The history of Helios in Antiquity has taken us across Alexandrian cities from Greco-India to Egypt, shown us the foundations of Buddhism and Christianity, and brought us finally to Hadrian.
Right: head from a statue of the god Dionysus (the Roman Bacchus), from Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli (British Museum)
Here, I would like to take a brief look at Helios and Selene in Alexandria, and how they impacted the mind of Hadrian.
We considered earlier how he probably drowned Antinous in the Nile to re-enact the Egyptian rite of rebirth, then to ensure that Antinous would become a god, established a new religion to worship him.
Quite how Hadrian came to hate Jews in the manner that caused him to try and exterminate them is the same as for Hitler, for neither had reason or cause. Yet the idea entered their heads somehow.
The hatred of Hadrian for Judaism came probably from the Greeks, for he had a passion for everything Greek, whilst Jews and Greeks were in conflicts across the Levant. Conservative Jews had not responded well to forcible Hellenisation – being skinned alive for not attending the gymnasium can do that to a person.
Hadrian toured the Levant a number of times and stayed in Alexandria.
After a voyage lasting three days we arrived at Alexandria. I entered by the Sun Gate, as it is called, and was instantly struck by the splendid beauty of the city, which filled my eyes with delight. From the Sun Gate to the Moon Gate – these are the guardian divinities of the entrances – led a straight double row of columns, about the middle of which lies the open part of the town, and in it so many streets that walking in them you would fancy yourself abroad while still at home.
– Achilles Tatius
In this regard, we should recall Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, the twins of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII, and the Helios and Selene found by archaeologists in Alexandria on the Oxus.
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Hadrian Denarius, 119-122 Rome. |
Hadrian Billon tetradrachm. Alexandria. |
In Greco-Roman times, the Canopic Way transverses the area from east to west with the Gate of the Sun at the eastern end and the Gate of the Moon at the western end. Hadrian’s palace, you may note, is built along the central route between the two gates.
Gates of the Sun and Moon, with Hadrian’s palace between the two.
After having travelled to the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, Emperor Hadrian was so impressed by the architecture of the Greek and Egyptians, that he wanted to create a summer residence with monuments resembling those he had seen during his time east. Villa Adriana – an enormous countryside residence about 25km/16mi from Rome – was the dream of the Emperor Hadrian. Today the archaeological complex is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In just 15 years, from 118 until 133 Hadrian had built a palace, bathhouses, a theatre, basilica, libraries, statues, pools, and plenty of room for staff and guests on an area about 120 ha (300 acre) large. The palace was built on top of foundations of a building dating back to republican times, in an area near Tibur (now Tivoli), 25 km (16 miles) northeast of Rome.
Due to his interest in Greek architecture, many of the structures are said to be replicas of original Greek buildings, like the Stoa Poikile, a famous painted portico.
Hadrian had made a replica of the sanctuary of the god Serapis near Alexandria. The builders dug a 119-meter-long canal (130 yards) for this project and many statues were used to decorate the grounds.
Diana sculpture found in Hadrian’s Villa complex at Tivoli, Italy.
Marble statue of the Greek goddess Artemis (Latin: Diana), with a deer, now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
A Roman copy (1st or 2nd century CE) of a lost Greek bronze original attributed to Leochares.
The Greek goddess of the Moon is the virgin Artemis, twin sister to Apollo. Children of Zeus and Leto (one of the six female Titans), Artemis and Apollo were born on the island of Delos while Leto was avoiding Zeus’ wife Hera. Artemis was said to ride her silver chariot across the sky, shooting her arrows of silver moonlight to the Earth below.
Right: Apollo with a radiant halo in a Roman floor mosaic, El Djem, Tunisia, late 2nd century
We looked at Delos in Helios Rising:
Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had widespread influence: Delos and Delphi.
The Roman worship of Apollo was adopted from the Greeks. Helios was increasingly identified with the god of light, Apollo. The equivalent of Helios in Roman mythology was Sol, specifically Sol Invictus.
In The mystery of early synagogues, I noted: One of the earliest sites in on the island of Delos: the synagogue of Delos is the oldest synagogue known today, its origin dating between 150 and 128 BCE.
Archaeologists found a votive offering by Lysimachus at Delos 1st century BCE, inscribed on the base of what would have been a statuette.
Lysimachus on behalf of himself to God Most High, a thank-offering
This votive differs in wording from the other examples found on this site. Also, use of the term Charisterios – thank-offering – parallels usage in both Gentile and Jewish dedications.
The name Lysimachus is also found in a Delos inscription GD79, an insula nearby.
As I have noted repeated, this Lysimachus dynasty is also Ptolemaic.
Left: Ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Apollo is also Helios.
The answer as to how Hadrian’s mind warped as badly as it did, to become that of a perverted mass-murderer with dreams of divine resurrection for himself and his catamite, must lie in Delos and Delphi, where Plutarch was high priest and responsible for interpreting the predictions of the oracle.
Related posts:
- An army of divine men and the secret army of Mithras
- The Gospels According to Hadrian, Part III: The Aelian Canon and the Main Hand of God
- Romans at Stonehenge: from standing stones to cosmic pillars
- Hadrian’s parody
- The Gospels According to Hadrian (part one)
- The Gospels of Hadrian Part II: Death on the Nile
- Acts of the Chresmologoi: the Role of Oracles and Chronicles in the Creation of Divine Men
- The Royal Library of Alexandria in the first century
- Lifting the Vaults of Heavenly and Earthly Peace
- Archaeology of a first-century wizard
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