The ikonographic program of the paintings,which were executed in the years from 1508 to 1511, are joined with this function. It was certainly fixed by a theologian and should represent the three highest principles of the human spirit: the true, the good and the beautiful. The miraculous truth finds its expression in the Disputa (or the theology), the rational in the school of Athen (or the philosophy); the good is represented in the cardinal- and divine virtues and the law, while Parnass symbolizes the beautiful with Apoll and the muse.



Cardinal - and divine virtues and the law
On the wall opposite the " Parnass ", one can see the cardinal-virtues ( bravery, cleverness, restraint) in accordance with the topic of the justice, and the divine virtues ( belief, hope, love) in thelunette and beside the window, further below the transfer of the Pandekten at emperors Justinian (left) and the transfer of the Dekretalien at pope Gregor IX. The pope shows the manner of the client Julius II. (1503-1513). The cardinals to his side are Giovanni de' Medici and Alessandro Farnese, the future popes Leo X. (1513-1521) and Paul III. , 1534-1549. The implementation of the transfer of the Pandekten at Emperor Justinian comes from Lorenzo Lotto.




Disputa
Is the topic of the theology atOn the wall opposite the school of Athen one sees the painting with the so-called " Disputa of the most holy sacrament " according to the topic of the theology .The title "triumph of the religion "would be more correct. To both sides of the sacred three-wrinkled-ness (with God-father, Christ between the virgin Maria and Johannes the Baptist and the sacred spirit, who are arranged in a line in the middle), the triumphant church is represented with patriarches arranged sedentary in the semicircle on clouds, prophets and alternate apostles and martyrs from the old will. The persons are (seen from the left to the right from the observer): holy Petrus, Adam, holy Johannes the evangelist, David, holy Lorenz, Judas, the Makkabäer (?), holy Stefan, Moses, holy Jakobus the Older person, Abraham and holy Paulus.Around the altar on the earth with the most holy sacrament we see the arguing church. The four Latin church-fathers are sitting on the marble-thrones at the altar: the sacred Gregor the Big (with the features of Julius II.), Hieronymus, Ambrosius and Augustinus. Other figures carry the features of historic persons: the portrait of Sixtus IV. (Uncle of Julius II.) in the pope-garment quite right, the portrait of Dante Alighieri, behind it,and of Beato Angelico as a monk, left outside, can be seen.




Parnass
Below the poetry, the mountain of Parnass is represented where God Apoll, sedentary in the middle, is playing a hand-lyre. He is surrouded from the nine muse, the patrons of the arts, and antique and modern poets, beneath the blind Homer, Vergil and Dante behind him, as well as the poet Sappho, whose name is written on the leaf in her left hand.




School of Athen
In the framework of a grand renaissance-architecture that has the design Bramantes for the reconstruction of the early-Christian basilica of St. Peter to the model, the figures of the most famous philosophers of the antiquity are represented. Some of them are easy to identify like for example Plato in the middle,who shows upwards with his finger, holding his book Timaios in his hand, beside him goes Aristotle with the ethics. On the other hand Pythagoras is represented in the foreground as he expounds exactly the Diatessaron in the book, while Diogenes is lying on the stairway with a bowl . The pessimistic philosopher Heraklith, who carries the features of Michelangelo, who was busy in this time with the paintings inside of the Sixtinic chapel nearby, leans at a marble-block and is writing down something on a sheet of paper. On the right hand side you see Euklid explaining the geometry to his students, Zarathustra with the heaven-globe and Ptolemäus with the earth. On the very right you finally see Raffaels self-portrait with the black cap.