Roman copy of a Hellenistic portrait.

The identification of this head as a portrait of Alexander the Great is derived from Plutarch, who wrote that only Lysippos was permitted to make a likeness of him, and portrayed him “with leonine hair and melting upturned eyes”.

The interpretation that Alexander is shown in his death throes demonstrates the Renaissance desire to find in ancient sculpture illustrations of ancient history; the expression and pose are more dramatic than we would expect to find in a portrait. Other art historians have called it a dying giant, with comparisons to similar figures in the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon