Raphael, St. Paul in Athens In this painting, Raphael presents us with an architectural space in the classical style, meant to represent the Areopagus of Athens. Paul communicator by vocation

Directly in front of us, at the center of the painting, is a circular temple similar to the one that Bramante constructed on the site of St. Peter’s martyrdom on the Janiculum in Rome. In this way Raphael establishes a connection not only between the classical world and his painting but also between St. Paul and St. Peter.

On the left are two other buildings that give us the impression that we are in an urban square. Raphael repeats in this painting the same architectural feature he used in his fresco The School of Athens, found in the “Raphael Rooms” in the Vatican. Here he depicts the Apostle addressing the Athenians from the top of a flight of steps.

Raphael’s main concern is to translate as accurately as possible a specific scene described in the Acts of the Apostles: «The one amusement the Athenians and the foreigners living there seem to have is to discuss and listen to the latest ideas.» (Acts 17:21)

Raphael portrays the scene so accurately that we can even give names to the two figures in the lower right corner of the painting. They are Dionysius and Damaris, who were converted that very day after listening to Paul’s speech: «There were some who attached themselves and became believers, among them Dionysius the areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides» (Acts 17:34).

Raphael has placed a bronze statue behind the Epicureans and in front of the temple, sealing off the Areopagus. The statue is one of the idols that made Paul shudder upon his arrival in Athens: «Paul waited for [Silas and Timothy] in Athens, and there his whole soul was revolted at the sight of a city given over to idolatry.» (Acts 17:16)

The statue is that of Mars, the god of war, who seems to stand in spatial contrast to the figure of Paul. The two “poles” of the painting are Paul with his raised arms, and Mars with his raised spear and shield. The two figures represent two views of the world. On the one hand we have the myth of war as the foundation of pagan civilization, and on the other the preaching of the love of God, who conquers evil through the resurrection of his Son, who renews all things.