Sts Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

In a crowded classical square, a sacrificial priest prepares to strike a bull with an axe while a crowd watches in anticipation. On the left, St. Paul tears his robes in a gesture of distress, rejecting the divine honors being offered to him. A statue of the god Mercury, holding a caduceus, stands on a pedestal in the background, identifying the deity the crowd believes Paul to be.

The scene illustrates the encounter between early Christianity and the Greco-Roman religious tradition, specifically highlighting the Lystrians' identification of Paul as Hermes (Mercury) because he was the chief speaker. This connection to Hermes is significant within the Western esoteric tradition, which during the Renaissance sought to reconcile the figure of Hermes Trismegistus with Christian revelation.