Isis-Minerva from Oedipus Aegyptiacus

The figure is seated, wearing classical robes, with a lit flame resting directly on her forehead. She holds a long, burning torch in her left hand and touches her lips with her right, a gesture often associated with silence or contemplative wisdom. Beside her, an owl—the traditional attribute of Minerva—features a small fire burning between its ears. The composition relies on high-contrast black and white lines typical of 17th-century woodcut or engraving techniques.

This image represents Kircher's syncretic approach to Egyptian and Classical mythology, where he attempted to reconcile ancient Egyptian mystery traditions with Greco-Roman deities as part of his project to decode 'prisca theologia' (ancient theology). It appears in his magnum opus, 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus', an influential work that attempted to interpret hieroglyphics through the lens of Hermetic and Neoplatonic philosophy.