A reference to Antinous, the beautiful youth who was a favorite of the Roman Emperor Hadrian; more broadly, an idealized beautiful young man, especially one in a homoerotic context.
From Antinous (Ancient Greek Ἀντίνοος), the historical figure who died around 130 CE and was mourned intensely by Hadrian, becoming iconically symbolic in art and literature. The term has been used in literary criticism and art history since the Renaissance.
Hadrian grieved so publicly and intensely for Antinous that he had cities named after him and promoted his cult—an incredibly rare expression of same-sex love in the ancient world that artists have been referencing for 1,900 years.
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