The statue of Alexander the Great is the huge bronze horseman on the seafront promenade of Thessaloniki, a short walk east of the White Tower. Made by the sculptor Evangelos Moustakas and completed in 1973, it shows the Macedonian king on his horse Bucephalus, framed by a wall of long spears and shields and a bronze relief of the battle of Issus.
The Alexander the Great statue at a glance
- Where: on the Nea Paralia, the new waterfront promenade, east of the White Tower.
- Created: completed in 1973.
- By: the sculptor Evangelos Moustakas, who won the competition for the monument.
- What it is today: one of the tallest statues in Greece and a favourite meeting point and photo stop on the seafront: the horseman alone is about 6 metres tall, and with its marble base the monument reaches about 11 metres.
- Time needed: 10–15 minutes, longer if you walk along the promenade.
A Macedonian king in a Macedonian city
Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella, the capital of the kingdom of Macedon, not far west of today's Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki itself was founded in 315 BC by Cassander, one of the generals who fought over Alexander's empire after his death. He named the new city after his wife, Thessalonike, who was Alexander's half-sister. A statue of Alexander on the city's waterfront is therefore a statement about where the city comes from.
The monument was the result of a public competition. According to the sculptor's own account, earlier rounds produced no winner before Evangelos Moustakas's design was chosen. The bronze figure was cast in Italy and set on a base of white marble from Melissochori. Behind it, a long bronze relief shows the battle of Issus of 333 BC, where Alexander defeated the Persian king Darius III, and two groups of sarissas, the long Macedonian pikes, stand with round shields in front of them.
What to look for
- Alexander's pose: he turns in the saddle with his sword raised, his face towards the east, the direction of his campaigns into Asia.
- Bucephalus, his famous horse, rearing under him. The sculptor made the horse's head about 2 metres long.
- The sarissas: eight long bronze spears rising behind the statue, the weapon that made the Macedonian phalanx so feared.
- The shields at the foot of the spears, embossed with animal emblems linked to units of Alexander's army.
- The bronze relief of the battle of Issus behind the statue, crowded with soldiers, horses and chariots.
Bucephalus and the boy who tamed him
Ancient writers, above all Plutarch, tell how a magnificent horse was offered to Alexander's father, Philip II, but nobody could ride it. The young Alexander noticed that the horse was frightened of its own shadow, turned it towards the sun and calmed it, then rode it away. Philip is said to have told him to find a kingdom big enough for himself. Whether every detail is true or not, Bucephalus carried Alexander through his campaigns, and the story is why the horse gets almost as much attention here as the rider.
Tips for your visit
- Come at sunset: the statue faces east, but the sea and the sky behind it turn gold, and the promenade fills with people walking and cycling.
- For a photo of the whole monument with the spears, step back towards the land side of the promenade; from the water side the horseman is lit from behind in the evening.
- Walk on along the Nea Paralia: the promenade is one of the best places in the city for a long, flat walk by the sea.
Nearby
- White Tower: the round tower on the seafront, the symbol of Thessaloniki, with a museum about the city's history and a view from the top.
- The Umbrellas: George Zongolopoulos's sculpture of tall umbrellas rising from the ground, further east along the waterfront.
- Archaeological Museum and Museum of Byzantine Culture: two major museums a short walk inland, with finds from ancient Macedon and Byzantine art.
- Aristotelous Square: the city's grand main square, reached by walking west along the seafront past the White Tower.
See Thessaloniki with World City Trail
Our Thessaloniki scavenger hunt turns the city centre into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 53 minutes of walking. The statue of Alexander is not one of the stops, but the route includes the Rotunda and the Church of Agios Dimitrios. You can play in English, German, French, Italian or Greek.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Thessaloniki.
Play the Thessaloniki scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Thessaloniki →
Play the outdoor escape game in Thessaloniki →
Facts checked in October 2026.