Antinous was a young Greek man who became the lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117 to 138 AD). While accompanying Hadrian on a trip to Egypt, Antinous drowned in the Nile either by accident or as some sort of sacrifice in the name of Hadrian. His drowning coincided with the commemoration ceremony of the drowning of the Egyptian god Osiris. Hadrian was devastated and publically mourned Antinous by commissioning statues, poems, and monuments for his deceased lover and encouraging Romans to deify him. In addition, he named a city after Antinous on the banks of the Nile, Antinoöpolis and set up a festival there in his honor.
While homosexual relationships were common in Roman times, Hadrian’s intense mourning and honoring of Antinous was unprecedented. The Roman people took quickly to honoring Antinous as a new deity, and the Cult of Antinous was a rival to early Christianity. As a result, Antinous has been recognized in more recent times and even celebrated as the “first Gay Greek God.”
The bust of Antinous that looks onto the main staircase on the ground floor of the Schloss is a copy of the one found at Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, Italy, which is currently in the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.
Salzburg Global's efforts to make Schloss Leopoldskron accessible and inclusive
It is not only through its artwork that Salzburg Global Seminar seeks to manifest its values and improve diversity, accessibility and inclusion in its physical space. Renovations of Fellows Hall and the Gallery have made both more wheelchair friendly, and a new lift will be added in the Schloss. Hearing loops have been installed to improve participation for hearing-impaired participants. All single-use bathrooms are now gender neutral and such facilities will be included in the remodeling of the top floor of the Schloss.
Changes have also been made to the digital space, with improved gender inclusion and affirmation in both program registration and hotel booking forms. Live transcription and translation software facilitate greater inclusion of non-native English-speakers in online programs. Beyond this, the organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Taskforce is helping to address and improve staff’s racial and cultural biases and sensitivities, and Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron is “Proud certified” on Booking.com for its commitment to LGBTQ+ travelers.
Whatever the layers added to Schloss Leopoldskron and the Meierhof may be, they will be consistent with Salzburg Global’s three priorities of mission alignment, historic preservation and revenue generation. While there may be occasional tensions between the priorities, it is clear that Salzburg Global intends to make sure that Schloss Leopoldskron reflects and projects the values of its current owners—not just its past.