I bet you mulled over what you think about Hell vs. Dante's description. Pretty scary, isn't it?
Canto IX takes us to Dante and Virgil waiting for their heavenly help to get into the city of Dis. Dante is a little freaked out by the fact that Virgil, the smooth talker, failed to gain access to the city. Virgil, impatiently waiting for someone, reassures Dante. Suddenly, Dante sees three Furies. Furies are creepy creatures. They're half woman, half serpent. Scary. The Furies laugh and shriek when they see Dante. They call Medusa to come turn him into stone. You know Medusa, right? Lady with snakes for hair. Yeah, her. Virgil covers Dante's eyes so he won't see Medusa's head. A loud noise makes the Furies scramble away. Thankfully for our two friends, they see an angel across the river Styx. Demons and souls are running away from him. He gets to the gates and commands that they be opened for Virgil and Dante. Obviously, they obey and the gates open up to the sixth circle of Hell. There are tombs all around them which glow among the hot flames. This circle of Hell is for the Heretics.
Canto X still has us in the sixth circle of Hell. Dante and Virgil start their wandering around of the sixth circle. Virgil explains to Dante that a particular group, the Epicureans, sought pleasure in life because they thought when the body died the soul died as well. Wrong-o, Epicureans. A voice from one of the tombs speaks to Dante. Virgil says it's Farinata, a Tuscan, who was a politician. Virgil tells Dante to have a chat with him. Not weird at all. Dante and Farinata start talking when another soul (rudely) interrupts them. This person is Cavalcante Cavalcanti (what a fun name). He's the father of one of Dante's besties, Guido. Cavalcante asks Dante why Guido isn't there with them. Dante says that Guido probably didn't like Virgil. Cavalcante thinks that Dante means Guido is dead. He goes back into this tomb, deeply disturbed. Farinata doesn't miss a beat and keeps chatting Dante up about Florentine politics. Dante gathers that the souls in Hell can see future events but not presen ones. Farinata predicts Dante's exile from Florence (he's pretty bitter about that). Farinata confirms that, as part of their punishment, Heretics can only see things in the future. Virgil tells Dante to come back and they walk through the rest of the circle. Farinata worried Dante about his exile, but Virgil comforts Dante.
Canto XI takes our travelers to the lovely seventh circle of Hell, reserved for sinners committing violent crimes. Our friends get to the seventh circle and it smells so bad that Virgil and Dante have to sit at the tomb of Pope Anastasius so they can get acclimated. Virgil, the seer of opportunities, takes this time to talk about the last three circles of Hell. The seventh circle contains those who are violent and is divided into three smaller circles: sinners violent against another person, sinners violent against themselves, and sinners violent against God. You know what's worse than being violent? The sin of fraud. Why, you might ask. Well, fraud breaks the bond of trust, which is a BIG deal. The last two circles of Hell deal with punishing the fraudulent. The eighth circle punishes what Virgil would call "normal fraud," which is that violation of trust between people. Examples of normal fraud are hypocrisy and backhanded compliments. The ninth circle, the seat of Dis (sounds fancy), punishes betrayal. These frauds deal with breaking loyalty to family, country, government affiliation, guests, etc. Dante asks Virgil why there are these divisions of Hell. Virgil sums it up saying these last circles are most contrary to God's will and deserve a harsher punishment. Dante thinks it's a great time to ask about usury, why is it a sin? Usury is lending money with interest. Check out Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Virgil tells Dante this is a sin because it goes against God's will. The usurer isn't making money by working but from money itself (interest). Dante thinks this makes sense, and the two head toward the first ring of the seventh circle of Hell.
At the beginning of Canto XII, Virgil and Dante must go through a ravine of broken rocks. At the edge, the Minotaur is there. Minotaur = no good, so they sneak past the beast while he's hulking out. As they move farther into the ring, Virgil comments that these rocks hadn't fallen last time he was here. Cool story, Virgil. Coming into the ring, they see a river of blood. Want to know why? Sure you do. The sinners who were violent against other humans are boiling here. Centaurs, half man, half horse guys (you know, the ones from Harry Potter), are on the river bank with bows and arrows. They get the lovely job of shooting sinners who try to rise out of the river too high for their liking. The leader of the Centaurs, Chiron (not Charon), notices Dante moves the rocks which means he's living. Chiron gets his bow and arrow ready to kill him, but Virgil says no, no, no, not in my house, and Chiron obeys. Since the rocks are hard to walk on, Virgil asks Chiron to give them a guide to get through the rocks and blood boiling. Chiron gives them the guide Nessus, and Dante gets to ride on top. Nessus names some of the souls who are here: Alexander (probably the Great one), Dionysius, and Atilla the Hun (makes sense). These souls were tyrannical and were violent on entire populations of people get to be in the deepest part of the river. After crossing at a shallow place, Nessus leaves the two and they go into the second ring (DUN, DUN, DUN).
Canto XIII takes us to the lovely second ring of the seventh circle of Hell. Dante and Virgil stumble upon a forest filled with black, gnarled trees. Dante hears screams of anguish, but can't see who's making the noises. Virgil, knowing all, tells Dante to break a twig off of one of the trees. This can't be good. He breaks the twig and the tree cries out in pain. The sinners in this ring--people violent against themselves (suicide)--have been turned into trees. Virgil tells the tree to tell Dante his story so that Dante will warn those in the living world. The tree/sinner tells Dante that he was Pier della Vigna. He was an advisor to Emperor Frederick, who was a good man. A group of jealous courtiers ruined his name with lies, he was so disgraced that he took his life. Dante asks how they got turned into trees. Pier says that when Minos sent them to this ring, they took root and grew as trees. They're also attacked by Harpies, another lovely creature of Hell who is half woman, half bird. When part of the tree is broken, it causes pain likened to having a limb (no pun intended, sort of) cut off. When it's time for their souls to meet with their bodies, the bodies will reject the souls. The bodies will be hung on the tree/sinner, which will force the sinner to stare at the human life it rejected. Depressing. At this point in the tree's chipper tale, two men come romping through the forest, interrupting the story. One of the men, Jacomo da Sant' Andrea, leaps into a bush. Dogs have been chasing him and they devour him. Dante and Virgil talk to the bush, who is a person. It tells them about the pain that has taken over Florence since it made St. John the Baptist it's patron instead of the Roman god, Mars. The bush tells them that he was a Florentine man who hung himself.
Canto XIV has Dante and Virgil heading to the third ring of the seventh circle of Hell. In this ring, there is a desert of red-hot sand where flakes of fire fall slowly but constantly. This ring, if you remember, is for sinners who were violent against God. This ring has three sections, and the fire falls through all three. The first section is for Blasphemers, who must lie prone on a bank of sand. The fire keeps the sand hot, making sure that the souls are burned on top and bottom. Dante sees a giant whom Virgil says is Capaneus, one of the kings who besieged Themes. Capaneus isn't a happy camper and insists that his punishment will never break his defiance. They reach another river which, you guessed it, is red. Virgil thinks it's time to tell Dante about the source of Hell's waters. Under a mountain on Crete there is a statue of an Old Man. Tears fall from this statue and run through the cracks at his feet. The tears make the Acheron, the Styx, the Phlegethon, and the Cocytus.
Canto XV has Dante and Virgil going into the second section of the third ring of the seventh circle of Hell. You still with me? In this section are the Sodomites, those violent against nature. They have to walk continuously under the falling fire. One of these sinners, Brunetto Latini, recognizes Dante and asks him to walk near the sand for a little so they can talk. Latini predicts that Dante will be rewarded for his political action (if a reward is exile then Latini is right). Dante says that Fortune will do as she pleases. Virgil is happy with this response. Virgil and Dante move on.
Canto XVI still has us in the second section with the Sodomites. Dante sees a group of sinners, and he recognizes three of them as Florentines. The flames have badly burned them and Dante asks their names. Dante remembers them and feels pity for hem. They ask if Florence is still known for valor, but Dante replies that arrogance and greed are prominent in their city. Before leaving the second section, Virgil asks Dante if he can have the cord that Dante wears as a belt. Then Virgil throws one end of it into a dark ravine. Dante stares in disbelief as a beast rises before them.
Canto XVII begins with Dante seeing that the creature has a face of a man, body of a serpent, and two hairy paws. As they approach the beast, Virgil tells Dante to go explore the third section of the third ring of the seventh circle. This section is or Usurers. Dante notices that these sinners must sit under the fire rain with coin purses around their neck. These purses have their family emblems on them. While Dante was gone, Virgil has talked with the beast and it's willing to take them down to the eighth circle of Hell. Dante is leery, but trusts Virgil, so he climbs onto the beast's back. Virgil calls the creature Geryon. Once he does this, Greyon takes off into the air and slowly circles downward. Greyon sets them down at the rocks on the edge of the eighth circle and returns to his home.
This book makes you not want to ever sin again, right? Creepy what some people can imagine. This is good literature though. Tomorrow will be more cantos! YAY!
Cassy
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