1. Layers of Hell -- Introduction
Dante’s Inferno
Layers of Hell -- Introduction

2. Dark Wood -- Worldliness (before entering Hell)
Dante is trying to get to the top of Mount of Joy – He’s been too worldly & sinful….
The woods are dark and scary
3 beasts block his journey (symbols of the major divisions of Hell):
Leopard – represents malice (hate) & fraud (trickery, deception)
Lion – represents violence
She-Wolf – represents unrestrained immortality (doing what feels good not matter the consequences)

3. Dante can’t go forward, and he can’t go backward because of the beasts
Beatrice appears & tells him that his idol, Virgil, will lead him through Hell and help him find his way to forgiveness (Purgatoro) and redemption (Paradisio – Heaven)
Dante & Virgil begin their journey through Hell

4. Vestibule
The first souls to be tormented are the Opportunists (or COWARDS)– those who were only out for themselves. They never chose to be good (accept God) or particularly bad.
The Opportunists chase a Golden Banner waving in the wind – because they wavered in life. Angels who did not choose God or Satan are included here.
The Opportunists are stung by bees & wasps, and maggots suck the pus that oozes from their sores for eternity
The air smells horrible—like being stuck in West Lincoln when the chicken farmer across the street spreads his chicken manure!!!!

5. The inscription above the River says:
Dante & Virgil come up to Charon, who transports the dead across the River Acheron
The inscription above the River says:
ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE

6. 1st Ring: Limbo
On the edge of Hell– for those not saved even though they did not sin
Heaven does not claim them, Hell does not want them.
Some people here: classic Greek figures (Homer, Ovid, & Virgil)
No “new” people would go here because according to Dante’s view of religion, Christ came to save humans from an eternity of limbo.

7. 2nd Ring: Lustful
At the gate to Level 2, Minos, the Judge of the Underworld, evaluates each sinner’s life. He coils his tail to reveal the sinner’s punishment: 4 coils = Level 4; 8 coils = Level 8
On this level are people who committed adultery—they let their passions sweep them away in life—so they are condemned to be swept away in death.
Landscape: dirty, smelly, powerful winds batters the sinners at tremendous speeds (think NASCAR here!)
Dante recognizes: Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt; hears the story of the lovers, Paulo & Francesca.
Modern day: Governor Mark Sanford, Tiger Woods, Jesse James, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

8. 3rd Ring: Gluttonous Sinners “pigged out” in life
Mythic creature: Cerebus, a 3-headed dog (remember Harry Potter?) – covers sinners in dog-slobber
Landscape: a garbage heap that smells of swine; heavy, steady rain
Dante recognizes: Ciacco, a Florentine dude who gossiped nonstop.
Modern example: “Barfarama”-- Stand By Me clip

9. 4th Ring: Avaricious Sinners are divided into 2 categories:
Hoarders—misers who kept all their wealth for themselves
Wasters – used up all they had on fruitless ventures and materials
Punishment: they have to push gigantic boulders up mountains only to have them roll back down
Mythological creature: Pluto (Greek god of wealth) – makes no sense when he talks.
Landscape: rocky & filled with hills/ mountains
Dante recognizes: no one in particular except Dame Fortune, who was appointed by God to help people on Earth; instead, she changed destinies using her spinning wheel
Modern examples: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blogoiveich (tried to sell Pres. Obama’s senate seat

10. 5th Ring: Wrathful and Sullen
“Wrathful” --People who were always mad
Muddy figures attack one another.
“Sullen” –People who were always depressed
Sink beneath the surface in filthy slime.
Mythic creature: Plegyas – the Riverman of the River Styx—takes souls to next level of Hell
Dante recognizes: Filippo Argenti—an enemy of his in life
Modern examples: Mike Tyson, Chris Brown

11. Marsh of Styx
What Dreams May Come – clip 1

12. 6th Ring: Heretics
Sinners who denied God’s existence; their punishment is to be confined in tombs.
Mythic creatures: The Furies, malicious spirits that torment souls; and, Medusa, whose snake-hair turns people to stone. They try to stop the travelers until a Holy Messenger comes to open the gates of the City of Dis.
Landscape: layers upon layers of opened tombs surrounded by flames.
Dante recognizes: Uberti & Cavalcanti, friends of his in life. He is saddened to see their fate.
Modern examples: Bill Mahr (comedian) & Sarah Silverman (actress)

13. 7th Ring: Violent
In order to enter, Dante & Virgil have to get around the Minotaur (part man, part beast)
This level is divided into 3:
AGAINST NEIGHBORS:
Mythic creature: Centaurs
Landscape: Immersed in a river of boiling blood and stabbed by the Centaurs.
Dante recognizes Attila the Hun & Alexander the Great
Modern examples: Ted Bundy & Jeffrey Dahmer; also, Dexter (TV Show)—these are all serial killers

14. 7th Ring: Violent
AGAINST SELF – because they destroyed their earthly bodies, their punishment is to be mutated into trees & vines for eternity—they cannot move
Mythic creatures: Harpies – birds that eat them and suck their blood. The only time they can speak is when a leaf is plucked and they bleed.
Landscape: dense, dark forest
Dante recognizes: Pier delle Vigne – a secretary of King Fredrick II
Modern examples: Michael Jackson & Cory Haim. Also What Dreams May Come: “Suicide” clip & “Found Her” clip

15. 7th Ring: Violent AGAINST GOD: Must lie facing upward toward heaven
AGAINST NATURE: Must run forever
AGAINST ART: Forced to crouch over moneybags.
Landscape – fiery sand that represents the fruitless nature of their lives
Dante recognizes: Brunetto Latini, one of his teachers
Modern examples: Michael Vick (dog-fighting) & Pete Rose (betting on baseball games

16. 8th Ring: Fraudulent (Malebolge—loosely means “evil ditch”)
This level is divided into 10 bolge (ditches) for categories of sinners.
Mythic creature: Geryon, who lured travelers to him only for him to kill them
Landscape: depends on the sin (see next slides)
SEDUCERS: made others do their evil work
Driven by horned demons
Modern examples: Charles Manson

17. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
FLATTERERS: gave compliments just to get people to do what they wanted
Forced to wallow in a floor of excrement
Modern examples: Wormtail in Harry Potter & Quinn in Glee (show clip)

18. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
SIMONISTS (Priests & church officers take money to forgive sins
Buried head down and burned on the soles of their feet.
Modern examples: Brian Lisowski, a Chicago priest (among others—see:
Insiders steal big from unsuspecting churches

19. 8th Ring: Fraudulent FORTUNE TELLERS/ SOOTHSAYERS
Bodies distorted so that the head is twisted around to only view his back.
Dante recognizes: Tieresias!!
Modern examples: Sylvia Browne

20. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
GRAFTERS: the cold-hearted covetous & greedy who wanted everything they could put their hands on (love of money/material wealth)—cheated to gain it
Dipped into boiling tar. Demon holds down the sinners with a pitchfork.
Modern examples: Bernie Madoff –scammed thousands of people & governments out of money

21. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
HYPOCRITES: people who appear good on the outside, but are evil on the inside
Dante uses this level to show that we ALL have to face our own hypocrisy
Must always walk at a steady pace, clothed in heavy caps of lead.
Modern examples: former Gov. Elliot Spitzer (paid for sex with “escorts” while investigating crimes as Attorney General & kept on when elected governor) & Reverend Ted Haggard (preached against homosexuality, but admitted to having a gay relationship)

22. 8th Ring: Fraudulent THEIVES: stole from others in life
Snakes coil and bind these sinners
Modern examples: Jim on this Office episode

23. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
DECIEVERS—misused their God-given gifts for ill gain
Wrapped in fire
Modern examples: Criss Angel (video)

24. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
SOWERS OF DISCORD (SCANDALS) – people who in life tore others apart with fighting, gossip, & tearing them down
Hacked to pieces, put back together, and hacked up again.
Modern Example: See what Jim does to Andy

25. 8th Ring: Fraudulent
FALSIFIERS—deceiving others by counterfeiting or falsifying information
Made insane; plagued with all types of illnesses and diseases.
Dante recognizes: Ulysses who planned the Trojan Horse trick on the Greeks
Modern example: Ladykillers (movie)

26. 9th Ring: Treachery TO FAMILY, COUNTRY, AND FRIENDS
Frozen in a sheet of ice with only their face exposed to show the pain.

27. Center of 9th Ring: Lucifer