Delubrum Samaritanum (The Samaritan Shrine)

The image is a black-and-white copperplate engraving featuring a central structure resembling an altar or shrine. At the very top, a peacock stands, followed below by an arch containing a five-pointed star and two creatures with animal heads that shake hands or exchange an object; the figure on the right resembles a donkey or horse, while the one on the left is wolf-like. The middle register features a prancing horse flanked by architectural columns and smaller sculptural motifs. The base register shows a boat (Noah's Ark) situated between two birds perched on columns, all set against a background of faint landscape and water. Various numbers are scattered throughout the composition, functioning as a key for an accompanying text.

This image is a plate from Athanasius Kircher's 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus', a massive encyclopedic work that sought to interpret Egyptian hieroglyphs through the lens of Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, and early modern comparative mythology. It illustrates Kircher's syncretic attempt to link various global mythologies, biblical history, and occult symbolism into a unified, ancient, and divine wisdom tradition.