Statue “Praying Ephebe” in artificial marble by Leochares (reduction)

Leochares, along with Praxiteles, is the most important Greek sculptor of the Late Classical period. He lived in the 4th century BC and was probably from Athens. Pliny places his creative period between 370 and 320 AD. Since little is known about his life and work, his oeuvre can largely only be reconstructed from copies. However, the sculptor's involvement around 350 AD in the sculptural decoration of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus seems certain. According to Pliny, he created the panels with the frieze depicting the battles of the Amazons. The attribution of the models for the "Apollo Belvedere" and its counterpart, the "Artemis of Versailles," remains controversial.