Battle of Issus mosaic painting restored

by Nicko Prints

Title

Battle of Issus mosaic painting restored

Artist

Nicko Prints

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Painting

Description

Battle of Issus – digital painting where I restored the image of the famous mosaic from Naples depicting the battle, and I added new details and enhanced the colors.
The Alexander Mosaic, often called the Battle of Issus Mosaic, is a Roman floor mosaic discovered in the House of the Faun in Pompeii, Italy. Scholars usually date it between 120 and 100 BC. The scene portrays the clash between Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius III during the Battle of Issus, fought on 5 November 333 BC in southern Anatolia. This battle was the second major encounter in Alexander’s campaign against Persia and the first time the two rulers met on the field. The Macedonian army won a decisive victory, and Darius fled, leaving his family and royal treasury, which were taken by Alexander.
Before Issus, Alexander had defeated Persian satraps at the Battle of the Granicus. Darius then gathered new forces and tried to cut Alexander’s supply line with a sudden march behind the Greek army. Alexander turned back to meet him, and the two sides faced each other near the Pinarus River. The mosaic reflects this dramatic moment and blends Italic, Hellenistic, and Roman artistic traditions. Although created in Roman times, it is thought to copy a Greek painting from the late fourth or early third century BC, possibly by Philoxenus of Eretria or Apelles. Today the work is kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
More than fifty figures fill the scene. The artist gave careful attention to individual faces, weapons, and movement, using restrained colors to heighten the tension. Alexander appears on the left without a helmet, charging forward on his horse Bucephalus. He wears a linen breastplate decorated with the head of Medusa and aims his lance at a fallen enemy. His eyes are fixed on Darius.
On the right, Darius stands in his chariot, stretching out his arm toward a dying soldier while his driver urges the horses to flee. Fear is clear in the king’s expression. His brother Oxyathres is shown trying to protect him, holding the reins of a rearing horse. The crowded composition, the emotion on each face, and the sense of motion make the mosaic one of the most striking images to survive from the ancient world.

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February 9th, 2026

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