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About This Work
A divine horseman and two youths drive the thief Heliodorus from the temple as he attempts to seize its treasury. On the left, Pope Julius II is shown witnessing the event from a portable throne, while in the background, the High Priest Onias prays at the altar. The scene is set within a massive classical structure featuring gilded vaults and a visible menorah.
The work represents the Renaissance synthesis of biblical history and contemporary political theology, illustrating the divine protection of the Church's temporal and spiritual assets. The intellectual program of the Vatican Stanze was deeply influenced by Neoplatonists like Giles of Viterbo, who linked the biblical narratives to the manifest power of the Papacy.