Emperor Hadrian, One of the Roman Empire’s Most Accomplished Leaders Was Also an Absolute Homo

Emperor Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire from 117 CE to 138 CE. He was married to a woman as all men were expected to be, simply because they were all expected to birth more Roman citizens, as well as heirs to his throne. For a variety of reasons, Hadrian never had an heir with his wife, but one of those reasons is the best of the all: he was a Grade A homo. Hadrian? More like Gaydrian! (heh heh nailed it)

Hadrian was so gay, that he was literally the first Roman emperor to ever sport a full beard. And why did he wear a beard? Besides looking fabulous with his tight-cropped scruff, beards were considered an homage to the Greeks and Greek culture. Enter: Sex servant Antinous. You see, Hadrian wasn't just gay, but had a full, years-long relationship with the love of his life, Antinous.

Antinous was initially a sex servant to the emperor because he was said to have been one of the most absolutely gorgeous men in the empire. Their relationship quickly changed, though, since Hadrian and Antinous fell deeply in love with each other. The two became nearly inseparable.

Hadrian was renowned for how little time he actually spent in Rome, because he wanted to make sure he oversaw the entirety of the Roman empire. And as such he toured everywhere his reign covered, the whole time accompanied by Antinous. These tours helped the two continue their love life, while also keeping Hadrian out of the spotlight a bit. Even though gay sex was accepted at the time, it was still frowned upon, particularly as an alternative to growing the citizenry with a wife. But because he was so skilled at keeping the empire together, the empire in turn ignored his wonderful Queer escapades. And from what the stories tell, the two fucked constantly.

But it should be noted that even while touring the empire, Hadrian did not try to conceal his relationship. He brought Antinous to every formal event, state dinner, and government function where a lover may join.

In the year 131, Antinous died tragically while the two were sailing on the Nile River. To say Hadrian didn't handle it so well would be an understatement. Hadrian founded a city close to where his lover died and named it, you guessed it, Antinopolis. Being the emperor, Hadrian also spoke for the gawds (obvi), so he declared that Antinous could be worshiped as a godlike figure, built temples honoring him, and commissioned around 2000 statues of the stunner. To this day at least 80 of the original statues remain, many of them in the Vatican museums, which I love because screw the Vatican.

Emperor Hadrian's impact can be seen everywhere from the aforementioned statues to the Hadrian Wall, which was the original designation for the edge of Roman Britain. The wall stretches 73 miles from coast to coast at the Northwest frontier of the Roman Empire. A wood object discovered near the wall 30 years ago was recently re-studied and determined to be a wooden dildo. Slay, Gaydrian. Slay.

Cybersocket: Plug In. Get Off.
Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected].
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.