Vatikanische Museen 86

In the center of a deep architectural space, the High Priest Onias prays at the altar for the protection of the temple's treasury. To the right, a divine messenger on a white horse tramples Heliodorus, while on the far left, Pope Julius II is carried into the scene on a litter as a contemporary witness to the miracle. The composition is noted for its dramatic lighting and the use of a gilded, vaulted ceiling to create a sense of sacred depth.

The work represents the High Renaissance synthesis of biblical history and Neoplatonic ideas regarding divine intervention in the physical world. It serves as an allegorical defense of the Church's temporal and spiritual sovereignty, illustrating the belief that the divine actively protects sacred institutions from profanation.