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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileA divine messenger on a white horse tramples Heliodorus, who attempted to seize the Temple's treasury, while two figures with scourges rush forward to drive him out. On the far left, Pope Julius II is depicted as a witness to the event, carried on a litter. The background features the High Priest Onias praying at the altar amidst the golden architecture of the Temple.
This composition reflects the Renaissance concept of the 'Temple' as a site of both physical and spiritual treasury, protected by divine providence. Within the Neoplatonic atmosphere of the Roman court, the scene emphasizes the triumph of sacred law over profane interference, a theme central to the protection of esoteric and religious mysteries.
2 Maccabees 3
The biblical source text describing the divine intervention against Heliodorus in the Temple of Jerusalem.
Marsilio Ficino
Raphael’s architectural and theological compositions were influenced by the Neoplatonic synthesis of sacred space and divine harmony promoted by Ficino.
Object
Fresco
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Self-photographed
2816 × 2112 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on March 31, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.