Date Available
12-18-2014
Year of Publication
2014
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Fine Arts
Department/School/Program
Art and Visual Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Alice Christ
Abstract
This thesis explores the historiography of the images of Antinoös, drawing the most evidence from the Delphi Antinoös, which shows the youth in the guise of Apollo. Building upon the discourse of Hadrian’s “Greekness” and sexuality in connection to the amount of images of Antinoös he had commissioned, this paper instead argues that the images of Antinoös were created in order to further a public and religious programme by Hadrian. I found support in both Mary Boatwright and Paul Zanker as they proposed those images for a public, civic, and religious audience as opposed to private patrons more inclined to luxury. The Delphi Antinoös is a well-documented example of numerous portraits of the youth, and it is this paper’s intention to depict the Pheidian inspiration sought after in the second century CE, at the time of Hadrian’s reign and Antinoös’s death, which illustrate the purpose of the images of Antinoös as religious and not as sexy. Hadrian’s public and religious policies, his tours across the empire, and the far-reaching distribution of images of Antinoös also contribute to the conclusion of the religious audience for the images of Antinoös.
Recommended Citation
Chilton, Ashlee R., "The Image of Antinoös: Sexy Boy or Elder God?" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies. 8.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/art_etds/8
