Hadrian is famous for being one of the only emperors to travel throughout the Empire. He enjoyed personally overseeing the administration of his government, but he was also interested in improving the lives of his subjects by tangible means. Hadrian was in love with the Greek ideal of civilization, and was devoted to carrying his vision of a perfect world to every end of the Empire.

So it was that in the late summer of the year 128, the Imperial court embarked on a grand tour of the East. Though the Empress Sabina and her attendants were members of the entourage, on this particular voyage, Antinous was the most favored of Hadrian's companions. This journey through the East is the only part of the life of Antinous that history has conveyed to us. For this reason it takes on the importance of a sacred epic. Antinous was in the very flower of his beauty and grace, he was the shinning star embraced by the Imperial Eagle, and it is no coincidence that this court of demigods should travel through the lands of Ganymede, Attis, Adonis, Jesus and Osiris, who were all beautiful souls taken from life before their time.

The court stayed in Athens for five or even six months, they arrived in time for the celebration of the Mysteries of Eleusis, which symbolically portrayed the rape of Proserpina by Hades, the mourning of her mother Demeter, and the return of Spring. Hadrian maintained a great interest in religion, theology and spiritual mysteries. It is believed that Antinous underwent the secret initiations provided by the priests of Eleusis. Through them he received the consecration of the dark goddess of the underworld Proserpina, which must have prepared him for his own death and resurrection.

After Greece the entourage passed through Asia Minor and visited Bithynia the homeland of Antinous. Then they proceeded south to Antioch, and then East as far as Armenia, making their way south through Arabia, where they crossed the Jordan and entered Jerusalem. Here Hadrian met with the Rabbis and engaged them in theological debate. He enacted sweeping reforms upon the Jewish faith, not understanding the consequences that would later haunt him.

In the summer of 130, they left for Egypt, where Hadrian was not only Emperor, but Pharaoh...a living God. The great city of Alexandria with its learned scholars did however not receive Hadrian as a divine being. Filled with religious controversy, they were greatly opposed to many of his reforms. The large Christian faction was especially disturbed by the presence of Antinous and his obvious relationship to the Emperor.

After several difficult weeks, the inner court of Hadrian escaped to Libya where they heard that a great man-eating lion had been disturbing the countryside. They hunted the beast down and Hadrian and Antinous moved in for the kill. Antinous charged on ahead and attacked, but lost his weapon in the fight. The wounded lion attacked Antinous and would have killed him had Hadrian not intervened and brought down the ferocious animal. A poet who wrote of the event said that red lotus flowers grew from the blood of the lion. These flowers were presented to Antinous, and soon became his emblem.

Returning to Alexandria, the entourage, now swelled to many hundreds, boarded a fleet of elegant pleasure boats and began its slow journey up the Nile, a journey from which Antinous was not to return.