry evening in Egypt.

Antinous comes to life as a young man of breath-taking beauty who is filled with conflicting passions and loyalties. He is a young man who at times is naive, yet at other times worldly wise with an ability to see the world as it is ... and to describe it with at times brutal honesty to the most powerful man in the world.

Above all, this is a gentle love story between Antinous and Emperor Hadrian, himself a man of contradictory passions and priorities.

Martin himself is a man shares these passions. He has rebounded from a series of debilitating strokes to resume a daunting array of political activism for LGBTIU health and rights issues ... while working on this novel.

Based in a hilltop home overlooking the sea in Brighton England, he spent the best part of a decade researching this novel, retracing the footsteps of Antinous across Greece and Italy, as far north as Hadrian's Wall and as far south as the Nile in Upper Egypt.

Historical facts are excruciatingly accurate ... even the positions of the stars and planets at the moment of the birth of Antinous have been calculated to precision.

An academic scholar can read this book with satisfaction, noting obscure and arcane references which only the experts in the field of Antinology fully appreciate.

At the same time, however, this is a fun book to read even for those who have never heard of Antinous in their lives and who have no firm grasp of Roman civilization in the 2nd Century AD.

There is intrigue, skulduggery, near-death by lightning, getting lost in a subterranean labyrinth, a storm at sea, earthquakes ... and some fairly hot man sex as well, albeit tastefully brought to the page.

The narrator is the Classical Love God himself: Eros. He shoots his amorous arrows and ensures that Antinous and Hadrian fulfill the destiny which the Fates have in store for them ... despite efforts by certain people in the Imperial Court to thwart the Fates.

But the genius of this book is that there are no black-and-white villains or heroes. Antinous is a young man with all the problems and drives of late adolescence. Hadrian is a man with a mid-life crisis of doubt and regret.

Others such as Empress Sabina and her constant companion Julia Balbilla and their coterie of fawning courtiers and freedmen are not really hateful towards Antinous so much as they are simply perplexed by him. 

They view him the way some members of the Royal Household might look at the favorite Corgi of the Queen, unable to comprehend her affection for it, her grief when it dies.

They whisper amongst themselves: What hold does Antinous have over Hadrian? 

Just who does he think he is? And is he a threat to them? 

What is so different about Antinous that Hadrian doesn't grow weary of him ... as he always has with previous toy boys? 

Because they cannot understand how he fits in the scheme of Imperial court life, some really rather wish he would just disappear ... voluntarily or otherwise. 

And through it all is the boyhood friend of Antinous who has accompanied him on this long journey with mixed feelings and with growing envy and jealousy. 

The boiling emotions all stem from Eros, who winks knowingly at the reader as he shoots one arrow after another with unerring accuracy to ensure that Antinous fulfills his destiny ... to take his place alongside Eros as a God of Love.

The result is a richly entertaining and beautifully written novel which appeals to those seeking authoritative scholarly accuracy as well as readers who just want a riveting and memorable adventure yarn.

The Love God is available as Kindle and as a paperback ... CLICK HERE to order.

Sunday, July 6, 2025

HOW'S THIS FOR A DIVINE SIGN?
ANTINOUS MAKES MIRACULOUS APPEARANCE
ON HOLLYWOOD TEMPLE'S STREET CORNER



ANTINOUS miraculously appeared on July 6th, 2018, which is International Kissing Day ... literally around the corner from the Hollywood Temple of Antinous.

A larger-than-life, hand-painted wall advertisement adorned a building at the corner of La Brea and Melrose in Hollywood.

The advertisement was for Sabrina Carpenter's new single, which was being released that week. The image was all over social media.

"As soon as I saw the picture I knew where it was and ran down to see if it was true," our spiritual leader ANTONIUS SUBIA says. "It's a miracle! It's a great sign from Antinous!"

The image chosen by the artist for the advertisement is ... as sacred synchronicity would have it ... the Townley Antinous ... the same bust which is on the main altar of the Hollywood Temple of Antinous.

Now, the same bust of Antinous (as Dionysus-Bacchus) was featured as cover art for Sabrina Carpenter's single "Almost Love" ... and was emblazoned on a wall just a few steps away from the Hollywood Temple of Antinous!

The actress and singer's track was the first from her upcoming third album "Singular".

That weekend, Sabrina debuted the song with an amazing performance at Wango Tango in Los Angeles.

"The moment when the light is red before the go. The moment when the curtain’s down before the show. The moment when you’re done, but maybe just one more. That's how I feel before I get you all alone," she sings on the song.

Saturday, July 5, 2025

WEAR A WREATH OF FLOWERS
DURING THE LUDI APOLLINARES



FROM the 5th to 13th of July is the Ludi Apollinares, a Roman festival in honour of Apollo. This was celebrated with horse racing and theatre plays. Livy writes: "The people took part in them wearing wreaths of flowers. The doors to the houses were opened, meals eaten in the open." So a picnic outside today would make a lovely way to celebrate. Photo art by Keith MezaenAset Hoberg.

Friday, July 4, 2025

MAP OF ANCIENT ROMAN TRAVEL ROUTES
ALLOWS YOU TO FOLLOW ANTINOUS



WE know that Antinous and Hadrian traveled to many far-flung provinces of the Roman Empire ... and now an interactive map helps you appreciate how long it would have taken ... and how it would have cost ... to follow in their footsteps.

Rome was at its largest under Hadrian. The Roman Empire stretched across the length and breadth of UK, Europe and beyond covering a staggering 1,061,780 square miles (2,750,000 square km).

But its size was can also be attributed to its downfall as managing such a large expanse of land proved costly and time consuming. 

To put this expanse into perspective, historians have created the interactive ORBIS: Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World that lets you explore the Empire, and see how long it would have taken ... and how much it would have cost ... to travel the world in the time of Antinous and Hadrian.

The map of the Roman world was created by Walter Scheidel, an historian in the Classics and History Departments at Stanford.

It features 632 sites including urban settlements and mountain passes, and covers close to 4 million square miles (10 million square km) of land and sea.

The map reveals how much it would have cost to travel on roads and seas across the Roman Empire, and calculates the route based on the season or mode of transport chosen.

Map modes include travelling by foot, horses, relay, oxcart, porter, private chariot, and during a rapid military march.

Travelling by Imperial Entourage is perhaps the only option missing.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

ASTRO FORECAST: JULY 3rd—13th, 2025

Antinous is a Moon God. He is, of course, many other things and he wears many hats. But one of the ways he was worshiped in Antiquity was as ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD.

His worshipers looked skyward and saw His beautiful face perpetually turned towards the Earth. The Man in the Moon was actually the Blessed Boy in the Moon for the ancient priests and worshipers of Antinous. Swiftest and most youthful of all the Zodiacal deities, Antinous speeds through an entire year's worth of Astrological signs in just 28 days.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD represents our deepest personal needs, our basic habits and reactions, and our unconscious gay selves. Where Hadrian the Sun acts, Antinous the Moon REACTS. How do we instinctively react or respond to problems? What do we feel we need for a sense of security? Look to ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD for answers.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is both our inner boy child and our inner lover. His ever changing phases, as he sweeps past all the other Planets in all the Signs, make us at turns responsive, receptive, and reflective. Eternally youthful, ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD represents our childlike spontaneous and instinctual reactions.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD beams down on us to make us imaginative, creative, intuitive, sentimental, adaptable, introspective, and protective. On the negative side, and depending on where he is in the Zodiac, he can make us moody, restless, and irrational.

Antinous Astrology Forecast


JULY 3rd to 13th, 2025


THURSDAY, JULY 3rd, 2025

This week, we come to the Libra First Quarter Moon, the beautiful moon of balance and equilibrium we call the VENUS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic ... This is Venus Genetrix, the Mother of Rome ... Rituals and meditations tonight are best suited for questions about your mother or your "inner mother" and also about finding flexible solutions to problems. The serpentine qualities of the "Snake Goddess Moon" offer insights into how to slither around or through seemingly impervious barriers in life.

FRIDAY, JULY 4th, 2025

This week, Venus leaves dependable Taurus and enters flirty Gemini. If you have been thinking about spreading your wings and diversifying your love life, the coming weeks is the time to do it. Gemini Venus is also a good time to diversify money matters. Love and money will be "up in the air" for the next month, so be flexible and in order to take advantage of the airy opportunities.

SATURDAY, JULY 5th, 2025

This weekend, Neptune turns Retrograde and begins retracing its steps through Aries and dreamy Pisces from now until December 11th. Retrograde Neptune in intuitive Pisces means there will be an atmosphere of nostalgia and yearning for a return to the "good old days" — which were maybe not all that good to start with. Nostalgia reigns during Retrograde Neptune in Pisces! On the negative side, Retrograde Neptune in Pisces causes addictive behavior to resurface. But on the positive side, Retrograde Neptune shines a spotlight on the arts and spirituality. Don't be surprised when recurring dreams revisit you in coming weeks and months. ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is using Retrograde Neptune to remind you of unfinished dream work. This is your chance to practice Dreamscaping ... consciously manipulating your dreams. You are the dreamer. You can do anything you want to do in your dreams

SUNDAY, JULY 6th, 2025

This weekend, Venus forms an exceedingly fortuitous sextile aspect with insightful Saturn. We're talking about long-term friends, people you have known and loved the longest — or people with whom you really want to form a long-lasting friendship. This weekend is a great time to take in an art exhibit ... or create art yourself ... Venus is in a creative sextile with Neptune. Trust your intuition on all matters of money and love. In addition, Venus trine Pluto creates an explosive situation for interpersonal relationships. It begins at the breakfast table over corn flakes when you say you want to go shopping and your alpha-male boyfriend starts in saying that it's typical of you to go off and spend money and waste time while he has to clean the house. Next thing you know, the two of you have been screaming at each other for hours. Remember that astrology is a tool to master such situations. Venus-square-Pluto is a golden opportunity to rediscover the things you love about your lover. Okay, so he's a bitch-on-wheels. So what? He's your bitch-on-wheels and the two of you love each other. Make a stab at helping him clean the house — and sneak online and buy needless stuff on eBay when he's not looking.

MON-WEDNESDAY, JULY 7th-9th, 2025

This week, a major cosmic event occurs when Uranus, planet of revolutionary change, leaves plodding Taurus and soars into flighty Gemini. URANUS IN GEMINI often coincides with armed conflict. In Antinous Moon Magic, we know that war is not inevitable with Uranus in Gemini, and of course not every war happens during this configuration. But we can use our voice during Uranus in Gemini to improve matters. Never be afraid to raise your voice. The worst thing to do is to sit in silence. Never cruel nor cowardly! Never give up! Never give in! We have the power ... the stars confirm it.

THURS-FRIDAY, JULY 10th-11th, 2025

This week, we come to the Capricorn Full Moon, which is the lunar cycle we call the TOWER MOON in memory of the observatory tower which Emperor Hadrian built at his Villa to study the stars. This is the moon for reaching for the stars ... seeking job promotions ... stretching on tiptoes to grasp something previously unattainable.

SAT-SUNDAY, JULY 12th-13th, 2025

This weekend, Saturn the ringed planet shifts into reverse gear to go Retrograde or "backwards" as seen from Earth. As Saturn retraces its steps for the next four months, we will all revisit issues and problems in our lives which need to be remedied before we move on. From now until November 27th, when Saturn goes Direct or "forwards" again, you can expect to have Saturn, the school teacher of the Zodiac, to force you to sit down and complete your homework before moving forward to the next class.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between July 14th and 20th, 2025, when we come to the Aries Third Quarter Moon, which is the lunar phase of the determined warrior we call the TRIBUNE MOON in Antinous Moon Magic. If you are someone lacking in self-assertiveness, then ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is sending assertiveness your way on his moonbeams tonight ... so that you can forge ahead in with determination and vigor ... The Tribune Moon is about confronting your fears ... above all, your fear of baring your true self to others. It is about turning your weaknesses into your strengths. It is about transforming destructive energies into constructive ones. It is about finding ... and fulfilling ... your destiny ... Meditations and rituals this night are best suited for finding ways to assert your will constructively ... More details next time ....