Derceto (Atargatis) on a Pedestal

The woodcut shows a female figure with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish, standing on a multi-stepped stone base. She has long, wavy hair, exposed breasts, and arms extended outward with palms open. Her lower torso is covered in fish scales, transitioning into a large, curved tail that rests on the ground. In the background, there is a stylized sea with two sailing ships, a small town with several structures, and a simple building with a dome in the lower right foreground.

This image appears in Athanasius Kircher's 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus' (1652–1654), a monumental work attempting to reconcile Egyptian hieroglyphics with universal, often syncretic, mythological and hermetic knowledge. It represents the ancient Near Eastern deity Atargatis, often conflated with Derceto, and reflects the early modern intellectual fascination with the survival of classical and oriental mystery traditions.