The most reasonable explanation for this painting is that is shows Hercules and his son Telephus, who was suckled by a doe. The beautiful woman seated holding a staff may be Arcadia or the earth goddess Tellus (Terra). Behind them are Pan with his pipes and pedum or curved stick, and Ceres or Providence pointing to the boy. Excavated in Resina. Copperplate engraved by Tommaso Piroli from his own "Antichita di Ercolano" (Antiquities of Herculaneum), Rome, 1789. Italian artist and engraver Piroli (1752-1824) published six volumes between 1789 and 1807 documenting the murals and bronzes found in Heraculaneum and Pompeii.