Plate 15: The Death of Abimelech, from 'The Battles of the Old Testament' 1585 - 1615

Antonio Tempesta etched this print, ‘The Death of Abimelech,’ as part of his series on the battles of the Old Testament. The scene is dominated by the chaos of war, but notice how Tempesta emphasizes the moment of Abimelech's demise, struck down by a stone from the tower. This motif of death from above, a divine or fateful intervention, echoes throughout art history. Consider the depictions of the Tower of Babel, where divine judgment halts human ambition. Or the story of the deluge. We might even see a parallel in classical myths of gods casting thunderbolts. Such imagery taps into a collective memory, a subconscious fear of the unpredictable forces that can alter human destiny. The vulnerability of Abimelech, struck down amidst battle, triggers a deep-seated awareness of our own mortality, a primal fear passed down through generations, reminding us of the capricious nature of fate.