Hadrian was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, but at the same time he proclaimed himself the guardian of Roman traditions, he restored or built new temples throughout the empire and especially in Greece and Athens. The ceremonials of the mystery cults imported to Rome were modified to adapt them to ancient traditions, promoting syncretism with pre-existing Italic or Latin cults.

According to the Historia Augusta, Hadrian cultivated astrology, boasting of having predicted all the events of his life including the time of his death.

Hadrian knew very well the mechanisms of propaganda and imperial power, and proposed himself as the renovator of the glories of Rome and the ideal successor of its founding fathers, Romulus and above all Augustus.

Like Augustus, he promoted ambitious public building projects throughout the empire, building temples and sanctuaries, amphitheaters and baths, and leaving Rome and the empire magnificent and renewed.

The construction of the new temple of Venus and Rome was a way of reconnecting with Augustus and the gens Iulia, reaffirming the divine origins of the imperial power and connecting it to the imperial cult.

Its architectural masterpieces are Villa Adriana, the largest imperial Roman villa that has come down to us, and above all the Pantheon, which still has the largest non-reinforced concrete dome in the world.