The uprising of the Cypriot people demanding freedom in 1955 and the intercommunal riots that broke out in 1958 and intensified in 1963-1964 caused Diamantis severe anxiety for the future of his homeland and his people, which reached its apex with the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974 and all its disastrous consequences. In a series of eight works entitled 'Agonies', the artist declared these feelings of anxiety, pain and frustration that overwhelmed him.

In his painting ‘Agony II’, we can observe, two terrified female figures that are trying to escape. Symbolically, one is holding a child and the other a baby goat. The earthy, red colouring of the bare parts of their bodies, is reminiscent of red-figure vases and Minoan frescoes, contrasting with their illuminated white garments. The two figures are set against a dark, inaccessible, utterly arid mountain landscape, which becomes even more frightening with the turbulent sky in the background portending a storm.

The stifling, antirealistic, exitless and inhospitable space is of prime importance in the rendering of the subject. Symbolic value is also attributed to the lighting of the work, especially the contrast between light and darkness; life and death. The composition contains a spiritual, transcendental element that draws the viewer into a contemplative process.