This is just one of many Roman copies of the group sculpture of Meleager. There are such wide discrepancies in the style of the various Roman copies that the original from which they are all derived has been attributed to various sculptors. Also, no ancient writer mentions a statue of Meleager at all so it is impossible to be sure who made the Greek original.

The hero Meleager is shown with a boar’s head and a hunting dog. One of the myths featuring Meleager is that Artemis sent a boar to ravage the land of Kalydon for failing to make enough sacrifices to her. Meleager saved Kalydon by organising a hunt to kill the boar; but enjoyment of his victory is short-lived. His mother soon causes his death in revenge for killing her brothers