Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileHieroglyphical Representation of Jupiter or Pan
Pan (Kircher)
About This Work
This black-and-white print depicts Pan as a hybrid creature with the torso and face of a man, goat horns, feathered wings, and goat legs. His body is covered in labels (A-N) that correlate to a key on the right, which explains his symbolic anatomy as a representation of universal natural forces. In his left hand, he holds a model of the geocentric universe, featuring seven concentric rings representing planetary orbits and a set of pipes. A pastoral landscape with pyramids and small figures appears in the bottom left, while the figure stands on a rectangular pedestal.
This image is a quintessential example of Kircher's syncretic approach in his 1652 work 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus', where he attempts to harmonize Greek mythology with Hermetic philosophy and Neoplatonic concepts of the 'Anima Mundi' or world soul.
Inscriptions(English, Latin)
Hieroglyphical Representation of Jupiter or Pan A A ruddy face, the power of heat in the world. B The power of the heavenly rays upon sublunary nature. C Masculine elements. D The power of the periodic return of the year and of all its revolutions. E Everything is maintained by its virility. F The power in the firmament, or the sphere of the fixed stars. G Earth (the feminine element), bristling with plants, seeds, and trees. H Aquae et liquoris fons (elementum femininum) rigatione fecundans terram. I Fields, crops, and various forms of vegetable life. K The harmonies of the seven planets. L The mountains show rough and uneven places. M The power of fecundity. N The firm foundation. O The force of the winds and their speed when agitated.
Translation
H: The fountain of waters and liquid (feminine element) fertilizing the earth through irrigation.
Connected Texts
Athanasius Kircher, Oedipus Aegyptiacus
This illustration serves as a key visual explication of Kircher's theory regarding the hidden Egyptian origins of Greek and Roman deities.