Jupiter secretly nursed his mortal-born son Hercules at the breast of his sleeping wife Juno to grant the child immortality, but when the goddess awakened, her spurting milk created the Milky Way above and lilies below. Tintoretto's canvas has been significantly reduced from its original size, with the surviving upper portion showing only part of a composition that once included Earth goddess Ops reclining among white flowers in the lower section. The astronomical and botanical imagery connects to Tintoretto's patron, physician Tommaso Rangone, whose scholarly interests centred on celestial bodies and plant life.