[3] The stele is made out of an expensive variety of Pentelic marble and is 1.86 metres (6 ft 1 in) tall.

It was found in situ, but moved during World War II, and is now on display in the Kerameikos Museum in Athens.

[4] The stele is carved in high relief and depicts a cavalryman, Dexileos, mounted on a horse, charging a Spartan enemy, probably at the 394 BC Battle of Nemea during the Corinthian War, in which Athens was defeated by Sparta.

The spear, reins, and petasos, which is a wide brimmed hat usually worn by Athenian ephebes, are all missing from the stele.

The entire stele relief scene is bordered on top with a pediment adorned with acroteria, which gives it a religious aspect with reference to naiskos, a small temple in the classical order.

This stele shares characteristics of two distinct ideologies in the classical period relating to death in battle; One being a very individualistic depiction glorifying the deceased and the other being an inclusion of aristocracy within Athenian democracy and depicting death as a sacrifice for the state.

While this monument depicts wealthy Dexileos in triumph, bringing pride to his family, it also shows how he is part of the Athenian community, making a sacrifice of life for his people.

According to the inscription on the epistyle, the monument was erected in honour of the Athenian riders who fell in the battles of Corinth and Coronea in 394 BC.

[10] The stele was discovered by the Athenian archaeologist, art dealer and antiquities trafficker Athanasios Rhousopoulos in the spring of 1863.

Along with the nearby excavation of the funerary enclosure of Agathon, the discovery of Dexileios's stele confirmed the location of the Kerameikos cemetery, which had been forgotten since antiquity.