Dantes inferno characters

Here's (this guy) , and he who held Sicily under For many a sad year..." (XII .99).
He is in hell due to his acts of genocide during his rein over Sicily.
Actions included burning down a palace. (Although he was urged to by someone else.)
Canto 12

Alexander the great

He is
Soul of the tree Dante and Virgil met and talked to.
A trustworthy advisor on earth.
Canto 13

Pier della Vigna

One of the seven kings that besieged Thebes
Boasted that no God could strike him down
Jove (Zeus) struck him with a thunderbolt, killing him
"'This unquenched pride [that] remains in [him] just punishes [him] the more'" (XIV. 52-53)
Canto 14

Capaneus

(First Pouch)-
A guelph and a pander, who sold his own sister.
Canto 18

Venedico Caccianemico

(First Pouch)-
A seducer who lured and abandoned Hypsipyle, but later married and deserted Medea, his wife.
Canto 18

Jason of the Argonauts

(Second Pouch)-
A white Guelph, who was a flatterer and got away with flattering innocent people.
Canto 18

Alessio Interminei

"O This guy and O you wretched crowd" (XIX. 1)
Sin of Simony
Simon the Magician
Bribed Peter and Paul to be taught how to perform miracles
Canto 19

Simon Magus

Canto 19
More severe contrapasso
Thinks Dante is Boniface
Gave his family members political power

Pope Nicholas III

Canto 19
Political enemy
Simonanic
Papal States
Will have a more severe contrapasso

Pope Boniface VIII

Simoniac
"'For then a lawless shepherd of the west Will follow him, of uglier deeds...'" (XIX.76-77)
"'this one Will get soft treatment from the King of France,'"(XIX. 82)
Bribed King Philip IV

Pope Clement V

One of the seven kings who fought against the Greek City of Thebes
Foresaw his own death in battle
He was swallowed by an earthquake
"Why are you leaving the war, This guy,' the others shouted,'what place are you rushing to?' as he plunged down the crevice to Minos" (XX. 33-36).
Canto 20

Amphiaraus

The soothsayer of Thebes
Famous Greek Prophet
He was transformed to a woman and then transformed back to a man
Canto 20

Tiresias

Canto 21/22.
Leader of the twelve demons

Malacoda

Canto 21/22
The shade Dante speaks to- historians do not know much is known about him

Ciampolo

Canto 23
This guy was a Guelph
The other guy was a Ghibelline
Both participated in the founding of the Jovial Friars→ military and religious leaders of the knights of the Virgin Mary
They shared the office of podestà (equivalent to mayor's office) in Florence
They were supposed to help keep peace between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines but there was a lot of corruption and conflict so the Ghibellines ended up getting exiled

Catalano and Loderingo

"The one impaled" (XXIII. 110)
A high priest that argued giving up Jesus was for the good of many
Was hired by Pontius Pilot to have Jesus killed
Canto 23

Ciaphas

"The one who hooks sinners" (XXIII. 138)
Gave false information about the broken bridge in canto 21
Canto 23

Malacoda

Lived the life of a beast
Black Guelph & contemporary of Dante
Stole from sacristy
His face is "the color of shame" (XXIV. 150)
Prophesied that the white guelphs will be wounded in war
Still has not learned his lesson
Canto 24/25

Vanni Fucci

He is a Centaur
Guardian over the thieves
Fire breathing dragon around his shoulders
Snakes covering his back
"By theft and fraud he tried to get the splendid herd that lay near him... he died for it. When Hercules's club rained onto his head" (XXV. 29-32).
Canto 24/25

Cacus

Devastating Troy with the Trojan Horse
Letting Aeneas "the noble seed" and his followers leave troy and settle into Italy
Making Deidamia grief eternally (committed suicide)
Ulysses convinced Achilles (her son) to fight in the war with him and Achilles was killed in battle
- Stealing the Palladium (the trojan's sacred image of pallas - God of warfare)
"He answered, 'In it go tormented These guys enduring vengeance together, as they did wrath'" (XXVI. 57-59)
Canto 26/27

Ulysses and Diomedes

According to Islam he was the last prophet sent by Allah
He conquered Mecca for Islam
Dante believed he was a renegade cardinal
He believes This guy was the catalyst behind Islam breaking off of Christianity
He believes Dante has died and before his punishment the gets a tour of Hell
Canto 28

Mohammed

Epithet: "The creature, he does not speak" (XXVIII 87-88)
He convinced Julius Caesar to cross the Rubicon into Italy
This caused a schism between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy which were both part of the Roman republic
His tongue is cut out as part of his contrapasso
Canto 28

Curio

He was a black guelph and contemporary of Dante
He caused the renewal of the Guelph feud in Florence by staging an assassination of Guelph Buondelmonte after not marrying a member of Mosca's Family
His family is kicked out Florence
"And death to your family line" (XXVIII). He finds out his family have been wiped out
In Hell, he lost his arms
Canto 28

Mosca de Lamberti

In life he was a soldier and a poet in England
He caused a schism between, "the father and the son rebel" (XXVIII 120)
Allusion to Prince Henry turning against his father King Henry II
His contrapasso is he has to carry around his head like a lantern
Canto 28

Bertran De Born

Dante's first cousin; Dante expects to see him in this circle of Hell because he was always seen as a troublemaker.
Canto 29/30

Geri del Bello-

Canto 29/30
A 13th-century Italian knight, a Florentine historical figure; When Dante sees a man savagely attacking another, he is told that the attacker is Schicchi, condemned to Hell for impersonating Buoso Donati (identity fraud)

Gianni Schicchi

Shortly after his death, Buoso was impersonated by Gianni Schicchi; a member of the elite Donati family.
Canto 29/30

Buoso Donati-

A Florentinian alchemist, and a mimic (both metals and gestures), eventually burned at the stake.
Canto 29/30

.Capocchio-

Canto 29 and 30
A Florentinian alchemist who believed he could make people fly

Griffolino-

disguised herself so she could have romantic relations with her father
Canto 29/30

The Princess of Myrrha

counterfeit of golden coins (not 24 karats)
Canto 29/30

Master Adam-

Canto 29/30
convinced the Trojans he had left the Greeks, and he was the one who "gave" away the trojan house

Sinon-

Heretic: His only earthly pleasure was poetry & intellect
Canto 9/10
Son: Guido--a friend of Dante's
This guy mistakes Dante's use of the past tense "had" so he thinks his son, Guido, is dead (X.63).

Cavalcante