Bust of Antinous as Dionysus at The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

myminifactory

Antinous was a stunning youth from Bythinia with an undeniable charm. Favored by Roman Emperor Hadrian between 117 and 138 AD, Antinous met his tragic demise in the Nile during a trip to Egypt with the Emperor in 130. According to one account, he gave up his life to save the Emperor's. Following Antinous' death, Hadrian ordered that he be deified. His statues, depicting him as Dionysius or Hermes, adorned Hadrian's villa at Tivoli just outside Rome. The Hermitage portrait was discovered during excavations at Tivoli in 1769. Antinous is portrayed as Dionysius, god of wine and festivities, his luxuriant locks of hair crowned with a branch of Italian pine. The young man's face is classically handsome, and his idealized features evoke a Greek statue from the Classical period. At the same time, there are still visible individual traits, such as thick eyebrows over small, close-set eyes. A typical expression of sadness characterizes many statues of Antinous, who died so young. In European art, the image of Antinous became synonymous with ideal male beauty. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort; if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.