Sculptor Yiannis Pappas’ statue of Alexander the Great will be placed in a small triangle at the corner of Vasilissis Sofias and Vasilissis Olgas streets near the Temple of Olympian Zeus in downtown Athens. The statue will replace the Palm tree that has recently dried up due to a plant disease.

Sources told Proto Thema that the position for the statue was proposed by the sculptors own son, Alekos Pappas. His proposal received the approval of the Central Archaeological Council.

“The statue was created by my father in the Seventies and presents the great warrior riding barebackon Bucephalus, his horse,” says the sculptor’s son. “It shows Alexander the Great the bearer of culture and not the conquerer.”

The work had been created 21 years ago but had sat in the artist’s workshop because the right setting had yet to be found. Athens mayors had come and gone with the work collecting dust. A plaque at its base says “During the Mayorship of Dimitris Avramopoulos”.