In the story of Cimon and Pero, already recorded in Roman antiquity by the Latin writer Valerius Maximus, the ultimate sacrifice and charity are central. The old Cimon was sentenced to starvation, but his daughter Pero who visited him in prison kept him alive by secretly breastfeeding him. The Amsterdam painter Willem Drost (1633-1659) shows in his painting the touching moment known as the Caritas Romana. The young Pero turns her gaze away, alert to her surroundings, while secretly feeding her shackled, thinned father. In all his vulnerability, the weakened old man seeks hold on to the fabric of her skirt. Resting Pero in turn puts her hand on his bare shoulder.