In this statue, Antinoüs is represented as a divinity of Egypt. He is
standing in the usual attitude of the Egyptian gods, and is naked,
with the exception of his head and wrist, which are covered with a
species of drapery in imitation of the sacred garments.
This beautiful figure is wrought with superior excellence. It is of
white marble, which leads to a conjecture that it might have been
intended to represent Orus, the god of light, it having been the
custom of the Egyptians to represent all their other divinities in
coloured marble. It was discovered in 1738, at Tivoli, in the
_Villa-Adriana_, and taken from the Museum of the Capitol.
To judge from the great number of figures of Antinoüs, sculptured by
order of Adrian to perpetuate the memory of that favourite, the
emperor's gratitude for him must have been unbounded. Under the form
of different divinities, or at different periods of life, there are
at present in the GALLERY OF ANTIQUES no less than five portraits of
him, besides three statues and two busts. Three other statues of
Antinoüs, together with a bust, and an excellent bass-relief, in
which he is represented, yet remain to be placed.