Apollo Killing Coronis - etching - Washington DC, NGA

The god Apollo stands at the right, identifiable by the lyre at his feet, aiming his bow at the reclining Coronis who has already been struck by an arrow. In the center, a raven—the bird that brought news of her betrayal—is shown in flight, its feathers turning black as a curse. The background depicts the tragic aftermath where Coronis's body is placed on a pyre, from which Apollo will rescue their unborn son, Asclepius.

This mythological scene illustrates the birth of Asclepius, a central figure in the Western esoteric tradition as the namesake and primary interlocutor of the 'Asclepius' in the Corpus Hermeticum. The narrative of divine revelation through the raven and the subsequent rescue of a divine child from the flames was frequently interpreted by Renaissance humanists as an allegory for the extraction of spiritual wisdom from mortal error.