The School of Athens by RaphaelSometimes, the most effective ways to express thoughts, ideas or events is through art. Raphael does just this in The School of Athens, a fresco created during the Renaissance, which combines many aspects of the time period in one masterpiece. The painting depicts all the great mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers of the time. All of them are studying, teaching, and conversing with one another in various groups. This is an example of one of the new ideas coming out during the Renaissance: sharing knowledge with the public. Also, if you look at the background setting, you can see the ancient Greek and Roman architecture that was being brought back during this time. The painting proves in a variety of ways, the fact that the Renaissance was a time of change, discovery, and knowledge.
In The School of Athens, I can see myself as Athena. Athena is a statue depicted on the right side of the painting, or the tangible, earthly side. She is the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, justice & skill, and also a daughter of Zeus. I think I relate to Athena in the sense that we are both practical people. One of the reasons she is shown on the right side of the painting is because she was a realistic and sensible person, who prefered for things to be absolute. I am the same way. I need to have confirmation on things, andI often don't fully believe something until I can see it for myself. Also, though Athena was the goddess of war, she didn't like violence, and tried to solve problems peacefully. She would only progress to the war stage if it was absolutely necessary. I too, am a very peaceful person, and don't care for harmful or violent things. 