Greek culture in general and Athens in particular serve as a motif that illustrates Hadrian’s central values and his worldview. His interest in Greek culture also demonstrates how Hadrian differentiates himself as a Roman and as an emperor, particularly with regard to Determining Legitimate Bases of Power and Authority.

Hadrian thinks Greek civilization achieved the highest ideals and articulated them in their purest form. He appreciates how symmetry, beauty, balance, and harmony are expressed in Greek art, and he is influenced by and admires Greek poets and philosophers. In comparison, Hadrian feels that Roman artists, poets, and philosophers have not created anything as memorable. To Hadrian, the Greeks also epitomize the principle of humanism, which places people at the center of all thought and considers the purpose of life the exploration and pursuit of human virtues. He wants Roman culture, art, and philosophy to inherit, continue, and spread Greek values throughout the empire. Hadrian’s sexual interest in teen boys and young men, a relationship dynamic more accepted in ancient Greek culture than in Rome, is another way he adopts Greek tastes.

Athens, as the leading city of ancient Greece and the largest Greek city under the Roman Empire, becomes a symbol of Hellenic ideals (in historical terms, Greece’s ancient period ended with the invasion of Alexander the Great, and the Hellenic period occupies the era between Alexander’s death in 323 BCE and the founding of the Roman Empire). Hadrian’s formal investiture as an archon of Athens (archon in Greek means “ruler,” in the sense of a magistrate of public official) is one of his most cherished honors, signaling that he is deemed worthy to carry Greek civilization and thought forward. This he attempts to do through his rebuilding projects, like the restoration of the Temple to Zeus, the reframing of the Athenian constitution, his organization of a Panhellenic council, and the Greek library he builds in Rome.