paradiso divine comedy

Who
Where
Why
Punishment
The Opportunists the vestibule of Hell
In life, they never chose sides, and instead always switched from one side to the the other as it benefitted them.
These are forced to eternally chase a banner through the vestibule of Hell. Their souls have dimmed so that they are unrecognizable. While they chase the banner, wasps and hornets pursue them and sting them, causing pus and other nasty fluids to flow out of their bodies. Maggots and other creepy crawlies are underfoot.
Charon
the river Acheron
He is the ferryman who carries the sinners over into Hell.
Charon is not, technically, being punished. He is one of the guardians in Hell, and he tries to scare the Poets away after he notices that Dante is still alive. Notice: In classical mythology, Charon guards the Styx (which is present in Dante's Hell, as we'll see later). But this is the first of Dante's "poetic licenses."
Virtuous Pagans -- those that lived BCE
Circle I
"Limbo"
These people are not guilty of any sin other than that they had the misfortune to be born before Christ, and thus were unable to learn how to reach the Light of God.
Since these souls are not guilty of sin, they are not really being punished. Dante's description of Limbo indicates that this is not an altogether terrible place to spend Eternity. However, they do not have any hope of ever reaching God and Paradise, so wistful sighs permeate the air.
Aeneas, Virgil, Homer, Horace, Livy, Aristotle, Socrates, Catullus, Ovid, Lucan, etc.
Circle I
"Limbo"
These are some of the souls that Virgil, as Dante's guide, introduces him to. Obviously, most of these names sound quite familiar. Just as obviously, Virgil lives here. Dante practically worshipped this guy. Ulysses (Odysseus) is not present; we shall see him in a later Circle. see above
Minos
the entrance to Circle II
He judges the new arrivals in Hell and decides their rightful place for eternity.
Again, like Charon, he isn't necessarily being punished. He is another of the guardians in Hell, and probably the one with the most power over the sinners here.
Those guilty of Carnal sins -- sins of excessive lust
Circle II
These souls abandoned their lives to carnal, sexual, lustful pleasures. This sin is least offensive to God, as it is the sin closest to love, thus explaining why it is the lightest of all punishments in Hell proper.
These souls are condemned to be furiously spun around in an intense whirlwind forever. Symbolic retribution: They abandoned their lives to a whirlwind of carnality, so their eternity is spent in a raging tempest.
Dido, Queen of Carthage, lover of Aeneas, widow of Sychaeus
Circle II
Dido, by all rights, belongs in Circle VII, Round II; she committed suicide. But she killed herself over love for Aeneas, who abandoned her. Dante alleviated her sentence, however, because the reason for her condemnation came from Virgil, whom (as I have said) he practically worshipped. see above
Francesca and Paolo
Circle II
These two lusted after each other illicitly in life, and are unusual in that they spend Hell together -- the rest of the sinners in this Circle are spun around alone.
Because of their mutual lust in life, they are condemned to spend Eternity in Hell together, tormenting each other, as described above.
The Gluttons
Circle III
These souls spent their lives intent only on gorging themselves with food and drink, wasting the gifts God had given to them.
Circle III is a veritable trash heap. The Gluttons lie in garbage and offal, and are drooled over by Cerberus.
Symbolic retribution: As the only thing they produced in life was garbage, so they must spend eternity wallowing in it.
Ciacco (The Hog)
Circle III
He tells Dante of what will come to pass in Florence, politically, and reveals to Dante that the damned souls can see the future, but not the present or the past. see above
The Hoarders & The Wasters
Circle IV
Their lives revolved around money; the Hoarders spent all of their energy saving their money, and the Wasters spent all of their energy spending all their money. They were blind to all else in life.
In Hell, one group serves to punish the other and vice versa. They roll huge boulders back and forth at each other, with the Hoarders screaming "Why do you waste?" and the Wasters screaming "Why do you hoard?" Their souls have also dimmed past recognition.
Symbolic retribution: These sinners spent their life carrying the burden of money; so in Hell they are forced to carry the weight of boulders. As they laboured to be blind in life, so their souls are unrecognizable in Hell.
The Wrathful
Circle V
In life, they abandoned themselves to unchecked anger.
The souls are forever condemned to attack one another, in the form of mortal combat, in the slime of the bog of Styx.
Symbolic retribution: This is obvious; as they attacked people angrily in life, so in Hell they must attack the other sinners in mortal combat.
The Sullen
Circle V
These souls never appreciated the light God had given to them, instead choosing to remain miserable and depressed for the duration of their lives.
They must spend Eternity submerged in the marsh of Styx, forever chanting a parodied hymn as testament to their deliberate depression of their lives.
Symbolic retribution: As they willfully ignored God's light in life, so in Hell they are forbidden light and must be buried under the murky Styx.
Phlegyas, the Boatman of Styx
Circle V
He fulfills the same function in the marsh of Styx as Charon did at the River Acheron.
He eagerly races towards the Poets, thinking their are new souls to torment, but when he discovers that Dane is still alive, he is reluctant to take them across. Virgil convinces him to allow their passage, and so he eventually does take them across Styx, toward Dis, moving swift as an arrow.
The Rebellious Angels the entrance to Dis, before Circle VI
These are the Angels that rebelled against the command of God, and were sent to Hell to purge their wickedness from Heaven and preserve the glory of God's Paradise.
They guard the gates of Dis, and attempt to prevent the Poets from entering the City of Hell.
Heavenly Messenger comes to the Poets' aid at the entrance to Dis
Because Virgil, as the symbol of Human Reason, is not sufficient to overpower the Rebellious Angels, so he must help them continue their Heaven-sanctioned journey.
He dismisses the Rebellious Angels with a cmmanding word, and allows the Poets into Dis so that they can continue their journey through Hell.
The Furies arrive at the entrance of Dis while the Poets await the Messenger from Heaven
They attempt to scare the Poets away, and call for Medusa to turn the living one, Dante, to stone.
Virgil covers Dante's eyes and leads him away from the Furies, for if Dante were turned to stone, he could never return to Earth
The Heretics
Circle VI
These people denied the existence of the immortal soul. The text implies that there are other types of Heretics, but these are the ones that Dante focuses upon in this Circle.
These souls are stacked by the hundreds in immense iron caskets, heated red-hot by the flames. This is the first appearance of the flames in Hell. After Judgment Day, the caskets will be sealed.
Symbolic retribution: As they believed that the souls dies with the body, so they are punished in Hell with an eternal grave.
Farinata degli Uberti Cavalcante dei Cavalcanti
Circle VI
Dante discusses politics with Farinata, an ememy of his as they were members of the opposing parties in Florence (Dante a Guelph, Farinata a Ghibelline). Cavalcanti interrupts, asking about Guido, his son and Dante's friend. Dante replies, but Cavalcanti infers that Guido has died and passes out. Dante's continues his political discussion with Farinata, then tells him to convey the message to Cavalcanti that Guido is still alive. see above
The Minotaur
Circle VII
The half-man, half-bull (born when Pasiphaë mated with a bull and who annually ate 14 youths of Athens and was killed by Theseus) appropriately guards the souls of the Violent in the Seventh Circle.
The Minotaur attempts to scare the Poets away but Virgil quiets him with a few words and thus they continue.
The Violent Against Their Neighbours
Circle VII
Round I
These people killed others. Some of them were great war-makers, others were tyrants and highwaymen.
These souls are punished by being immersed in a river of blood to a point on their bodies corresponding ith the number of people they killed. Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun are in the deepest part of the river, submerged up to their eyelashes.
Symbolic retribution: As they spent their lives wallowing in the blood of those they killed, so they must spend an Eternity in Hell in the river of blood.
The Centaurs
Chiron and Nessus
Circle VII
Round I
The Centaurs guard the souls in this round of Circle VII. Chiron is the leader of the Centaurs. Nessus ferries the Poets across the river of blood
The Centaurs originally challenge the Poets' entrance into the Circle, but Virgil explains their journey, and so Chiron grants them a safe-conduct and calls Nessus over to carry them across the river. Nessus tells Dante all about the souls in the river and why they are here.
The Violent Against Themselves
Suicides & Destroyers of Their Own Substance
Circle VII
Round II
These people decided that their supreme expression in life was to kill or otherwise destroy themselves.
The Suicides are turned into trees. When their leaves or branches are torn off, the wound bleeds, and only then can they speak. The Destroyers of Substance run through the forest, eternally pursued by ravenous bitches.
Symbolic retribution: As they destroyed their bodies in life, they are denied human form in Hell. As they only expressed themselves by destroying themselves, so they can only speak while bleeding. As they destroyed their subastance in life, so they are fed upon and destroyed by the bitches.
The Harpies
Circle VII
Round II
They are the guardians and tormentors of the Suicides
They torment the Suicides by eating their leaves, wounding them and causing them pain. The torment is continued further because the Harpies defile all they touch.
Violent Against God
Blasphemers
Circle VII
Round III
These people cursed God, spoke ill of God, took the Lord's name in vain.
The souls are stretched out prone upon the hot sand of the Burning Desert of Round III. The rain of fire falls slowly but constantly upon them.
Symbolic retribution: As their sin is a sterile and unnatural one, so they are stretched upon a burning desert, the symbol of sterility.
Violent Against Nature
Sodomites
Circle VII
Round III
These people performed perverted acts against Nature -- bestial sexuality and homosexuality.
The souls are made to constantly run in circles over the Burning Desert. If they ever stop moving, they must lie upon the burning sand, forbidden to brush off the fire rained upon them.
Symbolic retribution: As their sin is a sterile and unnatural one, so they are stretched upon a burning desert, the symbol of sterility.
Violent Against Art
Usurers
Circle VII
Round III
These people committed violent acts against Nature.
These souls spend Eternity in Hell crouching upon the burning sands.
Symbolic retribution: As their sin is a sterile and unnatural one, so they are stretched upon a burning desert, the symbol of sterility.
Ser Brunetto Latino
Circle VII
Round III
Dante is surprisingly surprised to see him here in Hell, in this Circle. They spend a good deal of time talking, as Dante looked up to this guy and respected him greatly while he still lived
Ser Brunetto is punished as a Sodomite, as described above.
Geryon
between Circle VII and Circle VIII
Geryon is the guardian of the Fraudulent souls in Circle VIII.
Geryon carries the Poets down the cliff that separates Circle VII from Circle VIII.
Those guilty of Simple Fraud
Circle VIII
"Malebolge"
In this Circle are 10 ditches (Bolgias) wherein are placed the ten different kinds of sinners guilty of the fraudulent, deceptive, cheating sins.
The punishment varies depending upon the Bolgia in which the sinners have been placed.
The Panderers (Pimps) and Seducers
Circle VIII
Bolgia I
These sinners hired out other people for sexual purposes.
These souls are forced along at a brisk walk through this first Bolgia of Circle VIII, hurried along by horned demons scourging them with whips.
Symbolic retribution: As they goaded on others for their own foul purposes in life, so in Hell they are goaded by the demons, who are the symbols of their conscience.
The Flatterers
Circle VIII
Bolgia II
They told other people flattering lies, deceiving them as to the truth.
In Hell, these souls are buried in excrement for the duration of Eternity.
Symbolic retribution: As during their lives they told other people a load of shit, so in Hell they are buried in a load of shit. note: Dante uses coarse language in his writing. If my use of the word "shit" offends you, remember that Dante also used the word himself in the poetry.
The Simoniacs
Circle VIII
Bolgia III
These people sold ecclesiastical favors and services.
These souls are punished by being submerged upside down in a baptismal font, in a mockery of the rite of baptism, and their feet set afire. As other sinners come along, the "old" ones drop through the holes to be buried in the rock and the "new" sinners take their places in the defiled baptismal font.
Symbolic retribution: As they made a mockery of holy services in life, so they are forced into a mockery of baptism in Hell.
The Fortune Tellers and Diviners
Circle VIII
Bolgia IV
These people attempted to see into and/or predict the future by the use of illegal arts.
In Hell, these souls are punished by having their heads turned backwards on their bodies and forced to walk backwards through the Fourth Bolgia throughout Eternity.
Symbolic retribution: As in life they laboured to look forward through illicit means, so in Hell they must forever look and walk backwards.
The Grafters
Circle VIII
Bolgia V
Their sin was to use their positions to illicitly earn them favors or gifts.
They are buried in a pit of boiling pitch (tar) and if they ever raise themselves above the pitch, the demons guarding them latch on to them with their grappling hooks.
Symbolic retribution: As in life these sinners used their "sticky" fingers to get them things, so in Hell they are buried in the sticky pitch. As their devious activities were hidden from the sight of man in life, so they are hidden from sight in Hell.
The Demons with the Grappling Hooks
Malacoda (the leader), Snatcher, Grizzly, Hellken, Deaddog, Curlybeard, Grafter, Dragontooth, Pigtusk, Catclaw, Cramper, Crazyred
Circle VIII
Bolgia V
These monsters guard and torment the Grafters buried under the pitch.
These demons seem to serve another function than their job as tormenting the Grafters. If I did not know better, I would say Dante inserted them here for comic relief. Their names seem to be enough evidence for that. They also deceive the Poets: They offer to take them to the next bridge over the next Bolgia -- but when they get there, they realize that there is no bridge. All of the rest of the bridges in Circle VIII had been broken when the Earthquake shook Hell. The Poets cause the demons to start fighting with each other, and manage to escape.
The Hypocrites
Circle VIII
Bolgia VI
They presented themselves as acting a certain way in public, attempting to be someone they were not; deceiving others of their true personality
In Hell they are forced to walk around with a robe that looks brilliantly beautiful but is in fact made of a heavy leaden material; and, because of the weight of the robe, they must walk very very slowly through their Bolgia.
Symbolic retribution: As they presented themselves to be good people when they were fact deceptive and devious, so they must outwardly wear their fakely beautiful self but inwardly they must wear the heavy lead of their conscience and their true deceptive self.
Caiaphas
Circle VIII
Bolgia VI
He was the High Piest of the Jews who encouraged the crucifixion of Christ for the betterment of the whole community. He is the chief sinner of this Bolgia.
Virgil is surprised to see Caiaphas; on Virgil's last journey through Hell, he had not been here.
He is punished by being crucified himself and walked on by all the other sinners here.
Symbolic retribution: As Caiaphas encouraged Christ's crucifixion, so he himself is crucified. As Christ bore the weight of all the world's guilt and sin, so Caiaphas must bear the weight of all the sinners in this Bolgia.
The Thieves
Circle VIII
Bolgia VII
Their sin is obvious: they thieved and stole.
They are punished by having great reptiles latch onto them and slowly steal away from their human form; the reptile becomes human and the human becomes reptile, and the process is repeated per aeternum.
Symbolic retribution: As thievery is a sin reptilian in secrecy, so they are seized by great reptiles. As they destroy their fellow man by taking his substance, so they are perpetually painfully destroyed by having their substance taken from them.
The Evil Counselors
Circle VIII
Bolgia VIII
These people were given the gift of an intelligent and clever mind, but they abused this gift for deceitful purposes.
These sinners are hidden forever in giant flames, in the shape of licking tongues. As they stole the gifts of God for their hidden motives, so their are stolen from sight and hidden in the flames, which are symbolic of their guilty consciences. As they practiced their deception by sleight of tongue, so the flames are shaped like tongues.
Ulysses and Diomedes
Circle VIII
Bolgia VIII
Their joint deception was against the Trojans in the Trojan War, with the creation of the Trojan Horse.
They are punished together in two flames that seem to be joined together. Remember that I mentioned Ulysses was not in Limbo; he is in Malebolge. As Dante loved Virgil and descended from the Trojans via the Romans who became Italians, so he was on the side of the Trojans and vehemently opposed to the Greeks; thus his hatred of Ulysses and Diomedes.
The Sowers of Discord
Circle VIII
Bolgia IX
These people in life attempted to tear apart established groups of people.
They walk around in a huge circle in this Bolgia, and as they pass the great demon that is their guardian and tormentor, they are hacked to pieces, with limbs torn off or great rends torn in their skin. Their wounds heal as they walk around in the circle so their punishment can be repeated.
Symbolic retribution: As in life they attempted to rip groups of people apart, so in Hell they have their own bodies ripped apart.
This is perhaps the most gruesome punishments that Dante describes.
Bertrand de Born
Sower of Discord between Kinsmen
Circle VIII
Bolgia IX
He separated fathers from their sons.
Because he separated kinsmen from each other, he carries his head separate from his body, swinging it in a grotesque parody of a lantern.
His punishment is probably the most memorable of all in the Inferno.
The Falsifiers
Alchemists, Falsifiers of Things
Evil Impersonators, Falsifiers of People
Counterfeiters, Falsifiers of Money
False Witnesses, Falsifiers of Words
Circle VIII
Bolgia X
In life, they lied, passed off fake objects as the real thing, or pretended they were someone they were not.
The Alchemists, Counterfeiters, and False Witnesses are punished by having their senses assaulted by every corruption: disease, unbearable thirst, a shrieking din, darkness, filth, and stench.
Symbolic retribution: As they attempted to corrupt others' senses with false things during their lives, so in Hell their own senses are brutally corrupted.
The Evil Impersonators are punished by running without a pause through this vile pit and seizing on others' souls..
Symbolic retribution: As in life they chased and seized upon the personalities of others, so in Hell they must forever chase and seize upon the souls of others.
Master Adam, a Counterfeiter &
Sinon, a False Witness
Circle VIII
Bolgia X
Dante speaks to Master Adam, who tells him about Sinon. Sinon gets angry that he is identified, and attacks Master Adam. This starts a fight between these two sinners, which Dante observes in perverse fascination. He is severely rebuked for this by Virgil.
This is actually a pretty funny scene, though I suppose it really shouldn't be. see above
The Giants
The Central Pit of Malebolge
These are the Giants and the Titans, born from the earth. They are symbols of human bestiality which must be purged before entrance to Heaven.
They are not necessarily being punished, as they are more a symbol of human bestiality. As they were born from the depths of the Earth, so they are returned to the depths of the Earth
Antaeus
The Central Pit of Circle VIII, Malebolge
He carries Virgil and Dante across to the entrance to the Frozen Lake of Cocytus. see above
Those Guilty of Compound Fraud (Treachery)
Circle IX
"Cocytus"
Here are the souls guilty of the treacherous sins
They are buried in the frozen sheet of ice at varying levels depending upon the degrees of their guilt. The ice is symbolic of their denial of love and other warmth of the soul.
Treacherous to Kin
Circle IX
Round I, "Caïna"
(named for Cain)
These souls betrayed their kinsfolk.
They are buried in the ice so that their heads and necks are out. This is lucky for them in that they can bend their head for some protection from the freezing gale, and in that their tears won't freeze their eyes shut.
Treacherous to Country
Circle IX
Round II, "Antenora"
(named for Antenor, he who betrayed Troy to the Greeks)
These souls performed acts of treason, betraying their country
They are buried in the ice so that only their head sticks out.
Treacherous to Guests and Hosts
Circle IX
Round III, Ptolemea
(named for Ptolemaeus, who killed his father at a banquet)
These souls betrayed their guests and/or their hosts, thus violating the extremely important laws of hospitality.
They are buried in the ice, lying down, so that only half of their face, the front half, is sticking out. The ice and wind freezes their eyes shut with their tears.
Treacherous to Lords and Masters
Circle IX
Round IV, Judecca
(named for Judas Iscariot)
These souls performed the ultimate betrayal, that against a master or a lord.
They are completely buried in the ice, and thus it is impossible to speak to them.
Satan
The Center of Cocytus and all Hell
Do I really have to spell out for you why Satan is here?
He has 3 faces, in a grotesque parody of the Holy Trinity, and each face is a different color. In each of his mouths, he chews a different sinner: Judas Iscariot, Cassius, and Brutus. He has immense batlike wings, which he flaps in an attempt to get free, but the flapping of the wings creates the freezing gale, freezing him more firmly to the ice.

Padre Nostro

Padre nostro che sei nei cieli, sia santificato il tuo nome; venga il tuo regno; sia fatta la tua volontà come in cielo anche in terra.
Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano; e rimetti a noi i nostri debiti, come anche noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori; e non esporci alla tentazione, ma liberaci dal male.
Tuo è il regno, la potenza, e la gloria nei secoli.
Amen.

Dante Alighieri (the real first name was Durante, Dante is a sort of nickname) was born in Florence in May or June 1265, from a low-aristocracy family (not very wealthy) of the guelfo party. Dante himself will become a white guelfo. In about 1285 he married Gemma di Manetto Donati, who will give him three children (or maybe four, we don’t know exactly).
Dante’s first studies were mainly in rhetoric, grammar, philosophy, literature and theology. He was a disciple of Brunetto Latini, who strongly influenced Dante’s cultural growth. In his youth, he was a Stilnovo poet and had many friends among the other members of the Stilnovo Poetical School (especially Guido Cavalcanti). After the death of Bice di Folco Portinari (loved by Dante, who mentioned her in his work with the name of Beatrice) Dante began studying philosophy and theology in depth, also attending some sort of cultural associations in Florence (the Studia) which provided lessons mainly about Aristotle and St. Thomas.
To begin a political career, Dante joined a Medical Corporation in 1295. In the following five years, his career grew quickly, and culminated in his becoming a priore (a sort of governor) in 1300. But in Florence the contrasts between white and black guelfi became harder and serious internal struggles began. Dante had to make some hard-line political decisions: he decided to oppose pope Bonifacio VIII’s expansion policy (supported by the blacks), taking a stand against the pontiff’s temporal interference. But the blacks, with the support of Carlo di Valois (a French prince) won against the whites. Dante, defeated, was strongly accused, even of fraud. He was sentenced to pay a fine and to serve a two-years exile; but he didn’t pay the fine and so was sentenced to death.
From this moment on, Dante roamed many Italian courts never again to return to Florence: he stayed under the protection of Bartolomeo della Scala in Verona in 1303. In 1306 he moved to Lunigiana (a Tuscan region), then to Poppi and to Lucca. In 1313 he went back to Verona where he stayed till 1319. In the same year, he moved to Ravenna, to the court of Guido Novello da Polenta. He died there, in 1321. He was buried in San Pier Maggiore’s Church where his tomb is still nowadays (the Church is now called San Francesco’s). To know more about what happened to his tomb after the death, see the "Dante's Burial" page.