The School of Athens

At the center of a vast vaulted hall, Plato and Aristotle engage in dialogue, representing the two pillars of Western thought. Various groups of thinkers surround them, including Pythagoras writing in the foreground and Euclid demonstrating a geometric proof with a compass. The scene is framed by statues of Apollo and Minerva, symbolizing the divine patronage of the arts and wisdom.

This work is the definitive visual expression of the Renaissance Neoplatonic ideal of the 'prisca theologia' or ancient theology—the belief that a single, unified truth was shared by the great thinkers of the past. It illustrates the reconciliation of pagan philosophy with Christian humanism, placing emphasis on the mathematical and cosmological foundations of the universe.