Greek and Hellenic art, particularly sculpture features the older male nude form through the mythological figures of ancient gods such as Zeus, Poseidon or Neptune, Saturn, Hercules and Prometheus to name but a few. Renaissance artists such as Mantegna and later Rubens were inspired by these characters enough to paint them. Silenus the drunk is often a favourite subject, perhaps a safe vehicle to explore the eroticism of the nude older male . He is usually depicted being supported by satyrs or riding home drunk on a donkey, often portrayed as a kind of naked father Christmas with flowing white beard .However Mantegna depicts him as a short haired, clean shaven stout man and this is echoed in the work of Maerten Van Heemskerck.
