Raphael, Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, 1511-12; Vatican Museums (48758951453)

The scene unfolds within a deep, golden-vaulted temple where a heavenly horseman and two young men strike down Heliodorus on the right. In the center background, the High Priest Onias kneels in prayer before a smoking altar and a seven-branched menorah. On the far left, Pope Julius II is depicted as a contemporary observer, carried into the biblical narrative on a ceremonial litter.

Commissioned for the Vatican, the work serves as a political and theological allegory for the protection of the Church's sovereignty and the divine punishment of those who violate sacred space. It reflects the Renaissance interest in the 'Temple of Solomon' as a site of divine wisdom and the synthesis of contemporary papal authority with biblical history.