The Alexander Mosaic is probably the most famous representation of Alexander. It depicts him in battle at close quarters with the Achaemenid Persian king Darius III.
Court gossip attributed a wound which Alexander received at Issus to Darius's own dagger and the artist of the mosaic probably had that story in mind when he created this masterpiece.
The mosaic, which was a copy made around 100 BC from an original painting, was found in the House of the Faun at Pompeii in Italy. The exact identity of the original artist is uncertain.
It was thought to have been a woman called Helen, but the current view is that it was the court painter Philoxenus of Eretria who lived in the 4th century BC. He was a pupil Aristides of Thebes who is thought to have painted the facade of the royal tomb at Vergina.
