Circle of Nicolas Vleughels (Paris 1668-1737 Rome)

The subject is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses, XIII: 162-70. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, knowing that he would be killed if he fought in the Trojan war, disguised him as a young woman and entrusted him to the care of King Lycomedes, with whose daughters he lived. Odysseus, who had been sent by the Greeks to find the young hero, cunningly placed a sword, spear and shield amongst gifts ostensibly for the King's daughters. Whilst the girls chose more feminine objects for themselves, Achilles instinctively picked up the arms, thereby revealing his true identity.