One day in the far distant future, historians will consider the wholeness of man and stop pretending that queers emerged somewhere between Monday and Wednesday of last week. A number of theories are under debate in archaeological circles surrounding a "very unusual" discovery in an ancient Roman suburb. But none of these theories--at least as far as the media are concerned--consider that this may have been the first official and largest and most lavish gay bathhouse ever conceived.

Archaeologists have uncovered a private 5-acre villa about which we know three facts. The first is that it was the spectacular home of an ancient Roman equivalent of a billionaire, Quintus Servilius Pudens. Secondly we know that Quintus Servilius Pudens was a close personal friend of the openly queer Emperor Hadrian. Thirdly, this is the largest private bathhouse ever discovered.

One of the lead archaeologists on this dig, in making the announcement just last week of this major discovery, explained: ""The Romans had more leisure time than other people, and it's here in the baths that they typically spent their time. Because you could eat well, you could get a massage, you could have sex, you could gossip, you could play your games, you could talk about politics - you could spend the whole day here. However, to have a bath complex of this size, this scale, it's very unusual."

The Associated Press reports that this 2nd-century private bathhouse consists of an "exceptionally well-preserved two-story complex, which extends for at least five acres, includes ornate hot rooms, vaults, changing rooms, marble latrines and an underground room where slaves lit the fire to warm the baths."

In a gay world, the headline on the AP story might have been something like: "Archaeologists Unearth What May Be The First And Largest Gay Bathhouse Of Antiquity."



While many Roman Emperors have been the subject of endless Hollywood movies, PBS documentaries and various miniseries. I live for the day when someone has the courage and honesty to finally portray the spectacular love affair between the Roman Empire's most famous gay Emperor and the officially acknowledged love of his life, the young Greek boy, Antinous. Not only did Antinous enjoy near Empress status at the side of his Imperial lover, but when Antinous drowned during the sixth year of this relationship, the Emperor embarked on a radical departure from Roman tradition and declared the foreigner and commoner, Antinous to be a God--the official deification of homosexual love and same sex unions.

Cities were founded in the name of Antinous, medals struck with his effigy, and statues erected to him in all parts of the empire. Following the example of Alexander The Great (who sought divine honors for his lover, Hephaistion, when he died), Hadrian had Antinous proclaimed a god. Temples were built for his worship in Bithynia (the birthplace of Antinous) and in Athens itself. Festivals were celebrated in his honor and oracles delivered in his name. The city of Antinopolis or Antinoe was founded on the ruins of Besa, Egypt where he died.

The elevation of Antinous to the pantheon of Roman Gods, the impact of his legendary beauty and the enduring love of Hadrian for this Greek boy had an extraordinary impact on the development of art. His image even carried over into Italian classical Christian art.

In fact, Antinous is one of the best-preserved faces from the ancient world. Many busts, gems and coins represent Antinous as the ideal type of youthful beauty, often with the attributes of some special god. They include a colossal bust in the Vatican (here), a bust in the Louvre (the Antinous Mondragone), a bas-relief from the Villa Albani (here), a statue in the Capitoline museum (the Capitoline Antinous), another in Berlin, another in the Lateran and one in the Fitzwilliam Museum; and many more may be seen in museums across Europe. There are also statues in many archaeological museums in Greece including the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the archaeological museums of Patras, Chalkis and Delphi.

Hadrian and Antinous were at the center of a large circle of artists, musicians, poets, actors, playwrights and writers of which the "billionaire" Quintus Servilius Pudens was a part. And it was during this period that Pudens built what may have been the the world's largest private bathhouse--even larger than the one at Hadrian's own villa.

Anyhow, I'm just having some fun and connecting some dots from the perspective of a queer eye--something you'll not see in the media or in the guidebooks. Through the eyes of contemporary Western historians the homosexuality of Julius Caesar, Hadrian and Alexander the Great is either ignored or mentioned with great discretion. We wouldn't want our children growing up thinking that some of the greatest leaders in world history were poofs, now would we?