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Original fileThe scene shows a horseman in golden armor trampling a man on the ground on the right, while two young men rush forward. In the center of the deep, gilded temple, the high priest Onias kneels in prayer before an altar where a menorah is visible. On the left, attendants carry Pope Julius II on a litter as he observes the miraculous intervention.
Commissioned for the Vatican, this work asserts the divine protection of the Church's property and authority by linking a biblical miracle to the contemporary reign of Pope Julius II. It reflects the High Renaissance effort to harmonize historical scripture with the political and theological program of the Papal court, likely influenced by the Christian Kabbalist Egidio da Viterbo.
A N . D . M . D . X . I I I I .
Translation
In the year of Our Lord 1514.
2 Maccabees
The primary biblical source (Chapter 3) describing the attempt by Heliodorus to seize the temple funds and his subsequent divine punishment.
Egidio da Viterbo
As a Christian Kabbalist and advisor to Julius II, his ideas on the sanctity of the Temple and the role of the Church influenced the Stanze's iconographic program.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.