Ticius, a giant of classical mythology, is assassinated by Apollo and Diana for having raped their mother, Latona. As punishment, he is condemned to the underworld where two buzzards devour his liver, which grows back eternally. Along with Sisyphus (P00426), Tantalus and Ixion, this work is part of the group known as the Damned or the Furies, which Titian painted at the behest of María de Hungría (1505-1558), who was the sister of Carlos V (1500-1558). The latter two works were lost when Madrid's Alcázar Palace burned in 1734. They were conceived with a moral purpose, as a warning to those who dared defy the Emperor.

This work entered the Prado Museum in 1828.