Benjamin, from the series The Twelve Patriarchs 1550

Maarten van Heemskerck etched "Benjamin" as part of "The Twelve Patriarchs" series, a detailed tableau filled with symbolic weight. Here, Benjamin is allegorized through the voracious wolf, its fierce appetite embodying the tribe’s predatory nature. This emblem echoes through time—consider Romulus and Remus suckled by a she-wolf, a symbol of primal strength in the founding of Rome. The Chimera, a serpentine figure with three heads, looms in the background, a ghastly hybrid of lion, goat, and snake embodying deceit and illusion. The bull devouring a lamb reflects a brutal, earthly aspect of power, evoking ancient sacrificial rites. These symbols tap into our collective unconscious, stirring primal fears and instincts. The emotional resonance of these symbols is a testament to their enduring power across millennia. The cyclical nature of these symbols reveals how human culture reinterprets and re-contextualizes our most deeply-held fears, desires, and beliefs. These motifs persist, transformed, yet retain echoes of their ancient origins.