A newly erected statue of warrior-king Alexander the Great in central Athens erected on 17 April was vandalised on Tuesday, less than a month after its unveiling, according to Greek media reports.

Slogans were painted on the pedestal of the statue that stands at the corner of Amalias and Vasilissis Olgas avenues, near the ancient site of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Vandals wrote that the warrior king was a killer.

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The statue by Greek artist Yiannis Pappas (1913-2005) is a stunning bronze sculpture that stands at 3.5 metres in height and 3.8 metres in length. Created in 1993, it features Alexander as a teenager rather than a mature conqueror, riding his horse Bucephalus.

It had been donated by the sculptor to the Municipality of Athens and had been unveiled in a low-key ceremony.