Sala ‐ 1 ‐ Christopher M. Sala
Dr. Casciani
Dante’s Divine Comedy
2 December 2012
The Divine Comedy
The Ninth Circle of Hell
Dante’s journey through the ninth circle of hell is dictated in cantos 31 through 34 of his
Inferno. The ninth circle is the final realm of hell that must be conquered by Dante before he is
able to escape hell and move on to Purgatory. The final Circle of Hell in Dante’s Inferno is
where the worst of the worst spend eternity. Cocytus is a great frozen lake and the place where
Dante will face the souls he must conquer. The final realm is the part of hell reserved for
individuals guilty of committing the sin of “treachery” and where they are damned to spend
eternity. The Ninth Circle is made up of four rings and as the rings progress, the level of
treachery becomes worse as well as the punishments that the damned must endure. Individuals,
such as Brutus, Cassius, and Judas, can be found in the fourth and final ring in the Ninth Circle.
Brutus, Cassius, Judas, and their like are notorious for their sins of treachery and are justly
located here. Satan also resides in the ninth circle of hell where he personally torments the souls
of the sinners residing there. It will be no easy task for Dante to overcome the obstacle that is
the Ninth Circle. However, Dante’s experience will educate him in ways that will help gain the
experience he needs for the rest of his epic. This paper will be an examination of the ninth circle
of hell in Dante’s Inferno.
Sala ‐ 2 ‐ The Ninth circle of hell is reserved for the individuals guilty of committing the sin of
treachery. Treason can be defined as fraudulent acts between individuals who share special
bonds of love and trust. In the Dante’s eyes, treachery is the worst sin an individual can commit.
Treachery is a sin that Dante can personally relate to because he was a victim of a treacherous
action of betrayal in his unjust banishment from his home city of Florence. Treachery is one of
the most selfish sins an individual can commit. A person who commits a treacherous sin only
acts with the hopes of personally enhancing their own situation never considering the injury they
impart to the victim. The treacherous person does not consider or care how their actions will
impact others. Dante understands this reality and imposes justice on these treacherous
individuals in the Ninth Circle of hell in his Inferno.
Caina is the first Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell. Caina is named after Cain of the Bible
who was guilty of committing the first murder in which he killed his brother Abel. Caina is
where those who have committed treachery against their family receive their punishment.
Nearly everyone who has sinned against their family find themselves contained in the frigid ice,
right up to their faces. Dante describes these souls exiled here in Inferno 32 when he states,
“Each kept his face bent downward steadily;/ their mouths bore witness to the cold they felt,/ just
as their eyes proclaimed their sorry hearts” (37-39). These exiled souls are unable to move or
struggle and are trapped in frigid agony, as they lie entrapped in the ice of Lake Cocytus.
The Second Ring of the Ninth Circle is the place that individuals who have committed
treachery against their country spend eternity. Antenora is the name of the Second Ring of the
Ninth Circle and was named after Antenor of Troy. Antenor of Troy supposedly betrayed his
city to the Greeks. The Second Ring deals with treacherous actions that are political in nature.
The punishment the inhabitants of this ring must endure is quite similar to that of the first ring.
Sala ‐ 3 ‐ However, since the sin is more severe, so is the punishment. The unfortunate souls in the second
ring are also frozen in the icy lake Cocytus; however, the necks of the individuals are encased in
the frigid ice making this a big difference in the punishment. Being completely paralyzed makes
quite a large impact because the damned here are unable to move throughout the rest of their
time. It may seem that treachery against one’s family is worse than treachery against one’s
country, but upon further examination that may not be the case. A crime against a family is very
personal, but it only affects a small number of people. Committing treason against a country has
the potential to bring down an entire nation. Even if that is not the case, the lives of hundreds
and perhaps thousands of people can be negatively impacted.
The third ring is a place for those who have committed treason against their guests.
Ptolomea is the name of the third ring. This ring is named after Ptolomy, the captain of Jericho
who killed his father-in-law and his two sons. Ptolomy invited his father-in-law and his two sons
to be his guests at a banquet and then killed them. Instead of welcoming them and offering
hospitality, Ptolomy violated their trust. In this ring, the traitors are held captive, lying flat on
their backs with their entire body encased in ice. Their faces are the only thing poking out of the
ice. The real punishment though occurs when the damned cry. Their tears solidify and freeze
their eyes closed. The more tears that are shed, the more ice is created, which further traps them
in their hell. At first glance, this punishment seems quite severe and just. However, a guest
becomes a temporary family member when entering his host’s home, and should be treated with
respect and honor. This form of treachery is worse than that in the first and second rings because
these traitors make a conscious decision to invite guests of their own choosing. The souls in the
first ring had no choice as to what family they were born into and those in the second ring did not
choose the country in which they were born. The souls in the third ring made a decision to invite
Sala ‐ 4 ‐ the guest of their choice into their homes and then betrayed them. Therefore, their punishment is
more severe.
After leaving the fourth and final ring of the Ninth Circle, Dante and his guide Virgil
come to Satan himself. Satan can be viewed as an example of what the betrayal of God can
mean for an individual. Satan is also guilty of treachery in his betrayal of God. Satan was once
the highest and most glorified angel in all of heaven, and was even called “Lucifer” which
translates into “light bearer.” However, due to his overwhelming pride and vanity, he led a
rebellion against God with the hopes of overthrowing God from his throne in the kingdom of
heaven. Armies of God and Lucifer and his followers clashed and fought a great battle in
heaven. Lucifer lost the battle and was now subject to God’s wrath. God banished Lucifer from
heaven and condemned him to a dark pit of despair for eternity, away from the glory of God.
This dark pit of condemnation is the Ninth Circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno. Satan will now
spend eternity dwelling in this dark pit of hell tormenting the souls of individuals who committed
the same treacherous sin as he.
The sheer figure of Satan is a contradiction in itself. Prior to his banishment out of
heaven, Satan was a majestic angel who represented all of heavens righteous virtues. Upon
being exiled into hell, Satan now represents the mirror image of his former self. He is now a
wretched and ugly monster. It was Satan’s own pride and vanity that led him to believe he could
overthrow God and become the new King of Heaven. However, Satan became the King of Hell,
a just penance due to his vision of conquering God and taking over heaven for himself.
When Dante and Virgil gaze upon the creature of Satan, he is up to his waist in the ice
and sits there flapping his wings in a futile attempt to escape from his icy prison. However,
Satan’s attempts to escape only contribute further to his icy existence. His flapping wings
Sala ‐ 5 ‐ further cool the ice and make escape impossible. Dante’s depiction of hell as an icy and dark
abyss is contradictory to the hot and fiery images that most people associate with hell. The Bible
even acknowledges hell as a fiery place of torment and refers to hell as a “lake of fire” in
Revelations 20:15. Perhaps Dante depicted hell as an icy and cold abyss as a direct criticism to
the church, for it was no secret that he disagreed with many issues taking place in the Catholic
Church during his lifetime. Whatever the reason may be, Dante’s dark icy depiction of hell is
arguably just as horrifying as the fiery version. Ice is a representation for the absence of feeling.
The Ninth Circle of hell is the furthest away from the warmth and light of heaven that an
individual can be. The cold and darkness of hell is the chilling sensation of a soul being
completely separated from God’s warmth and love.
The Satan that Dante depicts in this icy pit of hell is a grotesque and terrifying creature.
Dante expresses his amazement after gazing upon the figure of Satan for the first time in Inferno
34, when he states “I marveled when I saw that, on his head,/ he had three faces: one in front
bloodred;/ and then another two that, just above/ the midpoint of each shoulder, joined the first;/
and at the crown, all three were reattached” (38-42). The outer two faces chew Brutus and
Cassius by their legs. Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus plotted and carried out
the assassination of Julius Caesar who was the emperor of Rome at the time. Julius Caesar was
one of the most beloved emperors in the history of the Roman Empire. Brutus and Cassius were
two friends who he trusted and respected a great deal. They abused Caesar’s good faith and used
it as a tool to help them conspire to the assassination of Caesar. Brutus and Cassius’ betrayal of
Caesar is one of the most well-known stories of betrayal in history, which is most likely what
prompted Dante to place these two individuals under Satan’s personal wrath in the Ninth Circle
of hell.
Sala ‐ 6 ‐ The center face of Satan, which is the most prominent and vicious, chews the skull of
Judas. Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. However, he is notoriously
known as the man who is guilty of committing the worst sin in human history in his betrayal of
Jesus Christ. Judas turned Jesus over to the hands of the Sanhedrin head priests in exchange for
a modest payment of 30 pieces of silver. Jesus was arrested and turned over to Pontius Pilate
who subsequently authorized the crucifixion of Jesus. Judas was overwhelmed with his guilt and
consequently hung himself because of his remorse. However, despite how sorrowful Judas may
have been for his wretched sin, it was not enough to save him. God took no pity on his soul and
condemned him to endure eternity through suffering the most agonizing torture imaginable
within the grasp of Satan’s fury.
These three men, Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, are considered the worst sinners of all time,
so it is fitting that Satan himself personally punishes them. However, Satan correspondingly
cannot escape the terrors and agony of hell, and he suffers the horrifying punishment of spending
eternity in this dark abyss. In Inferno 34, Dante recognizes the agony and regret that Satan feels.
Dante states, “If he was once as handsome as he now/is ugly and, despite that, raised his
brows/against his maker, one can understand/ how every sorrow has its source in him” (34-37).
Here Virgil is explaining how Satan must be completely filled with every form of sorrow and
regret imaginable for what he has done. Satan expresses his sorrow through tears. In Inferno 34,
Virgil says, “He wept out of six eyes; and down three chins” (53). This is not an image most
people associate with Satan. Typically, Satan is viewed as an unremorseful and vengeful being
who despises God and all his glory. However, Dante uses this remorseful image of Satan to
perhaps portray that even the most wicked of beings can be overcome with the sheer agony and
terror that is hell.
Sala ‐ 7 ‐ The depiction of evil appears to be Hell’s version of the crucifixion. Jesus Christ died on
the middle cross, and by doing so took away the sins of everyone and granted them salvation.
The holiest man was in the middle position. In hell, it is most appropriate that Judas, the most
sinful man in history, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ, would be in the bowels of Hell with
Satan chewing his face.
Dante’s vision of Hell is terrifying. In Hell, the punishments of sinners are always just
and fair. These punishments correspond to the sin that was committed in life. After traveling
through Hell, Dante and Virgil are able to exit the darkness and arrive back on Earth in the
southern hemisphere. As they emerge, they see Heaven’s stars, which serve as a reminder to
repent and look to God for forgiveness. Doing so, the faithful will join God in the kingdom of
Heaven. Repenters will never experience or know the greatest of all horrors in the Nine Circles
of hell; the forgiven will never understand the separation from God for all eternity. For it is not
where we lie, but whence we fell; the loss of heaven is the greatest pain in hell.