The relief slab is 0.37 m tall and was found in 1937 in Derveni, Thessaloniki, during the construction works of the National Thessaloniki - Kavala Road. Its presence there must be related to the neighboring sanctuary of Demeter and Kore (Persephone), which belonged to the ancient city of Lete. Numerous sculptures have been recovered from this sanctuary and are exhibited in the same room of the Museum.

 The work has survived in good condition, with little wear of its surface. The rest surfaces are roughly worked, so only the main one would be visible. The artistic quality is mediocre, a fact which creates more problems in its interpretation.

Inside a deep rectangular frame is depicted a mature bearded man, wearing a tunic and a himation. In the right hand he holds an indeterminate object, while with the left he embraces a large horn of Amalthea (abundance), from which a large snake feeds. The man is standing behind a two-wheeled chariot, dragged by two cocks scalded in the yoke. It is not entirely clear whether under the wheel of the chariot are depicted the heads of two more snakes (which –therefore– have replaced the man's legs), or if two conventional legs are depicted, wearing sandals.

Above the relief there is the much worn inscription: Έτουςδξσ ́. The year δξσ ́ (ancient Greek for no. 264) corresponds to 116 A.D., according to the dating system that had as its starting point the foundation of the Roman province of Macedonia, in 148 B.C.

On the frame below the relief, the main inscription reads: ΘεόνΘεοδαίμονα/ ΑδαίοςΠαραμόνουιε-/ρητεύωνανέθηκεν

The inscription informs us that Adaeus, son of Paramonos, dedicated this work to Theodaemon (the male figure of the relief), having himself served as his priest. The exceptionally rare noun Theodaemon is not the name, but simply a designation of the god, which so classifies him among the lowest deities. The symbols that accompany him, (horn of abundance, snakes and cocks) denote the relationship of this god with the Underworld, fertility and the protection of believers from the evil demons of the night. We are left to assume that this - anonymous until today - local god was worshipped with these properties, next to the sanctuary of the gift-bearing goddess Demeter and Persephone, queen of the Underworld.

You can see the object in the permanent exhibition "Macedonia from the 7th century B.C. to late antiquity", section "Myth and Worship".