Cadmus1.0010_Goltzius

Mythological: Cadmus, brother of Europa, has been on a quest to find his abducted sister. The Delphic Oracle has directed him, and here he is about to slay the dragon that protects a spring. After slaying it, Cadmus will establish Cadmeia, the eventual city of Thebes.

The image may have an allegorical interpretation:

"Given the political situation at the time in the Low Countries, the dragon may ... stand for Spain. In Goltzius' engraving, the winged dragon is about to devour Cadmus' brothers [labeled in the caption as Agenoridae, or offspring of Agenor]. In the background Cadmus is slaying the beast. Detached heads are stewn upon the ground. Another head appears in the upper left. The figures are foreshortened in the manner of Conelis Cornelisz [van Haarlem]. Hirschmann notes the effortless use of the burin, the illusionistic buttocks, and the remarkable rendering of the human skin." Strauss #261.