And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith’.

-Book of Judges 15:15

Today the statue originally known as Samson and the Philistine is restored to the Grecian Valley, a landscape that was once enriched with acquaintances from the mythical antiquity of Hercules and the pastoral dream of the late eighteenth century. The tranquil pasture land, a testament to ‘Capability’ Brown who designed this, the first man-made valley in Britain, conceived its own world, and was based on its own ethos of creation: everything is possible.

Lord Cobham, the owner of the estate at the time, interpreted this through a group of statues depicting the twelve labours of Hercules, to represent the notion of victory through physical combat, martial strength and patriotism. This iconography was a fashionable statement of support for the Glorious Revolution and Whig ideology.

Now, the Grecian Valley is a place where Samson and the Philistine can be Hercules and Cacus, the former slaying the fire breathing giant; or indeed Cain and Abel, if the ass’s jaw is mistaken for a rib. Over time the statue has been named after all three, a journey now manifested in its single, still and silent form. All of these myths are reborn at Stowe today, proof that anything really is possible.

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Elevation 180 m

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Today

Sunday 23 November

8°C

4°C

70 %

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Max wind speed: 23.0 km/h

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Location: Stowe, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, South East England, England, United Kingdom

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Samson and the Philistine Statue, Grecian Valley, Stowe

1. Palladian Bridge at Stowe – Palladian Bridge, Stowe loop from Mount Pleasant

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3. Palladian Bridge at Stowe – Palladian Bridge, Stowe loop from Mount Pleasant

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