The Lion Hunt mosaic, measuring 4.90 x 3.20 metres, formed part of a mosaic floor of the north andron (symposium or banqueting hall for men) in the "House of Dionysos" (see gallery page 2) in the centre of ancient Pella.

The lion in the centre is flanked by two hunters, each naked apart from a chlamys (short cloak), who approach it on foot. The figure on the left wears a petasos (πέτασος, a broad-brimmed hat) and aims a spear with his right hand, while holding a sheathed sword in his raised left hand. His companion on the right, who has short curly blond hair, holds a sword above his head with his right hand and is about to strike the lion. In his left hand he holds a scabbard. The lion's body faces left, but its head is turned to the right, as if suddenly surprised by the appearance of the second hunter. It is thought that the lower bodies and legs of both hunters, which are almost identical, were designed from same cartoon.

It has also been suggested that the composition was based on the "Ex-voto of Krateros", a bronze statue group depicting Alexander hunting a lion with one of his generals Krateros, commissioned by the latter and made by Lysippos and Leochares, which stood near the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. Since none of the statues of the monument in Delphi has survived it is not possible to prove this theory.

According to the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, "pavements are an invention of the Greeks, who also practised the art of painting them, till they were superseded by mosaics."

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