Salmacis and Hermaphrodite Transformed into a Single Person

Two nude figures are entangled on the rocky edge of a spring within a vast landscape of mountains and distant fortifications. Salmacis clings to the resisting Hermaphroditus as he enters the water, where, according to myth, their bodies will fuse into one. The scene is rendered with the rhythmic, swelling line work characteristic of the Dutch Mannerist style.

In Western esotericism, the union of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus provides the mythological basis for the 'Rebis' or alchemical hermaphrodite. This figure serves as a central symbol for the 'coincidentia oppositorum' (union of opposites), representing the successful completion of the Great Work where spirit and matter are reconciled.