EUGEN SANDOW AS SAMPSON
AND AS HERCULES

Sandow was photographed in the costume of several famous or legendary heroes. One of them was the bible's own Sampson, as seen in the photo below. Naturally, he was shown "pulling down the temple." The idea behind this was clear. Sandow was trying to show that having strength and muscle was not a "thuggish" or "evil" thing, but rather, to demonstrate that muscularity was also a great quality for any man to have. Sandow often referred to the body as a gift that should be developed and cared for. Once a man had a fine physique, he could go on to defend what was right and just in the world.... like pulling down barbarian temples.

It is clear that Sandow also understood the value of aligning his image with those of biblical heroes, as well. A person in the possession of such an image of a nearly naked male would feel justified that the image was a biblical hero. Cecil B. DeMille would later make use of this idea by bringing bible stories to life, only to show the "debauchery" of sinners in great detail.

The imageon the left is one of the most popular images we see of Sandow today. It has been reproduced on greeting cards, in books on bodybuilding history, and has also been duplicated by more modern bodybuilders.