One of the Greek gods is leaving the grounds at Exhibition Place —at least temporarily.

The 11-foot Hercules, one of many limestone sculptures that have been fenced off and locked away from public view at the Garden of the Greek Gods on the lawn of Muzik nightclub, was carefully removed from the grounds Thursday and taken away for safer refuge and much-needed repairs.

“Because of its location on the patio, the stone had over the winter of 2017 / 18 absorbed substantial water into the sculpture and this situation did not improve over the summer season,” wrote Dianne Young, executive director of the Exhibition Place, in an email to the Star.

“This water within the stone posed serious issues to the stone and the stability of the sculpture and a proposed solution was removal of the sculpture and relocation to an inside location in the winter 2018 / 2019.”

The 20 god figures — which include Cyclops, Orpheus, Pan, Aphrodite and Zeus among other — were sculptured by renowned Canadian artist Elford Bradley Cox, who died in 2003.

While Cox wanted these gods to always be in the public setting and for kids to play with them, they’ve been at the centre of a long-standing controversy between the city, the Exhibition Place and Muzik nightclub owners, who lease the grounds at which the deities are located. The lease, which started in 2004, is in effect until 2024.

Over the past few years, the nightclub fenced off the garden where the sculptures are kept, as part of its patio expansion. The controversy surrounding the club and the gods’ fate heightened when two patrons were shot and killed there in 2015.

Two years ago the Exhibition Place board of governors rejected a proposal to release the statues and move them to another place.

Young said the removal of Hercules has nothing to do with all these controversies. A nightclub is still operating at the place, although the patio is now closed for the winter period, she said.

She said Hercules is the only sculpture identified as being affected by the water issue, and the removal operation was a complete success.

“It will allow the condition of the sculpture to be assessed and repaired and will allow the restoration of the sculpture to the prior location in the spring / summer pending revisions to the patio to prevent a repeat of this type of damage,” she said.

A community working group that includes Cox’s daughter Kathy Sutton has been pushing for the relocation of the sculptures to the nearby Rose Garden, and back into the public realm.

In the past, Sutton said it was “tragic” that Hercules was “sinking in the muck on a patio, looking like a cocktail server.”

Many other sculptures there are also kept in demeaning locations next to washrooms and sandwiched between fences and buildings, she said.

“The moral rights of the artist to have his art respected, protected, and displayed to the public as intended have been violated. It is particularly sad that this art has been removed from the public realm as children were intended to have access to this art,” she said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Loretta Ryan, one of the group members, said Hercules should not be returned to the same area after restoration.

“It should never have ended up there in the first place. Moving it back would have been against the wishes of the sculptor and it is most certainly against the wishes of his family,” she said.