From: stachys@eurobell.co.uk (Michael Gouda)
Subject: Story: Antinous (m/m, M/m. Historical)
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 20:14:40 GMT
ANTINOUS
Extract from 'the Secret Lives of the Caesars (Julius Caesar to
Domitian)' by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.
"From the aching of my joints and the increasing feebleness of my
intellect I, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Roman historian, realise that I
am coming to the end of my allotted span on this earth and must soon join
my ancestors in the dark world of Tartarus. Before I go I trust the Gods
will give me time enough to finish my history of the proud and terrible
Caesars as I now embark on the latter years of the Flavian Emperor,
Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, known as Hadrian."
"The summer of Year 865 from the Establishment of the City (AD130) found
the Emperor at his Villa at Ostia on the coast not many miles from the
Imperial Capital of Rome. Then in his 54th year, it was generally
considered that he deserved a well-earned holiday from State duties,
though his character and disposition meant that the probability was that
the holiday be short and the ensuing progress round the Empire, of which
the Emperor was inordinately fond, extended."
"With him at that sumptuous Villa, apart from his personal advisors and
bodyguards, was his beloved Antinous, the sixteen year old boy beauty
whose every whim was the Emperor's command and on whom he doted with a
passion verging on the stupidly irresponsible. Hadrian's wife, Vibia
Sabina - whom he had married to be politically expedient and who was now
wife in name only - had been left behind in sweltering Rome where she
complained how badly she was treated to anyone who would listen and ate
sweet marsh mallows until - with her covering of pink face powder - she
almost looked like one herself."
"Meanwhile at the Imperial Villa on the coast . . . "
It is evening and the heat of the day has cooled with the going
down of the sun so that the boy has gone down to the beach to expend his
energy in racing alongside the refreshing water and occasionally rushing
in amongst the wavelets so that they caress the slender lissom length of
his legs and sometimes even go high enough to bathe and calm the even
more stimulating delights that hang slightly higher up. He does not dare
go deep enough to swim for the Emperor, who has an excessive fear of
water, has forbidden it and Antinous knows that if he goes in too far the
soldier, Fortunatus, who is forever in attendance not far away and now
paces along the shore, will call him out.
Yet the calm blue waters of the Sea at the Middle of the Earth look
so inviting, so attractive that he is sorely tempted. He stares at the
glassy surface where it returns the light of the dying sun and can see
his own face reflected back, his glorious mop of curling resplendent
hair, the bloom on his boyish features just being refined by approaching
manhood, the lips aching to be kissed - and hidden (just) by his tunic,
the loins craving to be satisfied. Fascinated by his own beauty, he
stares almost hypnotized until the features in the water shimmer and
change.
It is no longer his face. It is a different face, sternly handsome
with a full beard and on the head a gleaming, golden crown. Kelp fingers
caress the boy's legs inducing, not a feeling of revulsion, but one of
stimulation so that the boy's cock under his tunic twitches and rises. A
spume of sea foam, which should not have been there, the evening being
windless, springs into the air and seems to beckon him into deeper water.
The face in the water smiles invitingly, hinting at hidden pleasures.
Antinous takes one step further but is halted by a shout from the shore.
"Antinous, Antinous," it is the Emperor himself, clad in his toga
and pacing anxiously along the waterline.
As if the head has heard and now knows his name for the first time,
the lips under the water form the shape and the boy hears another voice,
seductive and tempting repeating the words, "Antinous, Antinous."
But it is to Hadrian that the boy turns and splashes ashore to be
welcomed in his bear hug. "Uncle," - it is his pet name for him - "Uncle,
such a strange thing I saw in the water. A head - with a crown."
Hadrian looks concerned. "Fortunatus," he orders, "See if there is
anything there. There, where the boy stood."
The soldier wades in and prods about for several minutes with his
sword swirling the sand so that it obscures everything. "Nothing,
Caesar," he reports.
Hadrian ruffles the boy's curls affectionately. "You know how I
worry," he says.
Antinous looks contrite. He grasps Hadrian's hand, bends and kisses
it. "I am sorry, Uncle," he says. Then he stands up and embraces the
man's body, clasping him in contact its whole length. He is only a few
inches shorter than him. Hadrian can feel his cool skin against his and,
through the light folds of toga and tunic, the swelling bulge of the
boy's already developed manhood. The Emperor kisses him on the forehead
and gently disengages the clinging arms.
"It is time to eat," he says. "I have asked for your favourite foods
to be prepared, roasted lamb and sweet pimentos."
Antinous sighs at what he feels is a physical rejection and
together, hand in hand. and followed by the ever watchful Fortunatus,
they return to the Villa.
Not one of them turns and sees the figure rise from the water, tall,
regal and powerful, trailing strands of weed and carrying a trident in
its right hand while around it porpoises leap and cavort.
Extract from 'the Secret Lives of the Caesars (Julius Caesar to
Domitian)' by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.
"The Emperor Hadrian, always aware that the boundaries of the Empire
needed constant security was the first to maintain a personal presence by
making what in everything but name alone were 'Royal Progresses' along
the frontiers. These systematic journeys, 'showing the flag' as it were,
were not enjoyed by all of the Emperor's staff involving as they did in
some cases a considerable amount of hardship and personal discomfort,
especially in the more barbaric parts of the Empire such as Britain,
where the Emperor had ordered a Wall to be built to keep out the rude and
uncivilized Picts."
"The planned journey to the kingdom of Egypt, annexed to the Empire only
one hundred years before, though, was less unpopular, the climate being
more akin to their tastes, and the pleasures and entertainments of that
country bywords of civilised - some would even say, degenerate -
refinement."
"So in Year 865 AUC the Emperor and his retinue boarded a trireme from
the port of Taranto bound for Alexandria, after making the appropriate
sacrifices to Neptune, Great God of the Sea. The Lady Empress, Vibia
Sabina, accompanied her husband on this occasion - and of course, the
boy, Antinous."
"The ship sailed . . . "
The weather is mild and the sea calm but they have scarcely got out
of sight of land when one of those sudden squally storms for which the
Mediterranean is so renowned arises unexpectedly. The sails are
hurriedly furled and the banks of rowers, sweat streaming off their
backs, strain to keep the ship on course through the rapidly rising
waves.
The Emperor, seasoned traveller as he is, paces round the deck
accompanied by Antinous, neither troubled by the lurching movement of the
ship, but down below poor Vibia Sabina lies in her cabin, groaning and
wishing that she had not eaten before their embarkation.
Above the roar of the wind and the crash of the waves against the
sides of the ship only the insistent beat of the drum which keeps the
rowers in time can be heard. Conversation is scarcely possible but
Fortunatus, ever aware of danger to his Emperor and his Emperor's
darling, shouts an urgent warning. Perhaps their Excellencies would care
to go below, out of the reach of the waves which seem almost to be
reaching across the deck to grab hold and sweep overboard anyone not
firmly fastened to a rigid structure.
But Antinous is fascinated by the sight of the huge brown walls of
water which rear up on either side of the hull and appear about to crash
down on top of them. There is a voice in the wind - perhaps it is no more
than the shrill cry of a gull hurled past by the tempest - but it seems
to be calling his name, "Antinous, Antinous," and the voice is the one he
heard before in the calm evening dusk back at Ostia.
Hadrian eventually agrees to go below for the sake of Antinous -
though he personally would prefer to be on deck facing the elements and
motions the boy to come with him, but it is as if Antinous is in another
world, staring spellbound at the tumultuous waters and he has to grab him
by the arm and almost pull him to get him to the top of the ladder that
leads below deck.
As they reach the hatchway and are about to descend, there breaks
the largest wave so far and torrents of water sweep across the deck
hurling all three off their feet. Antinous is dragged towards the deck
rail. Hadrian can do nothing as he is flat on his back, his limbs
flailing helplessly but Fortunatus has flung himself across the deck and,
just before the boy is dragged overboard, manages to grab hold of, first
a fold of tunic, and then, more substantially, his left leg. It is a tug
of war between Fortunatus and the sea with Antinous as the rope but the
ship's captain and some men see their predicament and rush over to their
aid, finally managing to get their Emperor and Antinous to safety.
As if the waves realise they have lost their chance of gaining the
boy, the wind almost immediately drops and the storm abates. The sailors
mutter a prayer to great Neptune for his mercy and forbearance.
In the cabin Hadrian is angry, angry with himself that he has
allowed Antinous into danger. He controls himself, though, as a good
soldier should and strips the soaked clothes from the chilled boy and
tenderly dries him, rubbing the youthful skin back into warmth and
vibrancy with soft cloths. At this attention, Antinous' cock rises but
the Emperor ignores this, pouring him a glass of sweet wine and then
tucking him in his own bed while he, having changed his own clothes, sits
at his desk and works quietly at his official papers. After a while the
quiet, measured breathing from the bed tells him that Antinous sleeps and
Hadrian ignores matters of State and gazes through anguished and longing
eyes at the boy.
Extract from 'the Secret Lives of the Caesars (Julius Caesar to
Domitian)' by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.
"The arrival of the Emperor in Alexandria was met with great pomp and
circumstance and the Pharaoh - which is what the King of Egypt call
himself - came himself from his capital at Thebes to meet and personally
swear allegiance to Hadrian. The procession through the streets to the
Palace was impressive in the extreme and was watched by what must have
been the majority of the Alexandrian citizens who lined the streets and
cheered lustily. First came the lictors bearing the fasces - those
bundles of rods with projecting axe blades - symbols of authority, next
came the consuls and proconsuls appointed by Rome to the surrounding
districts. Then marched the soldiers under the leadership of the
Centurion Apulius and finally, in the Imperial war chariot drawn by pure
white stallions came the Emperor himself, with Antinous by his side.
Later at the Royal Palace the Emperor discussed affairs of State with the
Pharaoh."
"Antinous though was not involved . . . "
And the boy slips out, evading both the Palace attendants and his
own personal bodyguard. He knows that Fortunatus will be worried and
that, on his return, he will be reprimanded but he is certain he will be
back before the Emperor has finished his boring talks with the funny
Egyptian king in the strange head-dress and anyway Uncle can never stay
cross with him for long. The lure and excitement of this strange new city
with its different sights and smells is too much for his curiosity.
He wanders through the streets with their many fine buildings some
of which are not all that different from ones he has seen before because
Alexandria is a Greek city founded and named after the most renowned
Greek of all, Alexander the Great, but there is a certain 'foreign'
quality to even the most traditional of Greek style porticos - perhaps it
is the bright colours in which they have been painted, or the bas-relief
carvings which cover many of the walls.
Soon, though, he reaches the market place and his nose is assailed
by an amalgam of spicy perfumes, cinnamon and frankincense, sandalwood
and myrrh, smells of the East which reek of the exotic and unfamiliar. He
breathes them in deeply and they excite his senses so that he feels alert
and stimulated, itching for excitement and novelty. There are many people
around, of all races and colours, Romans, Greeks, trading Phoenicians,
even Persians from the East and handsome, blue-black Nubians from the
South, and Antinous does not stand out as someone alien as he wanders
through the crowded stalls.
Suddenly though he feels himself observed.
He turns to see a youth, perhaps of around his own age, but with an
olive complexion and huge dark eyes made to appear even larger by their
border of kohl, staring at him. Antinous is not alarmed - he thinks he
bears a charmed life - rather he is excited by the attention and he
returns the look with a smile.
The strange boy beckons him, turns and disappears through the
doorway of a small mud-brick building and with only a moment's hesitation
Antinous follows. After the glare of outside, the interior is almost
pitch dark but after a little while during which his eyes become
accustomed to the gloom, he sees, by the light of some oil lamps that the
single room is decorated by luxurious swathes of silks which sweep from
floor to ceiling and provide a rich rainbow of colour surrounding a large
bed. That and a table on which are a plate with some fresh dates and a
flask of wine are all the furnishings that the room contains.
Antinous pauses. At first he cannot find the boy but then he sees he
is lying on the bed, an exotic figure in an exotic setting. His eyes are
bold and alluring and his sprawled limbs are inviting.
"I am Senusret, named after a King," he says. He speaks in Greek but
with a pronounced foreign accent which is strangely attractive. "You are
Antinous, the Emperor's catamite. I saw you in the procession."
"He is my legal uncle," says Antinous. "Our relations are pure."
"Whatever," says Senusret as if it is of no concern to him. He holds
out his hand and Antinous takes a step nearer, then another and he is
standing over Senusret, breathing in the sharp cinnamon smell of him.
Their hands touch and Antinous is drawn onto the bed beside him.
Senusret's touch is all over his limbs, smoothly stroking him, inflaming
him, and his lips are on his, the tongue probing inside with a gentle
insistence. Antinous can taste the sweet wine that he has been drinking.
The other boy's dark skin is silky smooth, dry and warm to the
touch, and his clothing is loose so that a single movement allows it to
slip off and instantly he is naked. Antinous struggles with his own tunic
until he too is bare and their unclothed skins touch and slide over each
other producing a charge which, for Antinous at least, is the most
stimulating thing he has ever felt. His penis is engorged, erect and
demanding, probing for somewhere to imbed and Senusret soon provides such
a place as he takes its full length into his warm, moist mouth.
Antinous gasps at the intense pleasure, thrusts with his body and
ejaculates immediately - it is his first time with another partner.
Senusret copes with the flow professionally.
Then he says, in his strangely accented Greek. "There you needed
that! Now we will drink a little wine and then start again - and this
time take it slowly so that both of us will have delight."
On his return to the Palace Fortunatus is indeed furious but only
because he fears that something may have happened to him. Luckily Hadrian
is still in conference with the Pharaoh and Antinous and Hadrian agree
not to tell the Emperor of Antinous' escapade.
Hadrian is tired after the long round of official duties and
Antinous knows how to soothe his aching head with cool cloths and untense
the knotted muscles by massaging his back and shoulders. He has removed
the Imperial purple toga and the gold-embroidered tunic which is worn for
State occasions and now lies naked on his stomach so that Antinous can
work at his ministrations. In spite of his age, thinks Antinous, he has
kept his hard soldier's body and there is scarcely a trace of fat -
perhaps just the thickening around his waist.
Hadrian sighs contentedly as the boys supple fingers ease the
tension and Antinous feels an sudden rush of affection for this man who
has chosen him to share his life and elevate him to a position of such
prominence in the mighty Roman Empire. Gently he lies down on top of him,
covering him and his cock rests in the cleft of his buttocks.
The Emperor starts and then lies still. Antinous' cock grows and he
rubs it in the groove. He kisses the broad shoulders under him and
nestles into the base of his neck. Suddenly Hadrian protests. "Antinous,"
he says, "what are you doing?"
He sits up and Antinous sees that he also has an erection. "It
seems, Uncle, that not all of you is averse." He smiles and gently takes
the rigid cock in his hand, stroking it and pulling the outer skin over
the rigid core.
Hadrian groans but has not the strength nor the desire pull away.
Softly he caresses the youth's body, marvelling at its immaculate beauty,
its fresh young smell, perfumed - is it? - slightly with cinnamon,
worshipping his perfection.
Then Antinous turns over, presenting his own parted buttocks and the
puckered hole between for penetration. "No, Antinous," says Hadrian, "I
will hurt you."
But Antinous has been made ready by his afternoon's experiences, the
entry prepared and well-lubricated.
"Do it, my Lord," he says softly. "I want you inside me."
And Hadrian pushes the tip of his cock against the opening and finds
that it slips in with little or no forcing. Nor does Antinous cry out but
just pushes himself back on the intrusive cock so that soon he is in as
far as he can go, the sphincter muscles clamped around it holding it
firmly into that refuge of delight.
The Emperor withdraws a little and then pushes in, soon working up a
rhythm which Antinous compensates for to give both of them most
enjoyment. His speed increases until at last with one final thrust he
discharges his seed into the body of his beloved. And Antinous, feeling
the pulsing orgasm, finishes himself off with his hand in three swift
strokes. He is satisfied feeling that he has at last given his Emperor
something back for his devoted care.
Extract from 'the Secret Lives of the Caesars (Julius Caesar to
Domitian)' by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.
"The celebrations in Alexandria were followed by a journey up the River
Nile, that great waterway which provides for Egypt a means of transport
from its Northern to its Southern boundaries and also, by virtue of its
annual inundation of the land on either side, a fertile ground for
bounteous harvests. Truly the grain of Egypt is renowned through the
civilised world."
"The Emperor's entourage boarded one of the native Egyptian boats with
their distinctive triangular sails and proceeded southwards under the
watchful gaze of what the Egyptians call Ra, the Sun God."
It is stiflingly hot and even under the shade of the canopy
stretched over the deck for the Emperor's comfort, Antinous feels
over-heated and sweaty. He envies the brown-skinned youths who, along
each side of the river, dive and swim naked in the cool water. The
Imperial party drink sherbet, a strange drink with bubbles that tickles
the nose and makes the Empress choke and sneeze. Then she starts to moan
about the heat and the flies - as if it is Hadrian's fault. She would
have moaned even more had he left her behind in Rome. Antinous does not
like the two quarrelling. In some entirely mistaken way he thinks it is
his fault so he gets up from the cushions on which he has been lying and
says he will walk around the boat to try to catch some of the breeze.
Hadrian is about to get up to accompany him but Vibia Sabina detains
him with a question about her duties at the forthcoming banquet at Thebes
and with a sigh the Emperor settles himself to give her yet another
briefing.
Antinous watches the brown path of the river as it snakes ahead of
the prow of the boat through the golden corn fields on either side and
then further away the brown of the dry barren desert. Date palms spring
up from the reedy banks and overhang the water and in the distance he can
see the gleaming white twin pylon towers of a temple dedicated to some
Egyptian God.
Though the water is not clear, it looks cool and refreshing and, as
the boat passes, a dozen or so young boys are romping in the shallows,
splashing each other and shrieking delightedly. He could just dive in and
then climb out, thinks Antinous, and he would feel so much cooler.
The thought takes hold. He glances round but no one is watching -
even Fortunatus has not followed him around, perhaps assuming there will
be no danger, here, on the Emperor's boat, surrounded by the Emperor's
trusted servants.
Antinous undoes the cincture around his waist and lets his tunic
fall to the deck. He stands poised, a slim lithe form, the very figure of
a young God. He climbs onto the rail, dives in and, as he does so, there
is a shout from the Emperor, "Antinous!"
At the same time comes an echo, "Antinous, Antinous," apparently
from the waters themselves which open up to accept his body and close
over him. It is blessedly cool under the surface though he can see little
except a murky gloom. He swims down and then loops upward to resurface
but reeds clasp at his ankles and he is trapped. His lungs need oxygen
and there is a roaring in his ears which seems to concentrate into a
word, "Ave - Welcome." Strong arms hold him and a mouth clamps over his.
He struggles for a few moments but then finally must open his mouth to
the kiss of the God.
Extract from 'the Secret Lives of the Caesars (Julius Caesar to
Domitian)' by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.
"The Emperor was heart-broken. It was said that he never recovered from
the loss and died some eight years later after a period of failing
health. The bodyguard, Fortunatus, correctly committed suicide.
"Hadrian's successor was the good Antoninus Pius, to whom the Gods grant
good health and a long life."
--
Michael Gouda
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