According to the St. Louis Museum of Art, where there is another impression of this engraving by Altdorfer (1480-1538), "This print depicts a moment of extraordinary patriotic courage from ancient history. Altdorfer represented Roman general Horatius Cocles's climactic jump into the Tiber after he had single-handedly kept the Etruscans from crossing the bridge into Rome. His countrymen busily dismantled the bridge while Cocles kept the Etruscans at bay until the last fragment of the bridge collapsed, forcing him to jump."
