Statue of Osiris-Antinous

The marble figure represents Antinous, the companion of the Roman emperor Hadrian, in the form of Osiris-Antinous. Egyptian royal and divine imagery gave a visible form to the worship of a man who had died in the Nile in AD 130. Hadrian founded Antinopolis in Egypt in his memory. Antinous’s cult spread across the Roman Empire after his death. Images of him took several forms, including this association with Osiris. Statues of the same type were found at Hadrian’s Villa near Tivoli, where the emperor created spaces containing Egyptian imagery. Later excavations identified a sanctuary dedicated to Antinous, although the original placement of individual finds requires care. This statue was unearthed at Hadrian’s Villa in 1740. It was given to Pope Benedict XIV and placed in the Capitoline Museum before Gregory XVI requested its transfer to the Vatican in 1838. The Parian marble figure became part of the collection assembled for the new Gregorian Egyptian Museum.