Stag Hunt Mosaic

The Stag Hunt mosaic (c. 300 BC) is a mosaic from a wealthy home of the late 4th century BC, the so-called "House of the Abduction of Helen" (or "House of the Rape of Helen"), in Pella, the capital of the Macedonian Kingdom.

[4] The mosaic also uses shading, known to the Greeks as skiagraphia, in its depictions of the musculature and cloaks of the figures.

[7][8] The figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of this mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of the hair.

As Actaeon had hunted Artemis but was destroyed by his dogs, so the Persians had tried to subdue Hellas - an effort earlier Macedonian kings had participated in - resulting ultimately in the empire's destruction by Alexander.

The myth goes when Actaeon saw Artemis naked, out of anger she turned him into a stag and he was torn to pieces by his own hounds.

He had stated his motives for battling the Persians as to get vengeance for them sacking Athens and destroying temples there such as the Parthenon.