…the jovial chap in the photo below, who looks a bit like Santa Claus on his summer holidays, is in fact supposed to be Hércules en la nave de los argonautas – Hercules in (on?) the Argonauts’ ship.
I had forgotten that Hercules accompanied Jason and his merry men on the Argo, although I must have watched the 1963 film a score of times.
Looking back at stills of Nigel Green in the role, he doesn’t seem to cut quite such a rotund figure, so perhaps that’s why I didn’t recognise him. (Of course Kevin Sorbo didn’t even have a beard, so seems even less relatable to the figure portrayed.)
What I don’t understand about the sculpture, is how the rest of the Argonauts were supposed to fit aboard the boat.
Well, that, and why the boat is made of stone, of course; and why it is up on top of the cliff and not down taking its chances in the swell below.
Also, why it’s referred to as la nave de los argonautas and not simply El Argo.
Actually, there are quite a lot of things I don’t understand about the sculpture, but it’s certainly provided a point to ponder. And what more can I ask for for a blog post?
don't confuse the narrator 