Achilles Recognized among the Daughters of King Lycomedes

The painting reminds us of an episode from the life of the legendary hero of the Troyan War, the way Ovidius captured it in his Metamorphoses. Achilles dressed as a woman was hidden by his mother among the king Lycomedes daughters. Francken has captured the moment in which the girls are enchanted by jewellery and other precious objects that Odysseus has brought, while Achilles reaches for the gun, thus disclosing himself.