Statue of Antinous as Aristaeus at The Louvre, Paris

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This marble sculpture represents Antinous (27 November, c. 111 – before 30 October 130) as Aristaeus, a Greek deity connected to gardens, agriculture and bees. Antinous was a Bithynian Greek youth and Hadrian's favourite, or lover, the Roman emperor. He was deified after his death, being worshiped in both Greece and Rome, sometimes as a god and sometimes merely as a mortal hero. After his death, because of his close relationship with Hadrian, Antinous was quickly deified. Statues were made of him depicting various gods or deities from different cultures. This led to the formation of smaller cults: in Egypt, the local priests immediately deified Antinous by identifying him with Osiris due to the manner of his death (falling into a river and probably drowning) where he was likely embalmed and mummified. In October 130, Hadrian proclaimed Antinous a deity and announced that a city should be built on the site of his death in commemoration of him, to be called Antinoopolis. Other examples include Antinous depicted as Bacchus (located at the Vatican), as Sulvanus and as Osiris. Little is known about Antinous' life, although it is known that he was born in Claudiopolis (nowadays Bolu, Turkey) in the Roman province of Bithynia. He likely met Hadrian in 123, before being taken to Italy for a higher education. By 128, he had become Hadrian's favourite, and was taken on a tour of the Empire as part of Hadrian's personal retinue. Antinous accompanied Hadrian during his attendance at the annual Eleusinian Mysteries in Athens, and was with him when he killed the Marousian lion in Libya. In October 130, while traveling along the Nile, Antinous died amid mysterious circumstances. Various theories have been proposed for how he died, ranging from an accidental drowning to a human sacrifice. Following his death, Hadrian deified Antinous and established a formal cult devoted to his worship that spread throughout the Empire. Hadrian founded the city of Antinopolis near Antinous's place of death, which became a centre for the worship of Osiris-Antinous. Hadrian also founded games in commemoration of Antinous to take place in both Antinopolis and Athens, with Antinous becoming a symbol of Hadrian's dreams of pan-Hellenism. Antinous has become associated with homosexuality in Western culture, appearing in the work of Oscar Wilde and the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. This sculpture is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, which aims to create a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from around the world for public access. Scan the World is an open-source community effort; if you have interesting items nearby and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to learn how you can help.