A temple built by the Roman emperor Hadrian to honour the death of his teenage Greek lover has been found after almost 2,000 years. The ruins is said to provide fresh insight into one of the world's most famous gay relationships.

The romance between the Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD) and former slave boy Antinous is one of the world's greatest love stories but it also contains one of the ancient world's greatest mysteries.

Antinous who is not only very beautiful, possessed great intelligence and a sharp wit but also considered a great hunter and athlete is believed to have drowned in the Nile. However, what precisely what happened to Antinous in October of 130 is unknown; some said that the 21-year-old committed suicide while others thought that he was pushed in by the emperor's jealous aides. Other scholars claim Antinous committed suicide before old age destroyed his looks.

After his death, Hadrian who is thought to be one of Rome's greatest emperors, immediately declared Antinous a god and founded the city of Antinopolis in Egypt on the spot where the youth's body was found. He also commissioned statues of Antinous to be erected throughout the empire, but no major memorial has ever been found in Italy; a fact that has mystified scholars.

Hadrian was also so grief stricken that he apparently went into a deep depression from which he never emerged.

Until now, it appeared that Hadrian had never built a temple to his favourite until the recently ruins proved otherwise.

Archaeologists discovered the massive semi-circular structure during new excavations at Hadrian's sprawling villa about 20 miles east of Rome.

Activists today allege that prudish versions of history have swept their romance under the rug as early Christian historians referred to Hadrian and Antinous' relationship as Hadrian's "unlawful pleasure" with the "scandalous boy."

"I'm sure this discovery will cause a lot of controversy, because it flies in the face of previously accepted theories, but only further excavations will give all of the answers," Anna Maria Reggiani, the superintendent of archaeology for Italy's Lazio region told Reuters.