Dante Inferno

Oooh…Scary ! Before we begin our journey into the depths of Dante’s Hell… What other depictions of Hell have you seen?

Ever play “DOOM?” Ever wonder what Hell looks like?

Even Lucifer can’t stand it…

Excellent Choice! Who will guide you across the river towards the gates of hell? (click for a hint) CHARON The River Acheron…

Dante and…who was his guide? Now, you must choose your own guide through the depths of Hell… VIRGIL

THE GATES OF HELL ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE…

Famous Icons Trapped in Limbo Homer Click to reveal the names of the eternally damned… Ovid Lucan Horace

Circle II – The Carnal -The sinners are sentenced to their punishment by Minos (pictured here).

The Suffering of the Carnal  - The Lustful…indulged their passions beyond reason.  - trapped forever in a violent storm, never to touch anything again.  - Features the lovers Francesca and Paolo (pictured below).

Circle III – The Gluttonous -Those trapped in Circle 3 are constantly maimed by CerberusThose trapped in Circle 3 are constantly maimed by Cerberus -Symbolic of their excessive drinking and eatingSymbolic of their excessive drinking and eating -Click here to see a picture of the suffering of the gluttonous…Click here to see a picture of the suffering of the gluttonous… CERBERUS

The Suffering of the Gluttonous -They lie in putrid slush (symbolic of the garbage they produced) -It is continuously raining and hailing -They provide quite a hefty snack for Cerberus…

Circle IV – The Hoarders and Wasters -The Greedy vs. the Wasteful - They are divided into two groups, each pushing boulders against each other (symbolic of their mundane existence on earth, with sin punishing its opposite sin).

Circle V - The River Styx -The Wrathful are forever attacking one another while stuck in the marsh of the Styx… - Crossing the river on your own is too dangerous…who will be your guide? (click the picture to find out)

Crossing the River Styx Phlegyas, your guide -The Slothful are eternally trapped beneath the swampy water of the River -They reach out and try to pull you into the swamp… Click HERE to view a video of Dante and Virgil crossing the Styx…

You have reached the City of Dis! The Shores of Dis… Now, your true nightmare beings…for within the Walls of Dis are the worst sins of Hell... …THE SINS OF MALICE There is no turning back now…Click the Stairs to enter Dis… Click HERE to see a video about the “Sins of Malice

Circle VI The Heretics -The heretics denied immortality, and therefore denied God. - They are entombed in flaming graves for eternity (since they believed the soul dies with the body, they will suffer that fate in Hell).

Circle VII The Violent and the Bestial

Circle VII - Outer Ring The Violent Against Neighbors -Murderers and Warmakers are immersed in boiling blood (symbolic of the blood of those they killed). -Centaurs (pictured here) guard the banks and shoot arrows at anyone who tries to escape

Circle VII – Middle Ring The Violent Against Self -The Wood of the Suicides -Their souls are encased in thorny trees. - The harpies feed upon their leaves. (Click to see the harpies feeding on the trapped souls)

Circle VII – Middle Ring The Violent Against God -The blasphemers, sodomites, and usurers all committed a profane act against God -They are lain over burning sand or forced to ceaselessly run around in circles -The sky rains fire symbolic of God’s wrath

Circle VIII - Malebolge -Malebolge contains the “Fraudulent” sinners -They are guilty of committing deliberate evil -Each type of sinner is placed in their own ditch -Click on the diagram of Malebolge to explore… Seducers Evil Counselors ThievesHypocrites GraftersSorcerersSimoniacsFlatterers Sowers of Discord Falsifiers

Seducers – Run forever in opposite directions and are whipped by demons Flatterers – Lie up to their necks in human feces Simoniacs – Those who mocked the church are placed head-first in flaming holes Sorcerers – Their heads are put on their bodies backward Grafters – Trapped in a lake of burning pitch Hypocrites – Made to wear brightly painted lead cloaks Thieves – Chased by venomous snakes and who, after being bitten by the venomous snakes, turn into snakes themselves and chase the other thieves in turn Evil Counselors – Eternally trapped in flames Sowers of discord – Their bodies are ripped apart, healed, and they destroyed again Falsifiers – Alchemists, counterfeiters, and perjureres are cursed with disease FalsifiersSimoniacs Sowers of Discord Thieves Circle VIII – Inside Malebolge…

The Path to the Ninth Circle... You must be lowered into the pit by the Giants Antaeus and Nimrod…

Circle IX – Compound Fraud

Circle IX - Caina You travel across the frozen lake of the 9 th circle of Hell… Caina features those who betrayed their family… They are frozen up to their necks in ice… They cry eternally for those they betrayed…

Circle IX - Antenora Antenora holds those who betrayed their country… Your fear rises as you travel closer to the lair of the Devil…

Circle IX - Ptolomea Ptolomea holds those who betryaed their guests… Their tears freeze instantly and pierce their eyes…

Circle IX - Judecca Lucifer’s three faces eternally consume the bodies of Brutus and Cassius for betraying Caesar, and Judas Iscariot for betraying Christ… There is only one path for you to take now… ESCAPE!!!

Dante’s Inferno: Introduction The Divine Comedy is a narrative poem describing Dante’s imaginary journey. Midway on his journey through life, Dante realizes he has taken the wrong path. The Roman poet Virgil searches for the lost Dante at the request of Beatrice. – He finds Dante in the woods on the evening of Good Friday in the year 1300 and serves as a guide as Dante begins his religious pilgrimage to find God. – To reach his goal, Dante passes through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.

Dante’s Inferno: Introduction The Divine Comedy was not titles as such by Dante; his title for the work was simply Commedia or Comedy. – Dante’s use of the word “comedy” is medieval by definition. – To Dante and his contemporaries, the term “comedy” meant a tale with a happy ending, not a funny story as the word has since come to mean.

Dante’s Inferno: Introduction The Divine Comedy is made up of three parts, corresponding with Dante’s three journeys: Inferno (or Hell); Purgatorio (or Purgatory); and Paridisio (or Paradise). Each part consists of a prologue and approximately 33 cantos. Since the narrative poem is in an exalted form with a hero as its subject, it is an epic poem.

Dante’s Inferno Dante and Virgil enter the wide gates of Hell and descend through the nine circles of Hell. In each circle they see sinners being punished for their sins on Earth; Dante sees the torture as Divine justice.

Dante’s Inferno The sinners in the circles include: – Circle One – Those in limbo – Circle Two – The lustful – Circle Three – The gluttonous – Circle Four – The hoarders – Circle Five – The wrathful – Circle Six – The heretics – Circle Seven – The violent Ring 1: Murderers, robbers, and plunderers Ring 2: Suicides and those harmful to the world Ring 3: Those harmful against God, nature, art, as well as usurers

Dante’s Inferno: Introduction Circle Eight – The Fraudulent – Bowge (Trench) I: Panderers and Seducers – Bowge II: Flatterers – Bowge III: Simoniacs – Bowge IV: Sorcerers – Bowge V: Barrators – Bowge VI: Hypocrites – Bowge VII: Thieves – Bowge VIII: Counselors – Bowge IX: Sowers of Discord – Bowge X: Falsifiers

Dante’s Inferno: Introduction Circle Nine – Traitors – Region i: Traitors to their kindred – Region ii: Traitors to their country – Region iii: Traitors to their guests – Region iv: Traitors to their lords

Dante’s Inferno: Introduction On Easter Sunday, Dante emerges from Hell. Through his travels, he has found his way to God and is able, once more, to look upon the stars.

Dante’s Inferno: Canto I Characters: – Dante: The writer, narrator, main character, and traveler in The Inferno. – Leopard: The first character (Self-indulgence) whom Dante meets. – Lion: The second character ( Violence) whom Dante meets. – She-Wolf: The third character (Malice) whom Dante meets. – Virgil: Ancient Roman poet who appears to Dante and becomes his guide.

Dante’s Inferno: Canto I Midway on his journey through life, Dante falls asleep and loses his way. He wakes during the night of Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) to find himself in a dark wood; he does not know how he got there. Dante loses the right way; the narrow road he had wanted to travel has disappeared. Dante feels hope when he sees morning rays of sun over the mountain, even though he is still alone in the valley.

Dante’s Inferno: Canto I As he scales the mountain, Dante encounters a leopard. – The leopard impedes his progress, but it is not very frightening The second animal that Dante meets is a fierce, hungry lion, which comes toward him swiftly and savagely. The third – and worst – animal that Dante encounters is a vicious she-wolf. – She terrifies Dante so much that he is unable to continue his travels.

Dante’s Inferno: Canto I The shade of the poet Virgil appears to Dante. – Until the greyhound comes to secure the wolf in Hell, Virgil explains, the only way past the wolf is another path. – Virgil offers to show Dante the path to an eternal place where he can see long-departed souls. – At that point, Virgil says, another guide will come and take Dante to a city which Virgil cannot enter. – Dante accepts Virgil’s offer and follows the poet.

Analysis: Canto I Dante has lost the narrow way to God; he finds himself in the valley of sin and separation from God – Dante is not sure how he lost the bright, right, narrow way; the darkness of sin and night (Maundy Thursday before Passover) frightens him. – When Good Friday (the morning of Jesus’ crucifixion) arrives, Dante feels hope as he sees the rays of light (goodness) shine over the mountain – a symbol of the ascent from evil that one must make to reach God.

Analysis : Canto I The three animals – the leopard, lion, and wolf, are images of sin. The first animal – the leopard – depicts the sins of self- indulgence or incontinence, which are often sins of youth. The lion represents the sins of bestial violence which often are the sins of adulthood. The wolf represents the malicious sins, the sins of age. The greyhound is a symbol of the political or religious leader who will come to help rid the world of greed. – It could also symbolize Dante’s friend Can Grande (Italian for “Great Dog”) della Scalla, the Ghibelline leader.

Analysis: Canto I Virgil represents human reason, which can help – to a point – in bringing Dante out of the wood. Virgil was the inspiration for Dante. – Virgil’s Aeneid was the pattern for The Inferno. – It is natural that Virgil should guide Dante when Dante was lost in life just as Virgil guided Dante as Dante wrote. – Virgil’s hoarseness could refer to his not having spoken since he began his journey to Hell, or it could refer to the fact that he had not spoken to the world for some time since he was not a popular writer at the time. – It is significant that Virgil cannot speak until Dante speaks to him.

Analysis: Canto I Dante’s main theme is the picaresque ( or journey) theme. Dante’s journey to the nether regions is vital to The Inferno. With pilgrimages being common in the 1200s and 1300s, and with the influence of Virgil’s writings on Dante, it is not surprising that Dante uses the picaresque theme.

Analysis: Canto I A second theme in The Inferno is the survival of the unfittest. – A weak, lost Dante encounters three wild animals and even manages a trip to the depths of Hell and back. A third main theme is the reversal of fortune. – Dante is lost at the beginning of Canto I, but by the end of The Inferno, he has found his way.