Most portrait sculptures of the Hellenistic period were either heroic, like the ones of Alexander the Great, or in the “psychological” style of Demosthenes. This bronze portrait of an unknown man is a fusion of the two styles; a heroic demeanor combined with an expressive facial treatment.

The western Aegean island of Delos was under Athenian control at the time, and it is thought that this portrait, one of a group from that period on the island, was a commission by a merchant or official grown wealthy through the patronage of Athens