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| Bartholomeus Spranger Venus and Cupid ca. 1590 oil on panel Musée Saint-Loup, Troyes |
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| Hieronymus Wierix after Ambrosius Francken Vanity of Vanities, All is Vanity 1578 hand-colored engraving Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel |
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| Georg Herman Warrior 1597 engraving Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel |
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| Jacques de Gheyn II Musketeer 1587 engraving Graphische Sammlung, ETH Zürich |
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| Jacopo Bassano Beheading of St John the Baptist ca. 1550 oil on canvas Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen |
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| Anonymous Lombard Artist Portrait of Bertoldo Pazzi ca. 1580-90 oil on canvas National Museum, Warsaw |
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| Heinrich Aldegrever Absalom comforting Tamar 1540 engraving Graphische Sammlung, ETH Zürich |
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| Gerard de Jode after Marten de Vos the Elder Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael ca. 1570 engraving Herzog August Bibliothek, Wulfenbüttel |
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| Antonis Mor Portrait of artist Hubert Goltzius ca. 1576 engraving Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Leipzig |
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| Giambattista Moroni Archangel Michael ca. 1550-60 oil on canvas Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan |
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| Parmigianino (Francesco Mazzola) Study for Proserpina ca. 1535-38 drawing Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest |
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| Lucas van Valckenborch Page in Uniform ca. 1578-79 watercolor and gouache on paper Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna |
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| Girolamo Siciolante Holy Family with St Michael Archangel and young St John the Baptist 1545-46 oil on canvas Galleria Nazionale di Parma |
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| Giulio Clovio Virgin and Child with young St John the Baptist (and seven other figures) ca. 1553 watercolor and gouache on vellum Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris |
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| Bernardino Poccetti Mythological Figure ca. 1590 drawing National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |
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| Paolo Veronese Resurrection of Christ ca. 1570-75 oil on canvas Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden |
Ghost of Darius [to Chorus of Persian Elders]: Well, since your old fear is standing guard over your mind – [turning to the Queen] I ask you, my noble wife, old companion of my bed, to end this crying and wailing and speak plainly to me. Human beings, you know, are bound to experience human sufferings; there are many evils that befall mortals, both by sea and by land, if their life is prolonged to a great span.
Queen: You whose fortunate fate surpassed all mortals in bliss, how enviable you were when you saw the light of the sun and led a life of such happiness that Persians looked on you as a god! And now too I envy you, because you died before seeing the depths of our present suffering. It will take you very little time, Darius, to hear the whole story: to all intents and purposes, the fortunes of Persia are utterly ruined.
Ghost: How has it happened? Has our state been stricken by a virulent plague, or by civil strife?
Queen: Not at all: what has happened is that our entire army has been destroyed in the region of Athens.
Ghost: And tell me, which of my sons led the army there?
Queen: The bold Xerxes; he emptied the whole expanse of the continent.
Ghost: And how did a land army of that size manage to get across the water?
Queen: He contrived means to yoke the strait of Helle, so as to create a pathway.
Ghost: He actually carried that out, so as to close up the mighty Bosporus?
Queen: It is true. Some divinity must have touched his wits.
Ghost: Ah, it was a powerful divinity that came upon him, to put him out of his right mind!
Queen: Yes, one can see by the outcome what a disaster he managed to create.
– Aeschylus, from Persians (472 BC), translated by Alan H. Sommerstein (2008)