Lysippos' Tired Hercules is carved from marble and stands at an impressive height of ten feet five inches. (Farnese Heracles). Heracles is depicted as an extremely muscular human and divine being. He has the body of a god and the weariness of a human. Herakles, exhausted, leans on his mace for support after completing the final task of the Twelve Labors. He holds the apples of the Hesperides behind his back in his right hand, and a lion's skin is draped over his club.(,,,) This statue was loved by the Romans and this copy was made for the Baths of Caracalla.(… ) The Romans saw this statue as an inspiration for physical exercise, and the closer they came to this image the more they could be compared to the gods. Heracles is still a mortal and we know this from the nakedness in the statue, and it was this human appearance that inspired the Romans to achieve this ideal form. Since the creation of the sculpture of the Tired Hercules (Farnese Heracles), men have pursued this cultural ideal of the perfect man. The search for the idyllic male body has had an interesting path. Heracles Farnese has a predominant abdominal muscle that is unattainable. At this moment in Rome it would be impossible to have this type of body. Today with the use of steroids people can sculpt their bodies like Lysippus did with the Farnese Heracles. This image of the body was unattainable in ancient Rome. It was located in the famous bathhouse, the Baths of Caracalla, where men came to practice and look in awe at this sculpture while trying to obtain this body. The unattainable factor may have led to the desire and obsession to have this body. Having all men look at and emulate this sculpture creates an army of strong, healthy men. The Farnese Heracles may have been a work of pro...... middle of paper ......like this photo of Schwarzenneger and the sculpture of Heracles. The celebration of the form and the rawness of the image are evident. Once again he is dressed only in a loin skin made of animal fur. Man as conquering hero has never been far from our cultural ideal. We have always loved the powerful hero capable of defeating our enemies. There are many ways in which the ideal body has been pursued over the course of approximately three thousand years. A common thread in all of this is the desire for physical well-being. This has also been good for business and you often hear people like Dr. Oz advocating the root of this and the fruit of that. However, if you look around the gym, all those mirrors are not there to check on your well-being, they are there to give you a glimpse of the Tired Heracles; most are at least halfway there as they sure look tired.