What I loved about this book is the focus on the relationship between Antinous and Hadrian. Having not read anything on Hadrian or Antinous before, I was quite curious going into this and was rewarded with an honest and beautifully written account of Antinous' time in Hadrian's court. In a partnership more intimate than Hadrian's sanctioned political marriage to Sabina, Antinous captivates the most powerful ruler on earth both in life and after death.Ĭlocking in at just under 200 pages, I was quite surprised by this heartfelt telling of the story of Antinous, boy lover of Emperor Hadrian. In this coming-of-age novel set in the second century AD, Antinous of Bithynia, a Greek youth from Asia Minor, recounts his seven-year affair with Hadrian, fourteenth emperor of Rome. Eros and Thanatos converge in the story of a glorious youth, an untimely death, and an imperial love affair that gives rise to the last pagan god of antiquity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |