Week Thirteen: Dante's Inferno

This week, I decided to read Dante's Inferno. I have heard about this work many times in the past but have never actually read it. I figured this would be a great excuse to read a piece of literature that I have always heard about but don't know much about. This is also very different than the types of stories I have been reading in the past in this class so it will be interesting to change it up.

Dante and Virgil 
The story begins in a dark wood where the way could not be seen. The author, Dante, feared for his life, although he was sleeping. He finally reached the foot of a hill and saw the rays of the sun. His fear became calmer and he decided to rest for a while. He then saw a leopard and ran from it, as it did not run from him. All of a sudden, a lion appeared and even the air itself was afraid. Then in the distance, Dante saw a man and cried out to him. The man answered that he was Virgil, the poet. Virgil instructed Dante to take a different road to escape that wretched place. Virgil then decides to be Dante's guide through Hell so that he could escape that evil and they went on their way.

The Gate of Hell and Charon 
Dante entered the gate to hell and saw above it a dark message inscribed on the wall. Then the two men walked through the gate and onward to hidden things. There were many harsh sounds all around Dante and he learned that they were the never able to die and would always live in darkness. They continued through the wretched place.

Limbo
This story begins with Dante and his guide coming to the shore of Acheron, which was filled with cruel people who blasphemed against God. Charon, a demon near the shore, hit those individuals who stayed near with his oar. This was the place of all who die subject to God's anger. Dante then entered the First Circle: Limbo - The Heathens. Dante found himself on the side of a valley of a sad abyss. They entered the circle and heard nothing but sighing that made the air quiver. There were many individuals who were lost and tormented. Dante was overcome with sadness at the people and saw how they lived in limbo.

Poets and Philosophers, Heroes and Heroines 
Dante and his guide continued to move through Limbo and passed many great poets, Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan. They welcomed Dante and made him one of their own. Dante and Virgil continued on and came to the base of a castle. Once inside the castle, they found many important people including Kings, Queens, and other important individuals. He then saw Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates and all the philosophers in the castle. Then he came to a region of darkness.

Paolo and Francesca
This story begins with the Second Circle: Minos - The Carnal Sinners. Dante and Virgil found that this circle was much more painful, as there were many howls and screams. The Minos stands at the entrance of this circle and sends the wicked down as far as he deems necessary according to their crimes. Dante and his guide passed Minos and entered a dark place of much moaning and crying. Virgil then began to tell Dante about each of the sinners they passed including Semiramis, Empress, Dido, Cleopatra, Achilles, Paolo and Francesca. Francesca told him of her pitiful existence and Dante fainted out of pity.

Cerberus and Plutus
Dante then regained his senses after fainting in the Third Circle: Cerberus - The Gluttonous. Then there were more tormented souls in every direction in the cold, heavy rain. Ceberus was a fierce and strange monster with three heads who constantly tortured the souls living there. They kept moving into the Fourth Circle: Plutus - The Avaricious. Plutus croaked many strange phrases at the pair and confused them in the dark place. Dante did not recognize anyone in this circle.

Fortune and Phlegyas 
Virgil then began to tell Dante about Fortune and how she is concealed like a snake in the grass. The pair kept moving and saw a dark blue-grey water and the souls there were eating each other. Virgil told Dante that there were the souls overcome by anger. Then they came to the Fifth Circle: Phylegyas: The Wrathful. They came to the base of a high tower and saw the foul waters below them. A little boat came towards them through the waves and they climbed aboard to continue their journey.

The Fallen Angels 
This story begins as Virgil and Dante enter the City of Dis, located in deep Hell. All along the walls were fallen angels around the gates and who called out to the pair in a confused state. They entered the city and saw the lord's face, devoid of all expression. Dante asked the man if any others had made the journey to hell as he is making and he noted that it is a rare occurrence.

The Furies and Heretics 
Dante and Virgil then saw three Furies that looked like Medusa who were tearing at themselves with their claws. The pair turned their eyes as the actual Medusa was coming and could turn them to stone. Then over the waves came a loud noise and a strong wind, scattering many spirits in its wake. It was a messenger from Heaven, named Stygian who helped them. The pair kept moving and entered the Sixth Circle: Dis - The Heretics. Dante looked around and saw much torment as flames made everything red-hot. These were the arch-heretics and were made to suffer.

The Minotaur and Centaurs 
Dante and Virgil continued down and reached just above the Seventh Circle: The Minotaur. They saw the creature, chained to the mountain and walked past him descending to the seventh circle. They walked over fallen masses of rocks and came to the First Ring: The Centaurs: The Violent. All around the pair, centaurs raced and were carrying weapons. Then, three centaur leaders came forward and asked why they were there. The centaurs bade them goodbye and told them to leave.

The Harpies and Capaneus
Dante and Virgil then continued their journey along the red-hot blood where those being boiled were yelled loudly. People were as far in the blood as their eyebrows and the centaur said that those were the individuals who indulged in blood including Alexander the Great. They then entered the Second Ring: The Harpies - The Suicides. In this circle, there was a wood that was dusky in color and full of thorns. The Harpies, winged creatures made this place their home. They kept walking to the Third Ring: The Violent Against God. There were many people here laying on the ground or crouched. There were cries of pain and flakes of fire falling from the sky. It was a world of eternal heat and burning flesh.

The Old Man of Crete and Geryon 
The pair continued on and they found a place where the red stream came out of the wood. The guide told Dante that there was a deserted island in the middle of the sea named Crete where the world was pure. The stream they were looking at was from a different world. They then left the wood and came across a beast. It was a hairy man with the body of a serpent. They moved towards the beast.

Descending on Geryon's Back 
Dante and Virgil climbed atop the back of the beast and descended to hell. The creature shook all over, and began to fall. As they went down, Dante could hear moaning and saw fire and knew that he must keep his eyes forward. They then entered the Eighth Circle: Malebolge, were all the stone is colored like iron and there are many cliffs. In that place, there were ten moats and bridges that run to the base of the cliffs. Geryon then shook them from his back and they then moved forward.

Jason and the Demons
Within Malebolge, there are many chasms including the first of the pimps and the seducers. They saw Jason, robber of the Golden Fleece there and kept moving. They then came to the second chasm of the flatterers and heard people hitting and scratching themselves. The pair kept moving forward and Virgil told Dante to hide behind a rock since he had no fear. Many demons came forward and Virgil spoke directly to the demon Malacoda. Suddenly, many demons appeared and they were surrounded.

Caiaphas
As Virgil and Dante were surrounded by many demons, they were told they had to go around, as the last arch was broken. Virgil told Dante not to be afraid, as they kept moving. They then found a group of individuals wearing cloaks and moving in a slow step: the hypocrites. A man in the group, a friar, passed a cross to Virgil.

Ulysses and Diomede
This story begins with Dante standing on a bridge and almost falling off due to the spirits in the fire. Virgil told Dante that in the next area, Ulysses and Diomede are tormented in punishment and have to constantly endure it. Ulysses' story was then told to Dante from his past and thee pair then traveled through the ninth chasm where the "sowers of discord" like Mohammad and the tenth chasm where the "falsifiers" are found.

The Giants
The pair passed through the valley safely and saw many giants around the pit and Dante was very afraid. The giants were huge, much large than any elephant or whale. They had long faces and savage mouths. They met many giants including Nimrod, Ephilates, and Antaeus. Virgil and Dante then continued on through the eighth circle of hell and its many chasms to the ninth circle to meet Count Ugolino.

Ugolino
Next, Dante was two spirits in a hole. One was gnawing on the head of the other. Count Ugolino told his story of grief and how he was forced to eat his own sons corpses in the tower of famine after they were imprisoned. He could not tell his whole story and began gnawing on the other spirit again in despair.

Satan
This story begins with the words, "The banners of the King of the Inferno advance." Virgil and Dante moved forward, against the wind, past many who were being tortured. Then they saw Lucifer, a large spirit who was once so fair. He stood up from the ice he was sitting in and the evil flowed from him. Dante was three faces on his head. He chewed a sinner between his teeth and Dante learned that it was Judas Iscariot. The pair then had to climb along Satan's body to get out, as they had seen all of hell.