16th Century

Astaroth Enthroned

The great duke Astaroth in full demonic regalia upon his throne.
Catalog ID
OCID-2890
Medium
Milan, Italy
Source
Compendium Maleficarum
Origin
Milan, Italy

Scholarly Analysis

This early sixteenth-century engraving represents the culmination of late medieval demonic hierarchography. Astaroth, identified in grimoire tradition as a great duke of Hell, receives appropriately noble treatment: throne, crown, and scepter assert status within infernal bureaucracy. The Renaissance influence is evident in proportional relationships and architectural framing. Classical columns support the demonic throne, suggesting continuity between pagan and demonic realms that contemporary demonologists debated extensively. Anatomical distortions follow systematic logic rather than arbitrary monstrosity. The reversed joints, the extra limbs, the hybrid features each carry specific meanings within the elaborate symbolic system of Renaissance demonology.
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