Dante’s InfernoDante’s Inferno
TreacheryTreachery
RegionsRegions
Dante divides circle 9, the circle of treachery--defined in Inferno 11as fraudulent acts between individuals who share special bonds oflove and trust into four regions. Caina is named after the biblicalCain (first child of Adam and Eve), who slew his brother Abel out ofenvy after God showed appreciation for Abel's sacrificial offering butnot Cain's; condemned to a vagabond existence, Cain later built acity that for certain Christian theologians--notably Augustinerepresented the evils of the earthly city. In the circle of the lustful,Francesca identified her husband (Gianciotto)--who murdered herand Paolo (Gianciotto's brother)--as a future inhabitant of Caina.Dante's attention is here drawn to two brothers, the ghibellineNapoleone and the guelph Alessandro, who murdered one anotherbecause of a dispute over their inheritance.Dante divides circle 9, the circle of treachery--defined in Inferno 11as fraudulent acts between individuals who share special bonds oflove and trust into four regions. Caina is named after the biblicalCain (first child of Adam and Eve), who slew his brother Abel out ofenvy after God showed appreciation for Abel's sacrificial offering butnot Cain's; condemned to a vagabond existence, Cain later built acity that for certain Christian theologians--notably Augustinerepresented the evils of the earthly city. In the circle of the lustful,Francesca identified her husband (Gianciotto)--who murdered herand Paolo (Gianciotto's brother)--as a future inhabitant of Caina.Dante's attention is here drawn to two brothers, the ghibellineNapoleone and the guelph Alessandro, who murdered one anotherbecause of a dispute over their inheritance.
Political traitorsPolitical traitors
The second region, designated for politicaltraitors, is named for the Trojan princeAntenora. While the classical sources--notablyHomer's Iliad--present Antenora in a positive (orat least neutral) light as one in favor of returningHelen to the Greeks for the good of Troy,medieval versions--histories, commentaries, andromances--view him as a "treacherous Judas"who plots with the Greeks to destroy the city.Dante places in this region those who betrayedtheir political party or their homeland.The second region, designated for politicaltraitors, is named for the Trojan princeAntenora. While the classical sources--notablyHomer's Iliad--present Antenora in a positive (orat least neutral) light as one in favor of returningHelen to the Greeks for the good of Troy,medieval versions--histories, commentaries, andromances--view him as a "treacherous Judas"who plots with the Greeks to destroy the city.Dante places in this region those who betrayedtheir political party or their homeland.
Betrayed friendsBetrayed friends
In the third zone of circle 9 suffer those who betrayedfriends or guests. Ptolomea is named after one or bothof the following: Ptolemy, the captain of Jericho,honored his father-in-law, the high priest SimonMaccabee, and two of Simon's sons with a great feastand then murdered them; Ptolemy XII, brother ofCleopatra, arranged that the Roman general Pompey--seeking refuge following his defeat at the battle ofPharsalia (48 B.C.E.)--be murdered as soon as hestepped ashore. Dante displays his abhorrence of suchcrimes by devising a special rule for those who betraytheir guests: their souls descend immediately to hell andtheir living bodies are possessed by demons when theycommit these acts.In the third zone of circle 9 suffer those who betrayedfriends or guests. Ptolomea is named after one or bothof the following: Ptolemy, the captain of Jericho,honored his father-in-law, the high priest SimonMaccabee, and two of Simon's sons with a great feastand then murdered them; Ptolemy XII, brother ofCleopatra, arranged that the Roman general Pompey--seeking refuge following his defeat at the battle ofPharsalia (48 B.C.E.)--be murdered as soon as hestepped ashore. Dante displays his abhorrence of suchcrimes by devising a special rule for those who betraytheir guests: their souls descend immediately to hell andtheir living bodies are possessed by demons when theycommit these acts.
JudeccaJudecca
Judecca, named after the apostle who betrayed Jesus(Judas Iscariot), is the innermost zone of the ninth andfinal circle of hell. The term also hints at a manifestationof Christian prejudice--which Dante certainly shares--against Judaism and Jews in the Middle Ages: it alludesto the names--Iudeca, Judaica--for the area withincertain cities where Jews were forced to live, apart fromthe Christian population. Together with Judas in thisregion of hell are others who, by betraying their mastersor benefactors, committed crimes with great historicaland societal consequences. Completely covered by theice--like "straw in glass"--the shades are locked invarious postures with no mobility or sound whatsoever.Judecca, named after the apostle who betrayed Jesus(Judas Iscariot), is the innermost zone of the ninth andfinal circle of hell. The term also hints at a manifestationof Christian prejudice--which Dante certainly shares--against Judaism and Jews in the Middle Ages: it alludesto the names--Iudeca, Judaica--for the area withincertain cities where Jews were forced to live, apart fromthe Christian population. Together with Judas in thisregion of hell are others who, by betraying their mastersor benefactors, committed crimes with great historicaland societal consequences. Completely covered by theice--like "straw in glass"--the shades are locked invarious postures with no mobility or sound whatsoever.
NimrodNimrod
The Giants physically connect circles 8 and 9: standing on the floorof circle 9--or perhaps on a ledge above the bottom of hell--theupper halves of their huge bodies tower over the inner edge ofcircle 8. From a distance, in fact, Dante initially mistakes the Giantsfor actual towers. Anticipating the even larger figure of Lucifer,Dante's Giants--drawn from both biblical and classical stories--arearchetypal examples of defiant rebels. Nimrod, described in theBible as a "stout hunter before the Lord", was viewed as a Giant inthe medieval tradition that Dante follows. According to the biblicalaccount, people in the region ruled by Nimrod--Babylon and othercities in the land of Sennaar--plan to build a tower that will reach toheaven; God shows his displeasure by scattering the people anddestroying the unity of their language so they will no longerunderstand one another's speech. Dante, following tradition, placesthe blame for this linguistic confusion on Nimrod, whose ownlanguage is now as incomprehensible to others as their languagesare to him.The Giants physically connect circles 8 and 9: standing on the floorof circle 9--or perhaps on a ledge above the bottom of hell--theupper halves of their huge bodies tower over the inner edge ofcircle 8. From a distance, in fact, Dante initially mistakes the Giantsfor actual towers. Anticipating the even larger figure of Lucifer,Dante's Giants--drawn from both biblical and classical stories--arearchetypal examples of defiant rebels. Nimrod, described in theBible as a "stout hunter before the Lord", was viewed as a Giant inthe medieval tradition that Dante follows. According to the biblicalaccount, people in the region ruled by Nimrod--Babylon and othercities in the land of Sennaar--plan to build a tower that will reach toheaven; God shows his displeasure by scattering the people anddestroying the unity of their language so they will no longerunderstand one another's speech. Dante, following tradition, placesthe blame for this linguistic confusion on Nimrod, whose ownlanguage is now as incomprehensible to others as their languagesare to him.
The GiantsThe Giants
In their passage from circle 8 to circle 9, Dante and Virgil view two otherGiants, both from the classical tradition. Ephialtes was one of the Giantswho fought against Jove and the other Olympian gods. Ephialtes and histwin brother Otus, attempted to scale Mount Olympus and dethrone thegods by stacking Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa in Macedonia; theywere killed, according to Servius' well known medieval commentary on theAeneid, with arrows shot by Apollo and Diana. Antaeus, who can speak, isprobably unfettered because he was born after his brothers waged waragainst the gods. He is therefore able to lift Dante and Virgil and depositthem on the floor of the ninth and final circle of hell. To secure thisassistance, Virgil entices Antaeus with the prospect of continued famebased on the Giant's formidable reputation. Here Dante's source is Lucan,who recounts how Antaeus, a fearsome offspring of Earth whose strengthwas replenished from contact with his mother, feasted on lions andslaughtered farmers and travelers around his cavernous dwelling in NorthAfrica until he met his match in Hercules. The hero and the Giant engagedin a wrestling contest, which Hercules finally won by lifting Antaeus off theground and squeezing him to death.In their passage from circle 8 to circle 9, Dante and Virgil view two otherGiants, both from the classical tradition. Ephialtes was one of the Giantswho fought against Jove and the other Olympian gods. Ephialtes and histwin brother Otus, attempted to scale Mount Olympus and dethrone thegods by stacking Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa in Macedonia; theywere killed, according to Servius' well known medieval commentary on theAeneid, with arrows shot by Apollo and Diana. Antaeus, who can speak, isprobably unfettered because he was born after his brothers waged waragainst the gods. He is therefore able to lift Dante and Virgil and depositthem on the floor of the ninth and final circle of hell. To secure thisassistance, Virgil entices Antaeus with the prospect of continued famebased on the Giant's formidable reputation. Here Dante's source is Lucan,who recounts how Antaeus, a fearsome offspring of Earth whose strengthwas replenished from contact with his mother, feasted on lions andslaughtered farmers and travelers around his cavernous dwelling in NorthAfrica until he met his match in Hercules. The hero and the Giant engagedin a wrestling contest, which Hercules finally won by lifting Antaeus off theground and squeezing him to death.
More GiantsMore Giants
Although Dante and Virgil do not visit them, three moretowering Giants are named in Inferno 31. Briareus,whom Virgil describes as equal in size to--but even moreterrifying than--Ephialtes, appears in Virgil's epic as amonster said to have one hundred arms and hands, withfire burning in his fifty mouths and chests; he thuswielded fifty shields and swords to defend himselfagainst Jove's thunderbolts. Statius merely describesBriareus as immense. Tityus is well represented inclassical literature as a Giant whose attempted rape ofLatona earns him a gruesome fate in the underworld: avulture continuously feeds on Tityus' immortal liver.Typhon was struck down by Jove's lightning bolts and,depending on the version, buried under Mount Etna inSicily.Although Dante and Virgil do not visit them, three moretowering Giants are named in Inferno 31. Briareus,whom Virgil describes as equal in size to--but even moreterrifying than--Ephialtes, appears in Virgil's epic as amonster said to have one hundred arms and hands, withfire burning in his fifty mouths and chests; he thuswielded fifty shields and swords to defend himselfagainst Jove's thunderbolts. Statius merely describesBriareus as immense. Tityus is well represented inclassical literature as a Giant whose attempted rape ofLatona earns him a gruesome fate in the underworld: avulture continuously feeds on Tityus' immortal liver.Typhon was struck down by Jove's lightning bolts and,depending on the version, buried under Mount Etna inSicily.
CocytusCocytus
Dante calls circle 9, a frozen lake, Cocytus (fromGreek, meaning "to lament"). One of the riversin the classical underworld, Cocytus is describedby Virgil as a dark, deep pool of water thatencircles a forest and into which pours sandspewed from a torrid whirlpool. In the Vulgate(the Latin Bible), Cocytus designates the valley(or torrent) of death that receives the wicked,even--and especially--those who have prosperedin the world. Dante calls circle 9, a frozen lake, Cocytus (fromGreek, meaning "to lament"). One of the riversin the classical underworld, Cocytus is describedby Virgil as a dark, deep pool of water thatencircles a forest and into which pours sandspewed from a torrid whirlpool. In the Vulgate(the Latin Bible), Cocytus designates the valley(or torrent) of death that receives the wicked,even--and especially--those who have prosperedin the world.
Bocca Degli AbatiBocca Degli Abati
Dante certainly feels no remorse for kicking a shade hard in the face oncehe learns the identity of the political traitor. The offended shadeimmediately piques Dante's interest by alluding to Montaperti (near Siena),site of the legendary battle (1260) in which Florentine guelphs were routedby ghibelline forces that included, among exiles from Florence, Farinatadegli Uberti. The shade's identity remains concealed, even as Dante tries toelicit it by tearing out chunks of his hair, until another traitor in the ice callsout the wretch's name: Bocca promptly lives up to his name (bocca means"mouth") by identifying the informer along with four other traitors topolitical party or homeland. Bocca degli Abati belonged to a ghibellinefamily that remained in Florence after other ghibellines were banished in1258 for their role in a foiled plot. Pretending to fight on the side of theguelphs (as part of the cavalry), Bocca betrayed his guelph countrymen at adecisive moment in the battle--as German mercenary troops attacked insupport of the Tuscan ghibellines--by cutting off the hand of the guelphstandard-bearer. Demoralized by Bocca's treachery and the loss of theirflag, the guelphs panicked and were roundly defeated.Dante certainly feels no remorse for kicking a shade hard in the face oncehe learns the identity of the political traitor. The offended shadeimmediately piques Dante's interest by alluding to Montaperti (near Siena),site of the legendary battle (1260) in which Florentine guelphs were routedby ghibelline forces that included, among exiles from Florence, Farinatadegli Uberti. The shade's identity remains concealed, even as Dante tries toelicit it by tearing out chunks of his hair, until another traitor in the ice callsout the wretch's name: Bocca promptly lives up to his name (bocca means"mouth") by identifying the informer along with four other traitors topolitical party or homeland. Bocca degli Abati belonged to a ghibellinefamily that remained in Florence after other ghibellines were banished in1258 for their role in a foiled plot. Pretending to fight on the side of theguelphs (as part of the cavalry), Bocca betrayed his guelph countrymen at adecisive moment in the battle--as German mercenary troops attacked insupport of the Tuscan ghibellines--by cutting off the hand of the guelphstandard-bearer. Demoralized by Bocca's treachery and the loss of theirflag, the guelphs panicked and were roundly defeated.
UgolinoUgolino
There is perhaps no more grisly scene in all the Infernothan Dante's depiction of Ugolino eating the back ofRuggieri's head like a dog using its strong teeth to gnawa bone. Ugolino's story, the longest single speech by oneof the damned, is Dante's final dramatic representationin the Inferno of humankind's capacity for evil andcruelty. Aimed at explaining the scene of cannibalism inhell, Ugolino's story is all the more powerful because thespeaker makes no attempt to exonerate himself of thecrime--political treachery--for which he is condemned toeternal damnation. He instead wishes to defame hisenemy and elicit compassion from his audience byrecounting the brutal manner in which he and hisinnocent children were killed.There is perhaps no more grisly scene in all the Infernothan Dante's depiction of Ugolino eating the back ofRuggieri's head like a dog using its strong teeth to gnawa bone. Ugolino's story, the longest single speech by oneof the damned, is Dante's final dramatic representationin the Inferno of humankind's capacity for evil andcruelty. Aimed at explaining the scene of cannibalism inhell, Ugolino's story is all the more powerful because thespeaker makes no attempt to exonerate himself of thecrime--political treachery--for which he is condemned toeternal damnation. He instead wishes to defame hisenemy and elicit compassion from his audience byrecounting the brutal manner in which he and hisinnocent children were killed.
FraFra
Dante cleverly tricks a shade into revealing his identity by making a deviousdeal: if he doesn't relieve the traitor's suffering (by removing ice--frozentears--from the traitor's face) in exchange for this information, Dante sayshe should be sent to the very bottom of hell! Dante thus learns that thesoul of Fra Alberigo is in hell even as his body is still alive on earth in 1300,the year of the journey. Drawing Dante's attention to the shade of BrancaDoria (who will actually live another twenty-five years), Alberigo explainsthat the souls of those who betray their guests descend immediately toPtolomea as their bodies are possessed by demons. Fra Alberigo, of theruling guelph family of Faenza (near Ravenna), was a Jovial Friar--areligious order established with the goal of making peace but soon betterknown for decadence and corruption. A close relative, Manfred, plottedagainst Alberigo for political power; as a result of this dispute, Manfredstruck Alberigo, whose cruel response well earned him a place among thetraitors in hell. Pretending that the altercation was forgotten, Alberigoinvited Manfred and his son to a sumptuous banquet; when, at the end ofthe meal, the host gave the signal ("Bring the fruit!"), armed servantsemerged from behind a curtain and slaughtered the guests, much to thedelight of Alberigo.Dante cleverly tricks a shade into revealing his identity by making a deviousdeal: if he doesn't relieve the traitor's suffering (by removing ice--frozentears--from the traitor's face) in exchange for this information, Dante sayshe should be sent to the very bottom of hell! Dante thus learns that thesoul of Fra Alberigo is in hell even as his body is still alive on earth in 1300,the year of the journey. Drawing Dante's attention to the shade of BrancaDoria (who will actually live another twenty-five years), Alberigo explainsthat the souls of those who betray their guests descend immediately toPtolomea as their bodies are possessed by demons. Fra Alberigo, of theruling guelph family of Faenza (near Ravenna), was a Jovial Friar--areligious order established with the goal of making peace but soon betterknown for decadence and corruption. A close relative, Manfred, plottedagainst Alberigo for political power; as a result of this dispute, Manfredstruck Alberigo, whose cruel response well earned him a place among thetraitors in hell. Pretending that the altercation was forgotten, Alberigoinvited Manfred and his son to a sumptuous banquet; when, at the end ofthe meal, the host gave the signal ("Bring the fruit!"), armed servantsemerged from behind a curtain and slaughtered the guests, much to thedelight of Alberigo.
SatanSatan
Lucifer, Satan, Dis, Beelzebub--Dante throws every name in the book at theDevil, once the most beautiful angel (Lucifer means "light-bearer") then--following his rebellion against God--the source of evil and sorrow in theworld, beginning with his corruption of Eve and Adam in the Garden ofEden. Dante's Lucifer is a parodic composite of his wickedness and thedivine powers that punish him in hell. As ugly as he once was beautiful,Lucifer is the wretched emperor of hell, whose tremendous size (he dwarfseven the Giants) stands in contrast with his limited powers: his flappingwings generate the wind that keeps the lake frozen and his three mouthschew on the shade-bodies of three arch-traitors, the gore mixing with tearsgushing from Lucifer's three sets of eyes. Lucifer's three faces--each adifferent color (red, whitish-yellow, black)--parody the doctrine of theTrinity: three complete persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in one divinenature--the Divine Power, Highest Wisdom, and Primal Love that createdthe Gate of Hell and, by extension, the entire realm of eternal damnation.With the top half of his body towering over the ice, Lucifer resembles theGiants and other half-visible figures; after Dante and Virgil have passedthrough the center of the earth, their perspective changes and Luciferappears upside-down, with his legs sticking up in the air.Lucifer, Satan, Dis, Beelzebub--Dante throws every name in the book at theDevil, once the most beautiful angel (Lucifer means "light-bearer") then--following his rebellion against God--the source of evil and sorrow in theworld, beginning with his corruption of Eve and Adam in the Garden ofEden. Dante's Lucifer is a parodic composite of his wickedness and thedivine powers that punish him in hell. As ugly as he once was beautiful,Lucifer is the wretched emperor of hell, whose tremendous size (he dwarfseven the Giants) stands in contrast with his limited powers: his flappingwings generate the wind that keeps the lake frozen and his three mouthschew on the shade-bodies of three arch-traitors, the gore mixing with tearsgushing from Lucifer's three sets of eyes. Lucifer's three faces--each adifferent color (red, whitish-yellow, black)--parody the doctrine of theTrinity: three complete persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in one divinenature--the Divine Power, Highest Wisdom, and Primal Love that createdthe Gate of Hell and, by extension, the entire realm of eternal damnation.With the top half of his body towering over the ice, Lucifer resembles theGiants and other half-visible figures; after Dante and Virgil have passedthrough the center of the earth, their perspective changes and Luciferappears upside-down, with his legs sticking up in the air.
SatanSatan
Eternally eaten by Lucifer's three mouths are--from left to right-- Brutus, Judas, andCassius. Brutus and Cassius, stuffed feet first in the jaws of Lucifer's black andwhitish-yellow faces respectively, are punished in this lowest region for theirassassination of Julius Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire that Dante viewedas an essential part of God's plan for human happiness. They succeeded inassassinating Caesar but their political-military ambitions were soon thwarted byOctavian (later Augustus) and Antony at Philippi (42 B.C.E.): Cassius, defeated byAntony and thinking (wrongly) that Brutus had been defeated by Octavian, hadhimself killed by a servant; Brutus indeed lost a subsequent battle and took his life aswell. For Dante, Brutus and Cassius' betrayal of Julius Caesar, their benefactor andthe world's supreme secular ruler, complements Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus,the Christian man-god, in the Bible. Judas, one of the twelve apostles, strikes a dealto betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; he fulfills his treacherous role--foreseen byJesus at the Last Supper--when he later identifies Jesus to the authorities with a kiss;regretting this betrayal that will lead to Jesus' death, Judas returns the silver andhangs himself. Suffering even more than Brutus and Cassius, Dante's Judas is placedhead-first inside Lucifer's central mouth, with his back skinned by the devil's claws.Eternally eaten by Lucifer's three mouths are--from left to right-- Brutus, Judas, andCassius. Brutus and Cassius, stuffed feet first in the jaws of Lucifer's black andwhitish-yellow faces respectively, are punished in this lowest region for theirassassination of Julius Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire that Dante viewedas an essential part of God's plan for human happiness. They succeeded inassassinating Caesar but their political-military ambitions were soon thwarted byOctavian (later Augustus) and Antony at Philippi (42 B.C.E.): Cassius, defeated byAntony and thinking (wrongly) that Brutus had been defeated by Octavian, hadhimself killed by a servant; Brutus indeed lost a subsequent battle and took his life aswell. For Dante, Brutus and Cassius' betrayal of Julius Caesar, their benefactor andthe world's supreme secular ruler, complements Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus,the Christian man-god, in the Bible. Judas, one of the twelve apostles, strikes a dealto betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; he fulfills his treacherous role--foreseen byJesus at the Last Supper--when he later identifies Jesus to the authorities with a kiss;regretting this betrayal that will lead to Jesus' death, Judas returns the silver andhangs himself. Suffering even more than Brutus and Cassius, Dante's Judas is placedhead-first inside Lucifer's central mouth, with his back skinned by the devil's claws.
