The work is considered to be remarkably well preserved, both structurally and in the surviving traces of the practice of brightly colored statuary and architecture that was common in the ancient world.

[3] According to many scholars, both the provenance and date of the Alexander Sarcophagus remain uncontested,[4] landing it firmly in the city of Sidon and having been most likely commissioned after 332 BC.

[5] It was demonstrated by archaeologist and scholar Karl Schefold to have been made before Abdalonymus's death,[6] due to its still-classical manner being purportedly uninfluenced by the style of Lysippos.

Schefold argues that the sarcophagus retains a more conservative approach[6] to its composition and iconography, contrasting against the stylistic progression marked by the work of Lysippos.

In support, he theorizes that one of the side friezes depicts the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC,[5] showing the strength of Mazaeus' military leadership in directing the Persian army.

[10] It is helpful to note here, that Sidon was a Phoenician city-state,[4] which has led other scholars like Caroline Houser to argue its stylistic origins being rooted in Phoenicia.

[4] There are also several mythologized creatures, such as "three ram horns growing on feline heads"[4] that would have been entirely foreign to the fauna of the ancient Hellenistic world.

The roof ridge of the Alexander Sarcophagus, made of two "massive blocks" of marble,[9] is lined with alternating statuettes of women's heads (possibly the goddess Atargatis)[9] and eagles.

[9] Andrew Stewart argues that the sarcophagus offers no unified program or obviously coherent message at all,[9] as the scenes in each relief contradict the other, with iconography mixing both Western and Eastern standards.

Volkmar von Graeve has compared the motif to the famous Alexander Mosaic at Naples; he concludes that the iconography of both derives from a common original, a lost painting by Philoxenos of Eretria.

The opposite long side shows Alexander, recognized as the "horseman at the center left,"[9] and the Macedonians hunting lions together with Abdalonymus and the Persians.

[9] This is significant due to the fact that the scene on the opposite end has been largely interpreted as the Battle of Issus, which is broadly understood as a symbol of Macedonian defeat of the Persians.