Juno in the Form of Beroe, Warning Semele

The engraving shows two women seated in a formal garden with topiary and classical buildings in the background. Juno, on the left, is disguised as a wizened old woman and gestures towards Semele, who listens intently with her hand over her heart. The composition illustrates a pivotal moment of deception from Ovid's Metamorphoses, characterized by the elongated forms and intricate linework of the Dutch Mannerist style.

This work is part of a series illustrating Ovid's Metamorphoses, which served as a primary text for Renaissance Neoplatonists who interpreted these myths as allegories for natural and spiritual processes. The story of Semele was often cited as a warning against the 'furor poeticus' or the mortal danger of encountering the unmediated light of the Divine (Jupiter) before the soul is purified.