Friday, June 12, 2026

FELIZ DIA DOS NAMORADOS
WHEN ANTINOUS SPROUTS WINGS OF CUPID



Feliz dia dos namorados! 12 de junho ... Happy Valentine’s Day in Brazil! 12th June (English below)

ANTÍNOO-EROS
Como a última divindade clássica do panteão romano, Antínoo, o Deus Gay, se fundia com muitos outros deuses antigos, que melhor expressavam determinado aspecto do Garoto ou ajudavam a disseminar o culto em determinada região. Antínoo foi comparado a (e identificado como) Dionísio, Apolo e até Diana, a Caçadora.
E, dentre as entidades nas quais Antínoo se metamorfoseava, estava Eros, o Cupido.

É Flamen Antonius Subia, Supremo Sacerdote da Religião de Antínoo, que diz: "Como Eros, Antínoo é Amor, é a força que a Beleza inspira nos homens. Antínoo é o amante que seguimos em nossos corações. Essa veneração da beleza e da sensualidade masculina é a pura expressão do amor de Antínoo-Eros.”

“Antínoo-Eros é o mais poderoso de todos os deuses, o mais inegável, aquele que nos domina quando menos esperamos, que facilmente nos abandona e nos deixa desolados, que é capaz de nos levar às raias da loucura, forçando-nos a cometer todo tipo de extravagâncias. Em Seu nome, estamos dispostos a entregar nossas vidas e morrer por quem Ele nos determinou amar. Nenhum outro deus tem esse poder. Antínoo-Eros é a única força a superar a Morte.”

Sim, é Antínoo, com as asas do Cupido, que se encarrega pessoalmente de flechar o coração de todo gay que se apaixona. Foi Ele que uniu os amantes-guerreiros de Esparta e o Batalhão Sagrado de Tebas. Que uniu Aquiles a Pátroclo, Felipe a Bartolomeu, Verlaine a Rimbaud.

Hoje, dia 12, quando você se perder no olhar do seu namorado, quem vai te encontrar vagando, sem rumo, e te guiar até o coração dele é ninguém menos que o Garoto em pessoa - Antínoo, o Deus Gay.

JUNE 12th – Valentine’s Day in Brazil
As the last Classical deity, Antinous the Gay God morphed with many previous deities, that better expressed some aspects of the Boy or helped the spreading of the religion to different regions. Antinous was compared to (and identified with) Apollo, Dionisos, even Diana the Huntress.

And among these deities Antinous also morphed into Amor/Eros, the Cupid.

Flamen Antonius Subia says: "As Eros, Antinous is love, the force that beauty inspires in men. Antinous is the lover after whom we follow in our hearts. The veneration of beauty and sensuality in men is an expression of the love of Antinous-Eros.”

"Antinous-Eros is the most powerful of all deities, the most undeniable, the one who overtakes us when we least expect him, the one who as easy deserts us and leaves us destitute, the one capable of driving us over the edge of insanity, forcing us to commit all manner of extravagances. In His name, we are willing to surrender our lives and die for the one whom he has deigned that we should love. No other god has this power. Antinous-Eros is the only force that can overcome death…."

Yes, it’s Antinous, sprouting Cupid’s wings, who personally sends an arrow through the heart of every gay man who falls in love. It was He who united the lovers-warriors of Sparta and the Sacred Band of Thebes ... who joined together Achilles and Patroclus, Phillip and Bartholomew, Verlaine and Rimbaud.

Today, when you lose yourself in your boyfriend’s eyes, He will find you wandering alone and guide you to your boy’s heart – Antinous the Gay God.

Thursday, June 11, 2026

ASTRO FORECAST: JUNE 11th—21st, 2026

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


JUNE 11th to 21st, 2026


THURS-FRIDAY, JUNE 11th-12th, 2026

This week, spiritual healing energies get a sudden and dramatic boost when Venus aligns in conjunction with CHIRON IN ARIES. This is a good time for health checkups and medical treatment ... also, you can expect a positive and expansive outlook, which can benefit your well-being at this time. You may be more open-minded with regard to experiencing new things, which will allow healing of your mind, body, and spirit. For instance, you could seek higher understanding and meaning in your life through a guide, mentor, or spiritual person or increase your inner knowledge by means of educational processes, religion, or meditative practices during this period. An urge to travel to far-away places (real or imaginary) may also be experienced. You may discover new perspectives on your beliefs, faith, and sense of hope. Restoring peace and harmony in your personal life and relationships is possible now through your interest in healing your own wounds, as well as extending compassion and generosity to others.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13th, 2026

This week, the planet of love, leaves down-home Cancer and struts into show-off Leo, where she remains for a month. This is a chance to put on high heels and strut your stuff and make yourself attractive to others so your popularity soars. When you look good, you feel good so treat yourself to a new outfit or a facial or a haircut or any other pampering session that boosts your self esteem. Old-school astrology texts like to call Leo a Drama Queen. They like to paint planets in the sign of Leo as people with superiority complexes. This happens occasionally, but mostly it doesn't. Leo is the sign of Royalty, and royalty, the kind that stays in power, doesn't lord over others. True royalty is generous, humane and often quietly dignified. Venus in Leo gives you the expressive dignity of a Queen or King, you have creative dominion over an artistic field… and the hearts of others.

SUNDAY, JUNE 14th, 2026

Overnight Sunday-Monday, we come to the Gemini New Moon — a good time to set a goal for the coming four weeks. And given the presence of Gemini energy, it's an auspicious time to begin gathering the information you will need to set this mission in motion. In Antinous Moon Magic we call the Gemini New Moon the MERCURY/HERMES MOON because the mercurial and seemingly fickle energy of Gemini is in the spotlight during this New Moon period, amping up agitation and nervous energy.

MONDAY, JUNE 15th, 2026

This week, Venus forms a sexy sextile with impetuous Uranus. You may meet a stranger who ordinarily would not be your type ... but who certainly appeals to you.

TUESDAY, JUNE 16th, 2026

In ancient times Antinous was famous for love spells and you can see for yourself this week when love goddess Venus forms a powerful trine aspect with Neptune. Venus trine Neptune means you see the world through rose-colored glasses. This is a good day for smooth-talking gigolos who pay fanciful compliments to you — and you find yourself actually believing them ... And why not? Is that such a bad thing? Why not enjoy the fantasy as long as it lasts ... and as long as you know it's a fantasy?

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17th, 2026

This week the Earth may shake for you when Venus moves into opposition with Pluto. Venus opposition Pluto is something that happens only once a year. There is equally the possibility of making a profound commitment at this time, particularly in a sexual relationship. Power struggles are also possible in this phase. Venus opposition to Pluto can also literally cause the Earth to shake ... in the form of earthquakes. There is equally the possibility of making a profound commitment at this time, particularly in a sexual relationship. Power struggles are also possible in this phase. Venus opposition to Pluto can also literally cause the Earth to shake ... in the form of earthquakes.

THURS-FRIDAY, JUNE 18th-19th, 2026

Chiron the cosmic healer enters Taurus on 18 June 2026, after spending over eight years in the sign of Aries, and will stay there on and off until 2034. TAURUS CHIRON brings with it a cycle in which we will be improving our confidence, including body image. These are sensitive topics that can have a big effect on us. Personal and health problems that were hindering our progress are about to be revised and resolved. We will be learning to assert ourselves and focus on our needs in healthy doses without feeling guilty in the process. This transit emphasizes the concept that healing begins within oneself.

SAT-SUNDAY, JUNE 20th-21st, 2026

Overnight Saturday-Sunday, we come to the JUNE SOLSTICE. For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere this is the Summer Solstice and the days start getting shorter. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere this is the Winter Solstice and spring will soon be on the way. But above all, we reflect on the inner Antinous within us all ... already within us ... waiting to be awakened. Many of us spend a lot of our lives looking for role models, mentors, teachers, and gurus to guide us on our path. There is nothing wrong with this and, in fact, finding the right person at the right time can really help. However, it is important to realize that in the absence of such a figure, we can very safely rely upon ourselves. Flamen Antonius Subia has said this many times. Instead of looking for Antinous outside of us, Antonius says we should look inside of us for Antinous. We ARE Antinous and He is us. It is the process (for it is a process and not a method) which he calls Homotheosis.

Overnight Sunday-Monday we come to the first of two Libra First Quarter Moons in succession, which is the SUMMER BLUE MOON, coinciding with the JUNE SOLSTICE.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between June 22nd and 28th, 2026, when 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 ... More details next time ....


YOU CAN CONTACT YOUR INNER HEALER
WITH CHIRON IN THE SIGN OF TAURUS



CHIRON the cosmic healer is now in Taurus. The wounded centaur Chiron entered Taurus on 19 June 2026, after spending eight years in the sign of Aries, and will stay there on and off until 2034.

This minor planet brings with it a cycle in which we will be improving our confidence, including body image. These are sensitive topics that can have a big effect on us. Personal and health problems that were hindering our progress are about to be revised and resolved.

We will be learning to comfort ourselves and focus on our needs in healthy doses without feeling guilty in the process. This transit emphasizes the concept that healing begins within oneself.

This transit of Chiron is unusually long, with the heavenly body spending eight years in Taurus. 

That is even longer than a Uranus transit. For comparison, when Chiron transits Libra, it takes it less than two years which is less than a Saturn transit.

Honestly, there are many issues that require resolving which is why Chiron spends so much time in Taurus. 

Aries is connected to our identity. Chiron is popularly known as the wounded healer. When transiting Taurus, Chiron's goal is to heal the deepest wound of them all: our personal identity wound.

What does it mean for you? Chiron leaves a part of your chart and moves into an area you have not really explored into depth, or have not even touched at all. Chiron transiting Taurus will point to the area you need to heal so that you integrate all your parts and become whole again.

It is good to remember who Chiron is ... the wisest and noblest of all the Centaurs in Classical Mythology. 

While all the other centaurs galloped off to riotous ruin and drunken oblivion, Chiron alone shared the knowledge he had inherited from the Titans ... tutoring a series of sensitive youths ... Achilles, Jason, Perseus, Theseus, Ajax, Dionysus, Hercules ... an endless list of heroes and demigods. He schooled them in the arts and sciences ... teaching them to be musicians and physicians.

It is said that Aesculapius himself became the god of medicine only through the skilled hands of Chiron ... "Chiron's skilled hands" in Greek "kheirourgos" living on today in the word "chirurgie" ... "surgeon."

Alas ... to use another word found in most Greek Myths ... Chiron was accidentally wounded by a hydra-venom arrow whilst teaching Hercules archery.

Rather than use all his powers to heal himself ... leaving nothing for his pupils ... Chiron voluntarily relinquished immortality and died ... whereupon his half-brother Zeus placed him amongst the stars as the Constellation of Sagittarius.

Grieving Hercules went on to tutor a series of twinkish youths himself ... most notably his beloved Hylas ... who was abducted by nymphs, never to be seen again ... prompting Hercules to search the world ... shouting "Hylas! Hylas!" everywhere he went.

Hylas is the source of the English word: "Alas!"

Drawing on Classical Mythology, Carl Jung coined the term "wounded healer" to describe how psychotherapists must connect with the archetype of Chiron. Jung said that the best psychoanalysts are themselves in desperate need of healing ... and that, by identifying with their inner "wounded healer," they can heal their patients ... even if they are unable to heal themselves.

THE RISE OF THE STAR OF ANTINOUS


ON JUNE 11th, the Religion of Antinous celebrates the Rise of the Star of Antinous.  This is the date in our Liturgical Calendar when the Constellation of Antinous begins to rise over the horizon at sunset. It is visible on the eastern horizon along the banks of the Milky Way.

Wherever you live on Earth, you can see the Constellation of Antinous on starry nights from mid-June through late October when, in synchronicity with the Death of Antinous in late October, the Star of Antinous descends below the western horizon in the glare of the setting sun.
 

The Constellation of Antinous is no longer recognized by astronomers (just as Pluto has been demoted to the rank of "dwarf planet"). But it is still visible from any point on Earth nestled between Sagittarius and Capricorn and in the talons of Aquila (the Eagle Constellation) representing the Imperial Eagle which carried Antinous to lofty heights.

The most visible identifiers are the three bright stars of Aquila — Altair at the crown of his head, Tarazad, and Alshain. Alshain is derived from Arabic for "Two Friends" which astrologers have cited as a hint as to how to interpret the Sign of Antinous.

The Star of Antinous is however difficult to see. Most people cannot see it at all. You won't find it on any star chart. Like the Star of Bethlehem, it is a mystery and a conundrum about which many theories have been written.

And even if you could see it, the light which reaches your eyes would have left the star thousands of years ago — perhaps about the time that Emperor Hadrian discovered the star.

The simple truth of the matter — and the most beautiful facet of all — is the fact that Hadrian discovered the Star of Antinous with his own tear-filled eyes as he looked skyward in grief after the death of his beloved Antinous. Distraught and weeping, the emperor stood under the canopy of the star-studded heavens and looked up the River Nile towards the spot where his Beloved Boy had died. And he saw a new star which he recognized as a celestial sign that the gods had taken Antinous to be one of them.


You have to realize that Hadrian was a keen astronomer/astrologer himself. He knew the heavens like the back of his hand and he was so adept at casting horoscopes that it was said he had determined the exact hour of his death. He built an observatory at his sumptious villa outside Rome. And the tour of Egypt had brought him into contact with the finest Egyptian magician/priests, one of whom taught him how to cast a binding spell which could give him dream-visions and could also cause someone to fall hopelessly in love with him or — depending on how it was cast — even cause that person to die in agony.

Hadrian was that sort of control freak. Despite the fact that he was the mightiest man on Earth who could send a man to death on a whim (and did so, on occasion), he also wanted control over the future. And he wanted to be able to force someone to love him and never, never leave him.

Much has been theorized about those fateful final days leading up to the death and deification of Antinous and Hadrian's discovery of the STAR OF ANTINOUS.

Yes, much has been written about these events and about Hadrian's obsession with magic and astrology and soothsayers. One of the more fanciful versions was published in a novel in the mid-1950s by the German author Ernst Sommer. Entitled simply Antinous, the novel suggests Antinous sacrificed his own life to save his beloved emperor during the imperial tour of Egypt in the year 130 AD.


The dramatic climax of the plot has Hadrian lying in a villa in Hermopolis, feverish and at death's door after having been bitten by a mosquito. The emperor writhes in bed, calling out Antinous's name. The Empress Sabina and heir-apparent Lucius, jealous but also fearful that the presence of Antinous might further agitate the emperor, issue orders that the boy be kept away from the emperor.

After several daring attempts to sneak into the villa, Antinous is finally put under house arrest aboard an imperial vessel anchored a few miles upstream near the fallen-down Temple of Bes (the future site of the Sacred City of Antinoopolis). Lucius has ordered that he be put in irons to prevent him from sneaking off to visit Hadrian. But the guards cannot bring themselves to place the beauteous boy in irons, in defiance of Lucius's orders. Instead, they merely confine him to his quarters below deck with a single porthole overlooking the nighttime waters of the Nile.

Sensing that the emperor is dying, Antinous realizes his love for Hadrian is boundless and that nothing can keep them apart. Thinking back to his discussions about life and death with Jewish Rabbis, Christian clerics and Egyptian priests of Osiris, he realizes that the day has come. The hour has arrived. It is time to surrender everything he has — in a pure act of love that will transform everything.

He opens the porthole hatch and sees an unusually bright star which seems to beckon. He steps out of his clothes and leaves them (his last earthly possessions) lying in a heap on the floor. He climbs deftly out the porthole and slips quietly into the water.

At the same moment, Hadrian breathes his last breath, to the horror of Sabina and Lucius and the others who are gathered at his bedside. In a state now beyond physical life, Hadrian opens his eyes to see Anubis standing before him with outstretched hands, lifting him out of bed and guiding him away down many dark corridors. At last, Hadrian is taken through a massive portal and into a chamber where Thoth is waiting beside scales placed before Osiris.

Thoth begins the Weighing of the Heart ceremony as Osiris asks who this person is who seeks admittance to his realm. In the midst of the solemn proceedings there is a loud banging at the portal and Anubis announces that someone has arrived to offer his own heart in exchange for the emperor's heart, so that Hadrian might live and walk the earth again. That person is standing unseen just outside the portal. After brief discussion, the Egyptian deities acknowledge that the Law of Maat specifically envisions such an exchange and that, indeed, it is the most sacred and powerful of covenants — surrendering one's own heart on the Scales of Truth for that of a loved one. Such love cannot be denied. The offer cannot be denied.

Genesthoi — So Be It Done!

Back at the death bed in the Hermopolis villa, Hadrian gasps suddenly and his eyelids fly open, to the amazement of everyone who thought he had just expired. Sensing what has happened, he speaks hoarsely of a vivid dream involving deities. He looks around and demands to know where Antinous is.

"Where is he? What have you done with him? I know he would be here at my side if he were physically able. Bring him to me at once!"




But as Sabina and Lucius stammer excuses, and before the runners can summon Antinous, a boat crewman bursts into the room with the news that Antinous is missing and presumed to have drowned in the Nile.

Hadrian suffers a relapse, but the Egyptian magic is well done. So he cannot die this time. As the search for Antinous continues, with hope waning each day, Hadrian retreats to the rooftop observatory of the villa in Hermopolis which has been placed at his disposal by a wealthy Hermopolite. The emperor stares into the heavens night after night, refusing to give up hope that Antinous might yet be alive, perhaps dazed and confused and lost somewhere along the river.

Then one night he looks into the heavens and sees the proof that he has been looking for since the disappearance of Antinous. He summons the empress and Lucius and the entire court and also calls for the chief astrologer of the Temple of Thoth in Hermopolis to come quickly.

He informs them that a new star has appeared in the heavens and that it is a celestial sign that Antinous has left this earthly existence to ascend to the pantheon of the gods. He has surrendered everything on behalf of his beloved emperor, just as he had always said he would. Everyone thinks Hadrian has suffered another relapse and is delusional with fever. But the astronomer arrives and swiftly confirms that the sharp-eyed emperor has indeed discovered an uncharted star.

As Hadrian leaves to issue orders for the deification of Antinous, construction of the city at the spot where he drowned and erection of temples throughout the world, the astronomer remains behind in the rooftop observatory with the wealthy owner of the house. Where precisely is this new star, the owner asks. "I know quite a bit about the stars for an amateur, but I can't for the life of me see anything at the spot in the heavens where Caesar was pointing just a while ago."

The astronomer says that the new star is definitely there and that astronomers throughout the world will confirm its existence and it will be recorded duly in all the star charts.

"Yes, but can't you point it out to me?" the wealthy man pleas. "I'm straining my eys looking, but I just can't see anything."

The astronomer answers, "And that is why you will never be a good  astronomer. You scan the heavens with your eyes, but not with your  heart."

So Hadrian looked into the nighttime skies and discovered a new star to point the way to that new religion. As a scholar and man of science he was able to see it with his own two eyes. Perhaps it was a super-nova which flared and then went out — who knows? He saw it and his court astronomers confirmed it and the Constellation of Antinous was recorded in the star charts for 19 centuries to come.

But more importantly, Hadrian discovered the Star of Antinous shining in his heart. The Death of Antinous showed him a way to make his vision of the perfect religion a reality on Earth. It was the Light he was seeking. It was the Light of Antinous.

So when you look up into the nighttime skies tonight in search of the Star of Antinous, don't be surprised if you can't find it with your physical eyes. You can't find it in physical space, which is why Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia calls it the Dark Star of Antinous. Look inside your heart and you will find it shining there with all the beauty of a dream of perfection ....

Lumen Antinoi Adiuva Nos!

(Light of Antinous, Sustain Us!)

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

WE WEEP FOR THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER
HEROIC PROTECTOR OF ANTINOUS



IT was on 10 June 323 BC that Alexander the Great died at the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, according to the Babylonian astrological calendar.


His subjects wept and shaved their heads in mourning, some killed themselves, unable to imagine a world without their golden-haired leader.

Many theories have been put forth about the cause of death … poisoning … a decayed liver from alcohol excess … typhoid fever … malaria.

Egyptian and Chaldean embalmers who arrived on June 16 are said to have attested to Alexander's lifelike appearance. This was interpreted as a complication of typhoid fever, which causes a person to appear dead prior to death.

It was said to have taken two years to build an enormous funerary catafalque to convey the body from Babylon.

On its way back to Macedonia, the funerary cart with Alexander's body was met in Syria by one of Alexander's generals, the future ruler Ptolemy I Soter

In late 322 or early 321 BC Ptolemy diverted the body to Egypt where it was interred in Memphis, Egypt

In the late 4th or early 3rd Century BC Alexander's body was transferred from the Memphis tomb to Alexandria for reburial.

It was seen there by Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Augustus and possibly Hadrian and Antinous.

At some point, however, the whereabouts of Alexander's body became unknown.

In May 2014 Polish archaeologists claimed they found the LOST TOMB OF ALEXANDER in Alexandria.

Later in 2014 Greek archaeologists made a similar claim to have found the Tomb of Alexander at AMPHIPOLIS, but they eventually said they had been wrong.

We, the modern priests of Antinous, praise the glorious warrior Alexander of Macedonia, and elevate him, and worship him as a God, an example of the greatness of homosexuality, and a heroic protector of the Divine Antinous.

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

THE LANUVIUM INSCRIPTION EXPLAINED
By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia


THERE was a group in the town of Lanuvium, outside of Rome, who started a Fraternity, dedicated to Diana and Antinous. 


It was basically a Funeral organization, kind of like a Life Insurance Policy group, only with religious overtones. 

What is interesting about this document is that it was open to slaves, freedmen, and Roman Citizens, with specific requirements of how much each person was required to contribute to the Funeral of a Member. 

A proper Roman funeral was very expensive and certain ceremonies were believed to be indispensable if the dead person was going to find peace in the afterlife. 

This group insured that if you were a member, that a Full Antinous themed Roman ceremony would be conducted on your behalf even if your family did not have the money to pay for the ceremony. 

It's a beautiful document really, and represents how significant Antinous was during the zenith of his religion. 

Another matter that makes this document important is that it is the only place where the Birthday of Antinous was recorded as 5 days before the Kalends of December ... or November 27th.

This inscription was posted at the doors of the now lost and forgotten Temple of Antinous of Lanuvium a completely insignificant town outside of Rome. 

Which leads us to wonder how many other towns had Temples of Antinous ... and groups like this .... There is also a reference to the Fratria of Naples and the Adriatic League.

The Cult of Lanuvium were dedicated to Diana and Antinous, this is also one of the strongest connection that we can make historially to Diana as the Witch Goddess
Diana and Antinous are the same
male and female version of the same power essentially
The Lanuvium Text is extremely powerful...this is only an abbreviation of the first part:

LANUVIUM TEXT

"In the consulship of Lucius Ceionius Commodus
And Sextus Vettulenus Civica Pompeianus,
5 days before Ides of June.
At Lanuvium in the Temple of Antinous,
In which Lucius Caesennius Rufus, patron of the town,
Had ordered that a meeting be called through Lucius Pompeius
To us, Quinquennalis of the Cult of Diana and Antinous,
He promised that he would give from his liberality
The interest on One Sixth of 1,000 sestertii
Namely 400 sestertii on the birthday of Diana, the Ides of August
And 400 sestertii on the birthday of Antinoos, 5 days before Kalends of December
And he instructed the by-laws passed by us to be inscribed
On the inner side of the port of the temple of Antinoos
As recorded below.
In the consulships of Marcus Antonius Hiberus and Publius Mummius Sisenna
Kalends of January,
The Benevolent Society of Diana and Antinoos was constituted
Lucius Caesennius Rufus son of Lucius,
Of the Quirine tribe
Being for the third time sole magistrate and also patron…"

Monday, June 8, 2026

JOHANN JOACHIM WINCKELMANN
SAINT OF ANTINOUS


ON June 8th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the flamboyantly gay man who is the father of modern archaeology, our own Saint Johann Joachim Winckelmann.

Born in Stendal, Germany, on December 9, 1717, he is called the father of modern archaeology because of his scientific studies of the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy.

He was a student of classical art and his many writings, including the famous History of Ancient Art, are a testament to his adoration of the male form as manifested in Greek and Roman sculpture. He wrote openly about his homosexual relationships as early as 1763, and eventually found employment with Cardinal Allesandro Albani, whose art collection he catalogued.

Winckelmann is among the first to conduct a serious study of the art of Antinous, and to have written openly about the significance of the relationship between Hadrian and Antinous. 


He is also believed to have been part of the first revival of the Religion of Antinous, and Priapus, led in secret by Cardinal Albani.

Winckelmann was murdered in his hotel room in Trieste by a young man with whom he was having a casual love affair, on the 8th of June 1768.


He was stabbed multiple times including repeated wounds to the groin, evidently out of sexual violence.

For his work as a student of the art of Antinous, and as an early believer the Religion of Antinous, and for the violence of his death, Johann Joachim Winckelmann is revered as an Innocent Martyr of the Religion of Antinous, perhaps the most specifically Antinonine of all those who died as a consequence of their desire for beautiful men.


Notice the painting above by Anton Von Maron. Winckelmann sits in a magnificent costume, gazing on an engraving of Antinous and writing his thoughts, as though the painter has distracted him from his meditation ... but we can be be sure that Winckelmann wanted us to know that Antinous was at the forefront of his thoughts.