SANDOW
AS HERCULES
Sandow
in"Hercules" poses,
lets us know that he is as powerful as the legendary "Hercules"
(or "Heracles" as the Greeks called him). He carries
a knotted oak club called a "robur" which legend
tell us is always held by the legendary figure. It's Hercules'
trademark, and such devices are used in subsequent sculptures,
paintings and even architectural detail and decoration to
associate the piece with the myth. So Sandow, holding the
club, implies specifically that he is "like Hercules."
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In
the early days of photography, there were "props" in the portraits
of people, these often had symbolic meanings to associate them
with the prop... in this case, Sandow wearing the leopard skin
in the photo tells the viewer he is as "strong as Hercules."
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