On the 28th of October, in the year 130 of this era, the gilded barge of the Imperial court of Hadrian came to the sacred bend in the river Nile where Antinous fell, and became star-infused. Green-skinned Osiris embraced him below the current, and opened his pomgranate mouth to the black muddy water that had once rained down over the mountains of the moon, freeing the flood from its embankment.

For three days Hadrian searched in a panic among the reeds and channels, leading dog-headed priests. His world turned vague and destitute, his desperation was that of Isis asking children if they had seen the body of the beloved pass over the water. Death called out across the desert, and the jackals, the scavenging hounds, were the first to hear its voice, coming as if from nowhere. Anubis led his morbid priests to the perfect body of Antinous, to feed upon it and carry it away to the underworld.

The Egyptian priests of Hadrian's court were the first to know that Antinous had become a God as they intoned the chants of deification that called Antinous back from his journey into darkness where he conquered Death, and was lifted up by the thundering feathers of the flaming eagle.

On the third day, Hadrian came upon the body of Antinous on the riverbank, his head resting on the sand, his feet floating among the red lotus flowers. In the Roman sacerdotal fashion, Hadrian covered his head, and blessed the shore where he had found his beloved, before daring to touch the departed flower of the new god. Surrounded by the beautiful youths of the court, the bearded priests, the steel covered guards, the shaved scribes, the questioning philosophers, the distant poets, the necromancers and the somber Imperial ladies... Hadrian chanted,

"Antinous Mortuos Est."

The ivory chest and dark heavy curls, the pomegranate mouth, the grace of His limbs, the serenity of his voice, even the distance of His eyes had turned to cold stone, growing ever more pale and other-worldly. The Classic beauty of the true Antinous, the exact perfection of His face, and the distinguished ripples of His hair were given over to the Priests of Anubis for eternal preservation. The macabre cruelties of mummification were inflicted on the smooth, white corpse of Antinous, forever desiccating His beatitude, while making it forver imperishable.

As Persephone, Antinous was led down to the embrace of the Lord of the City of the Dead, through gates of Adamantine, over roads paved with tear-soaked stones. Bloodstained Anubis escorted Him through the valleys of oblivion and torment, to the place of Judgment, where the denizens of earthly fate weigh the heart of the once living.

But the beauty of Antinous was radiance like sunlight in the underworld. The shades vanished in His brilliance, and the magistrates of reincarnation fled with their scales, before He could destroy them forever. The vine of eternal sleep shriveled at His touch. His illuminated face caused even the Lords of Corruption to tremble and weep. In darkness Antinous came forth by day, in silence He spoke, in cold, His living-fire broke forth. The Unknown Father swept his wing over the flames of Antinous and brushed away the clouds of grayed oblivion that gathered around. His blessed feet caused the stones of Tartarus to shake beneath his steps, as Anubis led the Adonis of the Underworld, resplendid in the glory of His beauty, into the throne room of the Most Low.

Seventy-two princes fell on their faces before Him, and the Lord of Darkness, at the emotionless request of his enshrouded wife, raised his hand in benediction, confering the fruit of eternal life on Antinous of Bithynia, and placed the golden bough of resurrection in His hand.

Naked, He had descended into the place of death, now He returned clothed in the shinning light of the immortal stars.

The guardians of the gates of the underworld unfastened their bolts and groaned in prostration before HIM...His beauty made the iron doors open of their own accord. Through twelve barriers He rose up, leaving the imprisonment of the generations to their chosen fate. Antinous restored our blessedness, and broke the chains of reincarnation. Antinous acomplished the salvation of his kind.

The boat of sacred souls awaited Him on the shore of the marsh that precedes the ocean of infinity. His alabaster elbow supported by the devotion of loving new attendants, The God Antinous took His place beneath a canopy of purple stars. Antinous had conquered death. The celestial winds filled the sails of adoration for Him, and the Holy Boat of Millions of Years broke away from the delta of the River of the Dead.

The Angels who rule over the world could not prevent His passage. The Demiurge himself had blessed the voyagers with a good tide, and opened the nine crystal doors before them. Even the powers and the gathering of thrones applauded as a wave of freedom carried the golden boat beyond their reach.

And the river of the sky sparkled in their wake.

Near the Black Star, in the constellation of the Eagle, the Demigods had gathered to receive the new Lover. His arrival in the Harbor of their passion caused a brilliance in the sky that did not go unnoticed by mortal eyes. Outside Rome, at his villa, the ailing Hadrian, grown old with lamentation, was brought out into the night by the astrologers who pointed in the sky to where they had seen a new star emblazoned, a tiny fire that had not been there before. Hadrian did not require long, learned explanations to know that Antinous had shown His countenance among the ever-living stars.

In the sacred chamber of the temple of illumination, the Demigods showered their love upon His crown and laid their emblems at His perfect feet. The great archangels of love and beauty covered His shoulders in glowing purple, and held forth garlands of radiance, and shining devotion.

The lamentation for Tammuz became cries of grief for Antinous, the woman of the northern gate of the temple of the Lord, shave their heads for Him, and wail at His loss. His bones are thrown between the grinding stones, and scattered throughout the land. The voice of Antinous is the amber fire, and mournful song of the women of Tammuz.

Adonis confers his inestimable beauty on Antinous, passing to Him the golden apple of perfection. The hounds of pursuit follow close to Antinous-Adonis, through the briar and ferns of Holy Mt. Lebanon, in search of the sacred boar. With a kiss, the war god sheathes his tusk in the tender groin of Antinous.

Hyacinthus tosses the disc of the Sun to Antinous, it falls upon His dark curls. The God of Parnassus plucks the string of his poetry and the Pythoness chants the Oracle of Antinous. The brazier of the Bithynian Mystery blazes on the mountaintop.

Wing-footed Hermes bows with formal grace before the Son of the Unknown Light. In proclamation, he reads the will of the Most High. The serpent-rod of sublime Gnosis is bestowed on the inner-knowledge of Antinous. The keys of Freedom, and Truth that unlock the crystal spheres of heaven are placed in His hand.

Eros walks across the cheek of Antinous, and whispers softly in His ear. The fullness of desire rises up in the blood of the beautiful Phrygian, and a thousand arrows burst forth from the wide center of His chest.

The great God of the Vine pours his juice over the head of the Beloved. Dionysus the joyful, stumbling and drunk, all afire with love, places the crown of Ivy on Antinous, and the entwined Thyrsus in His hand. The resurrection of Antinous-Dionysus bursts forth across the inner-thigh of the Beloved, as the carved fig branch is stowed away in the basket by His feet.

Freyr comes before Antinous draped in furs that do not conceal the prominence of his erection. At his side, the loveliness of his servants, ingratiate themselves to Antinous with courtly airs and elegant salutations. Freyr softly kisses the white hand of the New God, offering eleven golden apples as a gift of love. Skirnir, sinewy and strong, draws forth the great throbbing sword that swings of its own will, if wise is he who handles it. The terrible blade touches the lotus lips of Antinous.

Pan takes up his pipes and dances with leaping steps before Antinous, the Divine Ephebe. Cloven-hoofed satyrs gather around Him, and tell dirty stories that break the somber gravity of Antinous into clear, burning laughter. Garnet wine drips from His mouth as their hairy chins cover His smile with kisses.

Priapus breaks through the labyrinth of the shadow of Antinous, and the seed of life takes its place deep within Him. Blessed is the Holy altar of Antinous, it rises like the column that holds the stars aloft. His scent envelops the pomegranate of our desire.

Attis and his blessed dragqueens come before the Holy Stone of Antinous, draping the Beloved in purple ribbon and violet flowers. To the music of cymbals, and broken reed-flutes, twirling in ecstasy to a furious drumbeat, Attis severs the root of his life-seed, and offers it up to Antinous. The bleeding pinecone of the dying God is thrust upon Him. Frenzy overtakes the rhythm of the Archigallus and his newly fashioned eunuchs, they cover Antinous with the petals of their flower until He is drenched in their crimson essence.

Mithras places the Cap of Stars on Antinous that frees the soul from the cavern of comfortable illusion, turning the torches of the sun upside down. The twelve signs of the sky bow down before Him. The Ram of Heaven is dead, and Behold...the Fish are dying.

Ganymede the Beautiful pours the wine of eternal life into the cup of Antinous, and the wings of the cosmos spread out around him. He is taken up to glory to serve at the table of the Aeons. Body and soul, the spark of his spirit is lifted up to the never-setting stars, His hand turns the firmament, and the dawning of the coming age is set in motion.

The Archangels of Jesus of Nazareth come to bless the New God, sprinkling holy water over the Demigods and swinging braziers of incense before the splendor of the new fire. It is these messengers of the stranger's grace, who with exultation and the braying of trumpets welcome the flame of the Holy Spirit into the midst of the star of Antinous. Blessed is the name of Antinous forever and ever. The Holy Saints and Martyrs come forth, they fall in prostration before the face of the Beautiful Bithynian.

Antinous gazes into the dark pool of Narcissus, there He sees His own beauty reflected, and overcome with love, He will not look away, even as our waves break His light into a thousand sparks.

Gathered around the haloed rays of Antinous, the demigods impart the recitation of their names upon the appellation of His Blessing. These dying Gods, beautiful boys who took up the poverty and joy of carnal flesh, who lived as we live, and who gave themselves over to the cruel violence of a human death, cannot refrain from joining the cause of Antinous. Their final glory takes refuge in Him. All their mystery, their secret names, their grace, all the wonders of their power are hidden behind the veil of His sanctuary.

Pontifex Maximus, Holy Father of the Church of Rome, Highest Priest of all sacerdotal orders, Hadrian proclaimed to the world the sanctification of Antinous the God. Temples were raised in every corner of the world. Inspired sculptors began the proliferation of His image, like a brotherhood of Pygmalions, bringing life to hard marble, softening curves into forms of effeminized male perfection, until they had all fallen in love with their creation, and begged the immortal gods to bring their Antinous to life.

It is the true Antinous that we see, not as rendition, but as holy relic. He stands naked and unadorned, His body alone is His divinity. He is perfect youth, perfect beauty, neither soft nor imposing, caught in the agelessness of being neither boy nor man. Infused with the deeper mysteries, the bare surface of His power is the love of His naked flesh, purely carnal and worldly.

Antinous teaches us to love the body, our earthly vessel, through the overpowering love that the sight of Him gives rise to.

The city of Antinopolis was founded at the place where Antinous fell into the Nile. This was His holy city, where His most sacred Temple was raised, and the highest of His mysteries maintained. The Priests of Antinous were homosexuals, called by Him, to the devotion of His sacraments and the sustenance of His extraordinary name. However popular and enduring His faith may have become, we can be sure that the sacred core, the highest priests, those who knew the truth in all His details, were most probably homosexual. More than any other creatures, it is we who hear the call with greatest urgency and fervor. He is our God, the initiator of our peculiar salvation, what no other deity in the long history of mankind has ever attempted. Other Gods have come to save the world in general, but Antinous was born, elevated from obscurity, beatified, and given over to a sacred death for us and for our salvation. All other gods have abandoned us.

The sacred, gilded barge of Antinous the God is returning even now, the scent of His approach is on the wind.

© 2002 Temple of Antinous