Philoxenos of Eretria (copy after) · Battle of Issos

c.170 b.c. – Mosaic – Archaeological Museum, Naples

The “Alexander Mosaic” is one of the unquestionable masterpieces of Ancient Greek Art, known by a copy found in the “House of the Faun” in Pompeii. The strength of the work and the sense of movement caused by the foreshortening effect on the horses and the diagonal spears inevitably remind of “The Battle of San Romano”, painted many centuries later by Paolo Uccello.

The heartrendingly dramatic work depicts the moment in which Alexander the Great -represented from the side, his face emanating strength and decision- attacks King Darius, the central figure in the composition. For a long time it was thought that this work depicted the Battle of Issus (333 b.C.), but some historians have suggested that it could also represent the later Battle of Gaugamela (331 b.C.)

Text: G. Fernández, theartwolf.com