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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileKircher oedipus aegyptiacus 3 elogium aegypti prisca small
The image features a central obelisk covered in rows of invented, pseudo-Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols, including birds, lions, plant stalks, and geometric shapes. The obelisk is capped with an imperial double-headed eagle and rests upon a pedestal inscribed with a dedication to Ferdinand III. Flanking the obelisk are two blocks of dense Latin text, which synthesize Hermetic philosophy with contemporary political panegyric, framing the Emperor as a divine, wise ruler and a 'Good Genius' of the state.
This print is from Kircher's 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus' (1652), a massive attempt to decipher hieroglyphs as a repository of universal, primordial 'prisca sapientia'. It reflects the 17th-century Jesuit intellectual project of harmonizing Catholic imperial power with ancient occult and Hermetic traditions.
ELOGIVM XXVII. AEGYPTI PRISCA SAPIENTIA. FERDINANDVS ... III. CÆSAR [Latin text columns] Elogium hieroglyphicum FERD. III. CÆSARIS immortalitati huius erectionis obelisci aeternum consecrauit A. K. S. I.
Translation
Eulogy 27. The Ancient Wisdom of Egypt. Ferdinand III Caesar. Hieroglyphic eulogy of Ferdinand III Caesar, to the immortality of the erection of this obelisk, eternally consecrated by Athanasius Kircher of the Society of Jesus.
Athanasius Kircher, Oedipus Aegyptiacus
This illustration serves as a foundational example of Kircher's method of interpreting hieroglyphs as symbolic philosophical concepts.
Object
woodcut
laid paper
Baroque
German
emblem
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
2006 × 3300 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.