The aim of the article is to interpret the statue, which was described in Niketas Choniates’ “History”. Although the source has been investigated in detail, the sculpture, depicting the combat between two animals, is not sufficiently explored. In the text the monument receives an unexpected and perhaps arbitrary treatment (the single combat of the asp and the basilisk), which was intended to bind the image with the political events of the time. Judging from the analysis, the authors suppose that the statue depicts in fact the struggle of a hippo and a crocodile, but in Byzantium it could be perceived in the eschatological context, including as the battle of Leviathan and Behemoth. Besides, 13th century ekphrasis, can provide a possible reading for the Romanesque relief from Sauve-Majeure Abbey, a little-known monument in the art history.