the slutty husband

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Hadrian's Hare

This is my first blog post ever. I've thought that blogs are indulgent but I guess I'm ready to indulge.

I'm hoping that this might be a place where I can write my thoughts about my life and my research - particularly in reference to gayness and music.

I chose the title Hadrian's Hare because there is a beautiful relationship between Hadrian, the 14th Emperor of the Roman Empire, and Antinous, a young man from what is now Turkey. After Antinous drowned in the Nile in 130 AD, Hadrian built statues and temples in the boy's honor as if he were a god. Hadrian also built a city on the spot where Antinous died called Antinopolis. Antinopolis is now a city called Sheikh 'Ibada.

This is a picture of the young Antinous who died at 20 y. and was diefied by Hadrian.

This relationship somehow speaks to me; sometimes I feel so isolated from gay culture, like I am distant from Hadrian because of time, but there is still a kinship. Modern gay men and Roman homosexual men undergo similar oppression. And the essential romance is similar. Just as I can worship the body of a lover, Hadrian deifies Antinous in stone and stories.

The Hare is relevant because it represented male same-sex love in ancient Greek and Roman culture. A hare would be given by an older man to a younger man during courtship - it was seen as an androgynous aphrodisiac and was intended to help the receiver 'receive' more willingly. If an image contains two men and a hare, then these two men were lovers. The hare was an ancient form of gay coding - or at least it is now interpreted as such. There was no need for any coded images for homosexual lovers at that time, but this interpretation of ancient art has been oppressed to preserve the heteronormative interpretations.

SOOOO..... Hadrian's hare would be a gift given by the accomplished emperor for him to get a young man into bed. I thought it was a great title.