Inferno - Dante

First Circle

Limbo

Met the 4 Poets

Elysian fields

Who is in Limbo?

People who led virtuous lives before the advent of Christ or were never baptized

Which four poets did they meet?

Homer, Horace, Ovid, Lucan

What are the Elysian Fields?

"Pagan Heaven"

Nice fields in hell, a classical idea

"meadow of fresh green"

Second Circle

Lust

Minos

Francesca and Paolo

Minos

supernatural guardian

determines the level of hell sinners go to by the number of times his tail wraps around him

Francesca and Paolo

Francesca cheated on her husband with Paolo, they both got murdered. Now they must stay in Hell together forever. Paolo was just crying in the background

Punishment for Lust

Being with people you don't love, but also can't enjoy bodily connection with because of incessant winds

Third Circle

Gluttony

Hailstones, filthy water, heavy rain

Cerberus

Ciacco

Cerberus

"The Great Worm"

Three Headed dog

Association with Satan

Ciacco

"Hog" in third circle

Contrapasso: turned into a hog because of gluttony. Ciacco, a Florentine, who used to be a parasite, as he was going from people to people, gossiping on everyone. Ciacco gives Dante the first prophecy of his future exile

Punishment for Gluttony

Have to lie on the ground as sewage rains down on them. They lie in smelly, icy paste, swollen and obscene, and Cerberus stands guard over them, ripping and tearing them with his claws and teeth.

Fourth Circle

Avarice and Prodigality

The Avaricious and Prodigals. No relevant character is found here. These souls, mostly clerics, go opposite direction, bumping into each other as they push big rocks.

Plutus

Fortune

Avaricious

greedy; mieserly

spend too little

sin of theft: taking money out of circulation

Prodigal

spend-thrift

spend too much

Punishment for the avaricious and the prodigal

Roll stones until they collide with each other

Fortune

Fortuna

Wheel of Fortune

people's earthly goods can accumulate but Fortune can take it away and give it to someone else

Fifth Circle

Anger and Accidia (sullen)

the Styx

the Tower

Punishments for the Angry and the Sullen

the angry destroy themselves and others by biting and striking each other; the sullen are submerged in the Styx and choke on the muddy water

What is the second river Virgil and Dante encounter?

the Styx river

Phlegyas

Takes pilgrims across the river Styx

Filippo Argenti

A Black Guelph, a political enemy of Dante who is now in the Fifth Circle of Hell. Argenti resides among the Wrathful in the river Styx. Torn apart by other souls while D and V crossed the Styx; Dante was pleased

The City of Dis

High walls with closed doors guarded by devils, helped by the Furies and the Medusa. They try to stop Dante, but a divine messenger forces them to open the door.

Correlation: delay at Dis

Andead: Aneas was stopped at the gate of Dis

Furies of Hell

Goddesses who avenge blood crimes

Synchrotism

combining concept of religions

Classical Mythology - Minos, Cerberus, Furies

Sixth Circle

Heretics

Lie in burning tombs

The Epicureans

Farinata

Cavalcante

Epicureans

Deny the immortality of the soul, lie in a tomb of eternal fire as punishment

Farinata degli Uberti

Political leader of the Ghibellines

Souls in hell can only see the past or the future, not the present.

How does Dante feel about the Heretics?

Might not agree with their punishment

Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti,

Son Guido was an intimate friend of Dante.

Thought his son was dead, sunk back into his grave

Sodom and Cahors

Sodom = any non-productive sex act

Cahors = reference to moneylending city in S. France

Towers around Dis

like mosques or minorettes

Dante believed Islam was infernal

Userers

People who make money out of nothing

Seventh Circle

Violence (three subcircles)

The Earthquake

Minotaur

Centaurs

River of Blood

7th - First Subcircle

Violence against neighbors, tyrants and murderers

Minotaur

Bull + Woman = Minotaur

Raging on the mountainside

Earthquake that caused landslide

Harrowing of Hell

Jesus entered Hell for 3 days

Chiron

head centaur

Nessus

The Centaur (half man and half horse) who carries Dante through the First Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell. chosen to guide them past the river of blood

Punishment for violence against others

Boil in blood in the river, Phlegethon, watched over by Centaurs

7th - Second Subcircle

Violence against self

Forest

Forest of Suicides

People are trees and bushes

Piere

Pier della Vigna

A former advisor to Emperor Frederick II, della Vigna committed suicide when he fell into disfavor at the court. He now must spend eternity in the form of a tree.

How does Dante feel about the suicide's punishment?

He pities them

Harpies

constantly torment the trees and bushes. Tear off the leaves. woman's head and body and a bird's wings and claws or depicted as a bird of prey with a woman's face.

7th - Third Subcircle

Violence against God

Desert of burning/ raining fire

Capenaus

classical King

still defiant in Hell

Not broken

Herioc?

A huge and powerful warrior-king who virtually embodies defiance against his highest god, Capaneus is an exemplary blasphemer--with blasphemy understood as direct violence against God. Still, it is striking that Dante selects a pagan character to represent one of the few specifically religious sins punished in hell.

Brunetto Latini

Brunetto Latini is featured among the sodomites in one of the central cantos of the Inferno. Although the poet imagines Brunetto in hell, Dante-character and Brunetto show great affection and respect for one another during their encounter in Inferno 15.

Eighth Circle

Simple Fraud (10 Bolgias)

What is the third River?

Phlegathon

D and V walk along it's border

Carried down by three-nature monster Geryon

Crete

a ruined land in the sea

Has a mountain (Ida)

"great old man" statue that creates the rivers of Hell

Made of gold, silver, brass, clay (represents time periods)

Brunetto Latini

Dante's Poetic literary mentor

Sodomite: tried to woo Dante but Dante wasn't interested

Predicts that Dante will be rewarded for his political actions

Treasure

Book Brunetto wrote for Dante

Belt

Dante tried to conquer the Leopard (desire)

Geryon

Elevator

Fraud - leads you in with appearance but is evil underneath

Face of a man, body like a serpent, has a tail like a scorpion

Bow

Geryon submits to virgil's command as he disappeared like the notch from the bowstring

suo loco

in its appropriate place

Malebolgia

Pockets (bulges)

Bolgia 1

Pimps and Seducers

Punishment - whipped by devils

Venedico Caccianemico.

he brought his own sister "the fair Ghisolabella 'round to serve the will and lust of the Marquis." He says that there are more souls from Bologna in the ditch with him than there are living in Bologna at present

Jason

Pagan hero; inversion of greek heroic model

Seduced Mediterranean women

Bolgia 2

Flatterers (lie to lover about whether you love them or not)

Have to lie in shit (lies)

Bolgia 3

Simonists (someone who buys religious office or uses money to manipulate religious system)

Are stuck face in the ground, fire burning their feet (reverse baptismal setting)

Pope Nicholas II

Thinks Dante is Pope Boniface

Pope Boniface VII

A notoriously corrupt pope who reigned from 1294 to 1303, Boniface made a concerted attempt to increase the political might of the Catholic Church and was thus a political enemy of Dante, who advocated a separation of church and state.

How does Dante feel about the simoniacs punishment?

"you deserve your punishment"

Donation of Constantine

Land and Money given to Popes

Later thought of as forgery

causing problems within church

Outside of the King's rule

Constantine = Roman Emperor who converted to Christianity

Bolgia 4

Soothsayers (Diviners)

Their heads are bent upside-down, they walk around crying

Can only see backwards for trying to see forward in time

Dante and Divinity

Inferno is Divinity, Dante pities their punishment

Bolgia 5

Barrators (sin of graft)

Have to stay inside a pit of boiling pitch/ tar

Dante and Graft

Dante was exiled from Florence for graft

Evil Claws

Malabranche

Divine enforcers

Ciampolo

Barrator who escaped the Evil Claws

Bolgia 6

Hypocrites

Have to wear leaded clothing

Caiaphas

feels the punishment of all hypocrites, crucified to the ground

Earthly and Heavenly fame

Classical model of fame is contrary to Christian belief.

Dante believes that he can have both

Bolgia 7

Thieves

snake pit

Sinners are bitten and then are reborn from the ashes like a phoenix (Body stolen from thieves)

Vanni Fucci

Robbed a sacristy (church) and it was blamed on others

Very defiant against God (fig)

Heliotrope

Device that makes you invisible

Bolgia 8

Counselors of fraud in war

Inside flames

Ulysses

Wanted to explore the world

curiosity does not align with divine will

Pursuit of knowledge parallels with Dante's journey

Died in storm

Stuck in flame with Diodemes

Guido da Montefeltro

Converted but Pope Boniface told him to enter politics

Boniface asked for his helped and forgave him of the sin before it was committed

Black cherubim took him to Hell before St. Francis could take him to heaven

An advisor to Pope Boniface VIII, da Montefeltro was promised anticipatory absolution—forgiveness for a sin given prior to the perpetration of the sin itself. Da Montefeltro now suffers in Hell, since absolution cannot be gained without repentance and it is impossible to repent a sin before committing it.

Bolgia 9

Counselors of violence (sowers of discord)

Have to walk in a circle, get sliced open, heal, repeat

Mohammad

Heretical christian to Dante; took Christians to Islam

Bertran de Born

Walking with head as a lantern

Encouraged a son to revolt against his father, the King

Division in the court of Henry II England

Bolgia 10

Counterfeiters

punishment = leprosy (scabs cover bodies)

Master Adam

counterfeiter of money

Sinon

Greek in Trojan, converted sides

Convinced them to let the Horse in

Verbal flytting with master Adam shows dissension (telling Dante each other's sins, calling each other out)

Ninth Circle

Treacherous Fraud (Cocytus)

Giants

Sin of pride

openly defy God

Nimrod

Tried to build the tower of Babel

Speaks gibberish

Ephialtes

Titan who fights against God

Arm is bound

Antaeus

Giant who let Dante and Virgil down to Cocytus

9th - Zone 1

Caina: against relatives

9th - Zone 2

Antenora: against party or city

Ugolino and Ruggieri

Another couple in the story (R is silent)

U eating R's brains

R locked U in a tower, U unable/willing to ask children for forgiveness

U failed to respond, even with his children's example (Christ's image, charitable)

Count Ugolino

A traitor condemned to the Second Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell. Ugolino gnaws on the head of another damned traitor, Archbishop Ruggieri. When Ruggieri imprisoned Ugolino and his sons, denying them food, Ugolino was driven to eat the corpses of his starved sons.

Hunger

The Famine

9th - Zone 3

Ptolema: against guests