The etching shows Hecuba, King Priam's wife, being held captive. Hecuba is taken out of the city of Troy by Greek warriors in a ship. Warriors from land and sea, on the right and left, prepare to fire arrows at Hecuba in case she tries to flee. The son of Priam, Polydorus, is thrown from a rock by the Thracian king Polymestor in the background. The fortified city of Troy appears to the left, set on fire.