The Borghese gladiator bears the signature of the little-known sculptor Agasias of Ephesus on the trunk of the tree which supports the figure. The warrior plunges forward, the body straining and stretching, to parry a blow, probably from above, a shield (now missing) on his left arm, a sword (now missing) in his right hand. Viewed from the side, the long, almost too-straight diagonal thrust and the arrangement of torso and limbs seem confined to a one-dimensional frame. But the two-dimensional aspects of the left arm, which leaves the body at a sharp angle, and the right arm pulling the torso in a strong twist, are evident from a frontal view. The muscles and tendons are too abundant and overly defined; this is the late Hellenistic tendency toward hyperrealistic exaggeration of the male figure’s structure (see for comparison: Apollo Lykeios; Hermes and the Infant Dionysus).

The inscription reads “Agasias, son of Dositheos of Ephesus, made (this).”