Today I went to the British Museum exhibit on the Emperor Hadrian: Life, Love, Legacy, Empire and Conflict. Once again, I was faced with evidence that nothing is new in this world, not even multi-million dollar bailouts.
You see, when Hadrian took office, he forgave 900 million sesterii in private debts. The exhibit even included a relief showing the wax tablets upon which the debts were written being taken to the fire for melting.
Gives new meaning to "Wall Street" doesn't it?
I also learned that homosexuality was quite common in ancient Rome, and Emperor Hadrian had a young lover, Antinous, whom he was very attached to. His death during a boat trip on the Nile really shattered Hadrian. Afterward he encouraged the cult of Antinous which rivaled Christianity at one point.
I can just imagine the campaign bumper stickers they must have had back then. "Hadrian: Gods, Gays, and Greed."
Hadrian also had a little problem with the Jews, who he tried to exterminate. They ended up hiding in a cave for three years, where several of their possessions were remarkably well preserved. Of course Hadrian was also famous for his wall, built to keep out Mexicans Scottish raiders.
I understand he was also voted the Emperor People Most Want to Have an Ale With.
Peek below for a picture of Antinous, dressed up like an Egyptian with an, umm, bulging loincloth.
Hadrian had this Osiris statue of his lover Atinous commissioned after Antinous died in Egypt. But he wanted the sculptor to include evidence of his lover's manhood, so a little bulge pokes out of the cloth. Seriously.
