Dante’s Inferno
Layers of Hell -- Introduction
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)
► 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
Vestibule
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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!!!!
► 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
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Ring: Limbo
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On the edge of Hell– for
those not saved even
though they did not sin
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Heaven does not claim them,
Hell does not want them.
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Some people here: classic Greek
figures (Homer, Ovid, &
Virgil)
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No “new” people would go here
because according to Dante’s
view of religion, Christ came to
save humans from an eternity of
limbo.
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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
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Ring: Gluttonous
Sinners “pigged out” in life
Mythic creature: Cerebus, a 3headed dog (remember Harry
Potter?) – covers sinners in dogslobber
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
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Sinners are divided into 2 categories:
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Ring: Avaricious
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
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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
Marsh of Styx
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What Dreams May Come – clip 1
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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)
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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
7th Ring:
Violent
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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
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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
8th Ring: Fraudulent (Malebolge—
loosely means “evil ditch”)
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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
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► FLATTERERS:
Ring: Fraudulent
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)
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Ring: Fraudulent
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SIMONISTS (Priests &
church officers take money
to forgive sins
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Buried head down and
burned on the soles of
their feet.
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Modern examples: Brian
Lisowski, a Chicago priest
(among others—see:
Insiders steal big from
unsuspecting churches
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Ring: Fraudulent
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FORTUNE TELLERS/
SOOTHSAYERS
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Bodies distorted so that
the head is twisted around
to only view his back.
Dante recognizes:
Tieresias!!
Modern examples: Sylvia
Browne
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Ring: Fraudulent
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GRAFTERS: the cold-hearted
covetous & greedy who wanted
everything they could put their
hands on (love of
money/material wealth)—
cheated to gain it
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Dipped into boiling tar. Demon
holds down the sinners with a
pitchfork.
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Modern examples: Bernie
Madoff –scammed thousands of
people & governments out of
money
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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)
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Ring: Fraudulent
► THEIVES:
stole from
others in life
► Snakes coil and bind
these sinners
► Modern
examples: Jim
on this Office episode
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Ring: Fraudulent
► DECIEVERS—misused
their God-given gifts
for ill gain
► Wrapped
► Modern
in fire
examples:
Criss Angel (video)
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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
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Ring: Fraudulent
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FALSIFIERS—deceiving
others by counterfeiting or
falsifying information
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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)
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Ring: Treachery
► TO
FAMILY, COUNTRY,
AND FRIENDS
► Frozen
in a sheet of ice
with only their face
exposed to show the
pain.
Center of
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Ring: Lucifer