Derivative work of Raphael's The School of Athens at Goethe-Nationalmuseum

This 17th-century engraving is a reproduction of Raphael's famous Vatican fresco, depicting the greatest minds of antiquity gathered in an ideal academy. Plato and Aristotle stand at the center, surrounded by figures like Pythagoras writing in a book, Euclid demonstrating geometry with a compass, and Diogenes resting on the steps. A large Latin inscription at the bottom left reinterprets the scene as St. Paul preaching to the philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens.

The work serves as a visual encyclopedia of the 'Prisca Sapientia' (Ancient Wisdom), portraying the lineage of thinkers central to the Neoplatonic and natural philosophical traditions. It reflects the Renaissance project of reconciling classical pagan philosophy with Christian theology, specifically through the lens of Marsilio Ficino's intellectual circle.