Oedipus Aegyptiacus — Cosmic Diagram

This black-and-white engraving depicts a central Earth, marked with a cross and a small profile of a human head, enclosed within several nested circular rings representing planetary spheres. A dramatic cone of radiating light descends from a winged orb at the top, piercing through the firmament down to the terrestrial center. The image is framed by various astronomical symbols and Greek characters, including the word 'Aπλανη' (fixed stars) and labels for the spheres of the moon ('Luna') and sun ('Solis'). The composition is dense with stippling and hatching, balanced by large letterforms (A, M, V, R) in the corners and the Latin phrase 'Mens agitat molem' at the bottom.

This diagram appears in Athanasius Kircher’s 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus', a seminal 17th-century work that sought to synthesize Hermeticism, Egyptology, and Christian theology into a universal science. It reflects the early modern 'prisca theologia' tradition, attempting to reconcile ancient wisdom with contemporary natural philosophy.