If the figure of the dummy, man-contemporary automaton symbol, recurring in the work of De Chirico, is inspired by a character in a play by Alberto Savinio, this painting is a metaphysical reading of the Homeric myth. In particular, it relates to an episode of the Iliad: Hector and Andromache before the Trojan hero faces Achille in a duel. The tragedy of the scene is due to the awareness of Hector to go in against a certain death amplified by the fact that the protagonists are missing the upper limbs, obstacle to their desire for contact.