Fourth Day of Creation: Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Stars

In this circular composition, the sun is personified as a muscular, radiant Apollo gesturing toward the heavens with a quiver on his back. To his right, Diana represents the moon, identified by the crescent on her forehead and a large bow mirroring the lunar sliver. Behind them, a veiled figure wearing a cloak patterned with stars symbolizes the nocturnal sky.

This print belongs to a series on the Creation that exemplifies the Renaissance practice of using Greco-Roman deities to represent Christian theological concepts. By personifying celestial bodies, Goltzius links the Biblical narrative of Genesis to the Hermetic and Neoplatonic tradition of viewing the cosmos as a living, divine hierarchy of archetypal forces.