Stanza di eliodoro, cacciata di eliodoro dal tempio

On the right, a celestial rider and two running figures strike down Heliodorus as he attempts to steal the temple treasury. In the center background, the High Priest Onias kneels in prayer at the altar. To the far left, Pope Julius II is depicted as a contemporary observer, carried into the scene on a ceremonial litter.

The work reflects the High Renaissance program of the Vatican Stanze, which used classical architectural forms and sacred history to assert the providential protection and temporal authority of the Papacy. It represents the synthesis of biblical narrative with the humanist ideals of the Roman court under Julius II.