Base of a statue: Alexander The Great hunting

This block comes from a large circular base, which may have once supported a colossal statue, found near the gymnasium of Messene. The relief depicts a lion hunt, a royal image known from the Persian tradition and borrowed by the kings of Macedonia. It has been suggested that the sculpture depicts Alexander the Great as Herakles, shown on his feet combatting a lion while Krateros mounted on horseback, comes to his aid.