Part Two
The Second Journey to the Eastern Provinces (123-125 AD)
In June 123 AD, Hadrian left Italy and returned to the city of Antioch (in the province of Syria; today it is in Turkey). The eastern borders were the most important and crucial ones of the empire, because along them the Romans had always clashed with the Parthians, their most fierce adversaries.
The Historia Augusta reports that the emperor met the king of the Parthians on the banks of the Euphrates, the river that marked the border between the two empires, and thanks to diplomacy managed to avoid, at least for the moment, an armed conflict.Hadrian continued his journey, visiting several provinces, because he wanted to see firsthand the military and political-administrative situation, without neglecting the religious aspect, which was by no means secondary.
He crossed Cappadocia along the Black Sea, then reached Galatia and finally Bithynia, where he met the young Antinous, who became his favorite and died in 130 AD in Egypt, in rather mysterious circumstances.
He spent the winter in Nicomedia, the capital of the province of Pontus and Bithynia, where the governor had his residence. A few years earlier, that office had been entrusted to Pliny the Younger for a short period, as we know from the letters he wrote to Trajan, which paint an interesting picture of the era.
During the year 124, Hadrian visited the main cities of the province of Asia: Cyzicus, Ilium, Smyrna, and Pergamon, where he erected a temple dedicated to his predecessor Trajan.
Particularly important was his visit to Ephesus, site of an ancient temple dedicated to Artemis, goddess of Nature and ruler of wild beasts, who was depicted with many breasts; a similar statue was found in Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli.
At the end of year 124, Hadrian returned to Athens, where many important buildings were built or completed during his reign.
One of them is Hadrian's Library, whose layout is very similar to that of the Golden Square in Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli; in both cases, they were libraries housing papyrus and manuscripts. Hadrian also completed the construction of the Olympieion, which had taken several centuries.
He then decided to visit the Peloponnese, and we know that he went to Argos, Sparta, and finally to Delphi to consult the Oracle, but we do not know what questions he asked.
During that period, Hadrian was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, the ancient cult of Demeter and Kore whose origins date back to the Mycenaean era. Along with the future emperors Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, Hadrian was the sanctuary's protector and patron, and he had it embellished.
Whoever exercised power in the eastern provinces, where hellenistic rulers had always been deified during their lifetime, had to have sacred and religious legitimacy: for this reason, Roman emperors were affiliated with the Eleusinian Mysteries.
On his way back to Rome, Hadrian stopped in Sicily, where we know he climbed to the summit of Mount Etna to admire the sunrise.