Where is Megara, Hercules? Painting

I find the sculpture of the Ancient Mediterranean to be beautiful and I think that pictures of these sculptures, because of there often wonderful facial expressions and well articulated anatomies, make for great subjects for collages. The photographed statue seen on this painting is the Marbled Statue of a Bearded Hercules. I chose Hercules because I wanted to examine the idea of traditional masculinity. I believe energy, power, athleticism and duty are terms that are typically associated with masculinity and I think they describe Hercules quite well. He was a heroic figure with a noble disposition and godly, unmatched levels of physical strength. In tradition terms, Hercules is the visage of the masculine ideal. What is interesting though about Hercules is that the greater part of his journey, the bulk of the stories he is known for, are part of a redemption arc. The Labors that many know him for are a penance that’s he undertakes to atone for killing, in a fit of madness, his wife and children. For me personally, this redemptive arc makes him a better model for masculinity than any other aspect of him. I feel that many of our traditional ideas on what makes men masculine are restrictive, personally limiting, and can lead to selfish and destructive behavior. While there is nothing wrong with a man deciding to be athletic, there is a problem with a man placing the entirety of his identity and self-worth into his strength. While many aspects of the traditional masculine model are wonder qualities for a human to have there needs to be a change of emphasis on what men should find important. Being able to move heavy weights does not make a man nor is belligerence the basis of a rich, fulfilling life. Moreover, the spirit of conquest and hierarchy that accompanies ideas of masculinity often encourage strict conformity and a ideology that those who do not or cannot conform are weak. It breeds a culture that sees the agency of vigorous men as more important and worthy than those of women and supposedly weaker men. It allows the celebration of heroic deeds as atrocities and malfeasance are forgotten. Rather than allow this corrosion of humanity, one should reject the traditional when it fails them and adopt something more wholesome; people should allow themselves to grow into something more than they are now. This painting has a thick, sturdy frame. The head of Hercules is printed on printer paper and glued onto the canvas with Titebond wood glue. I have been told that this glue should hold indefinitely. It’s on stretched canvas and has no wires or hooks for hanging, but the stretcher bars are deep enough that it hangs well on nails or command strips.