#Dante in the Sixth Circle of Hell

[zegalba]

Silvio Bicci: Dante in the Sixth Circle of Hell (1900) (attributed to Paolo Pasquini)

[mask131]

Dante’s Hell: The Midlands of Hell

X) The City of Dis

The City of Dis is one of the biggest landmarks of Dante’s Hell. It is the midpoint of the infernal realm, marking the delimitation between the Upper Hell (with the sins of Incontinence we saw), and the Lower Hell where people are sent for the sins of “Malice”. That is to say sins, crimes and actions perpetrated not out of blinding emotions or excessive desires, but out of a cold, calculating, conscious logic, sins committed with the full thought and intent of doing crimes, of harming people, of doing evil things – evil by choice, rather than evil by moral weakness. The City itself is a great and terrifying sight: great walls of iron behind which rises glowing mosques and towers, all buildings burning bright red like hot, recently forged metal – for in this infernal city burns a perpetual and internal fire that never stops, and that is so bright it is actually the only source of light brightening up the lower circles of Hell, which would be plunged in darkness without it. [For the name of this infernal city, Dante used again a Roman mythology reference – Dis was both the name of the underworld where the dead dwelled in ancient Roman culture, and the name of the god ruling over it, also called Dis Pater, the same way the Greeks called “Hades” both the underworld and its god-ruler).

Upon arriving by boat (through Phlegyas) in front of the great walls of the burning Dis, our duo meets some resistance. The citizens of Dis, who are all “fiendish angels”, aka fallen angels and demons, refuse to let Dante pass through their city, because he is a living and does not belong among the dead – they tell him to go back all on his own through the Upper Hell. Alone, because while they allow Virgil to pass through their doors, they make it clear they will keep him locked in Dis for perpetual torment. While Dante is very frightened by these threats, Virgil is not. So far all of the “staff” of Hell has been hostile towards them (Charon refusing to let Dante climb in his poet, Minos and Pluto/Plutus trying to scare Dante away, Cerberus attempting to devour the travelers…), and each time Virgil invoking the fact that the journey they are undertaking was ordered by the forces of Heaven themselves worked enough to bend the will of these beings. But this time… it doesn’t work. After Virgil reminds the demons of Dis that they are sent here by God and that it is the will of the most powerful forces of Paradise, the fallen angels just slam the doors of Dis in Virgil’s face and lock them out, refusing them access to the Lower Hell. As a result, Virgil decides to call forth back-up – Heavenly forces that will come down to teach a lesson to these “insolent demons”.

Virgil reassures the frightened Dante with various stories – for example he explains how the demons also tried blocking the entrance of Hell to Jesus Christ as he died, back at the Gate of Hell, but couldn’t keep him out ; and he also reveals the reason why he knows so much about Hell despite being a soul of the First Circle – a witch named Erichtho once used necromancy to submit his spirit and send it fetch the soul of another sinner, into the “pit of Judas”, lowest and darkest place of Hell, so this is why he knows the way. This story-telling time is brutally interrupted by the arrival of three of the most terrifying denizens of Dis – the Furies or Erynies from Greco-Roman mythology, here depicted as female entities covered in blood, wearing hydras as belts, wth snakes instead of hair, constantly shrieking and self-harming themselves. The Furies, from the top of one of Dis towers, call forth another terrifying monster, Medusa the Gorgon, and order her to turn to stone the living being that dares attempting to enter in their realm. Virgil covers Dante’s eyes to protect him from the petrifying appearance of the Gorgon, but hopefully the back-up from Heaven arrives: in a loud, exploding noise of wild storm, an angel arrives above the Styx, crossing the mists of the marshes, all the damned souls of the sinners of wrath fleeing in terror in front of this holy being, who walks on the Styx’s water without being wet, and with just one move of the hand pushes back all the putrid air far away from him. Armed with a wand, the angel touches the gates of Dis, which open on their own, and then he promptly berates the fallen angels of the city for trying to oppose the will of God. Without a word or even a look for the protagonist, the angel then returns to Heaven, his duty done. [In this passage there are several mentions of Greek heroes that went into the Underworld, and who apparently also existed in this version of Hell – from the Furies who want to destroy Dante because they made the mistake of sparing Theseus when he tried to snatch Persephone away, to the angel reminding them of how Hercules made his own way through the Underworld by dragging Cerberus away, leaving even today the hair/skin of the beast’s chin and throat is “peeled off clean”. ]

[A second interesting parallel here is that… Here the three Erynies/Furies appear to block Dante’s path into Hell. But at the beginning of the poem, before Dante entered Hell, we learned that this travel through the afterlife was decided and approved by three celestial women who organized everything in Heaven: Beatrice, Dante’s lover, Saint Lucy, and the Virgin Mary herself. So there is a play here on the two trios of celestial and infernal female entities.]

As a last note: the reason mosques are said to be part of Dis’ architecture, is because at the time of Dante, the Muslims were the main enemies of the Christians, and Islam the main threat to Christianity, so of course Dante would place their religious architecture as part of the “city of Hell”, the very opposite of the “city of God” imagined by Saint Augustine.

 XI) The Sixth Circle

Interestingly, beyond the walls-towers of Dis, there isn’t an actual city… But the Sixth Circle itself, which is apparently the same thing as Dis. And what does this sixth circle looks like? A giant cemetery. A landscape of sepulchers and graves modeled after the Ancient Roman cemeteries (such as those of Arles or Pola) – except that here each grave has its lid slightly pushed to the side, to reveal what is within them… flames. The same bright, eternal, burning fire that lit up Dis itself – the hottest fire one will ever see. And lying within these graves of fire and stones… are the Heretics, the sinners of this Circle.

The more “heretic” they are, the stronger the fire of the flame will burn ; the lesser “heretic” they were, the lesser the fire is. But what is an “heretic”? I want to briefly define that, because there is a widespread misconception that “heresy” means “not being part of the Christian religion”. That is false, there is a clear divide between “heresy” and “paganism”. “Paganism” is all the religions that are not Christian, and thus considered “wrong” religions. “Heresy” is rather doctrines and beliefs held or created by Christians themselves, but which oppose themselves to the official dogma of the Church and canons of the religion. This is basically the “non-canon” content of the Christian religion, which was fiercely and furiously hunted down throughout the Church’s history. An ancient Babylonian worshipping their god wasn’t considered an heretic, but a pagan. However if a Christian priest started a cult centered around how Jesus was a dog disguised as a human, he would be an “heretic”. There is a lot of “heresies” that the Church denounced, opposed and fought, ranging from belief debates to little political details – some of the most famous including the Arians (who considered that Jesus was not divine in nature, the son of God yes, but a mere man) ; the Marcionites (who believed that the God of the Ancient Testament wasn’t the same as the one of the New Testament), the Cathars (who thought the physical and material world was created by evil itself, and that God and good could only be found in the spiritual and immaterial world), or the Nestorians, that considered that Jesus the Christ wasn’t the Son of God, and that the Son of God was a separate character…

Dante here, however, only focuses on one particular kind of “heresy” – the Epicureans and affiliated heresies. This will probably confuse you, because the Epicurean were Greek philosophers of the Antiquity, and thus should be considered “pagans”, right? But that’s forgetting that the Christian Church saw the Greek philosophers (such as Aristotle) as proto-Christians, who had managed to find the basic truths and principles of Christianity before the Christ was even born (which is why Dante uses a moral system based on Aristotle and Cicero for his Christian Hell). One of those was the belief in the existence of an afterlife, and the immortality of the souls. But the Epicureans rather believed that there was no afterlife, no immortality of the soul, that the death was a final thing destroying both body and mind, and as a result they said that one should focus on happiness and pleasures in the living and material life, without any regard for a possible “after-life”. This led to the Christian Church deeming them as “heretics” even though they were pagans – and indeed, several other Christian heresies also held the idea that “heaven was on earth” and there was no afterlife to look for past the death of the body.

This is why the punishment of the Heretics is to be forever stuck into graves: those that denied the existence of a life after death or the immortality of the soul are now entombed forever as “living corpses”. In a more general way, the whole point of the Christian religion is that the Christ promised that the deceased would be free of the grave, by accessing a new existence in an afterlife or heaven – and here, the Heretics are simply stuck forever in a cemetery, never “delivered from the grave”. There is only one other type pf heresy mentioned explicitly by Dante – the heresy of Acacius, that denied that Jesus’ birth was divine in any way, and claimed that he was born like a mortal man, solely and exclusively out of mortal parents.

In this Circle, Dante has more chats and talks with the damned, again mostly about the conflict of the Guelfs and the Ghibellines, but we do learn a few interesting things. For example we have here a clarification of the knowledge of the damned: once in Hell, the shades have a full knowledge of the past and of the future, which allows them to understand a lot of things and deliver prophecies. BUT they actually do not have access to the present or the immediate times around their death. In their own words, they perceive it as if they had “faulty visions”, which explains why several of the sinners Dante meets ask him for information about certain person and certain events, while also delivering him prophecies about what will happen. But this immense knowledge, a form of “gift” of those damned souls, will disappear upon Judgement Day – those sent back to Hell upon their last, eternal punishment, still blind to the present, will have no more future to look into since time itself will end, and slowly their knowledge of the past will fade away into oblivion, leaving them in absolute emptiness…

[Interestingly, throughout the travel of the Sixth Circle, there are references to a mysterious queen of Hell that never actually happens. The Erynies already were presented as the “handmaids of the queen of timeless woe”, here clearly referring to Proserpine, the queen of the underworld and wife of Pluto ; but one of the sinners of Heresy refers to fifty cycles of the moon in the living world as “fifty times the face of the queen who reigns down here will glow”, rather depicting the queen of Hell as Hecate, known as the Greek goddess of both the moon and the dead. So it seems there is a sort of Proserpina/Hecate amalgam somewhere in Dante’s Hell.]

As they approach the next abyss leading to Lower Hell, Dante and Virgil have to stop due to an extremely powerful stench making them sick. As they rest, Virgil explains to Dante the whole moral and ethical logic behind the system of Hell, that I already talked about. Virgil explains how those “outside of the fiery cities”, the sinners of the Upper Hell, are those of incontinence – who through their moral incontinence earned God’s wrath, but offended him the least and “merits the least blame” compared to the other sinners – those of the Lower Hell, the sinners of malice, who acted with “injustice” as their sole endgoal, and who committed their malice either through violence or fraud. Now, while Virgil doesn’t explicitly says it, he purposefully leaves out Heresy and the circle they are in from both the Upper Hell of Incontinence and the Lower Hell of Malice – because heresy is actually a strange in-between, there is not done with the purpose of doing evil like Malice, but isn’t either related to natural human emotions and desires like Incontinence, and thus stands in a strange in-between, in the very midway of Hell.

[It is actually quite unclear where the City of Dis ends… the flaming tombs of the Sixth Circle are clearly said to be directly beyond and within the Walls of Dis, and that the burning city lights up the darkness of the Circles below, so for some Dis is just the Sixth Circle and its protecting walls – but other times, the characters speak and imply that basically Dis is the ENTIRETY of Lower Hell.]

[cosmonautroger]

Dante in the Sixth Circle of Hell, Silvio Bicci, 1900

[writers-potion]

hey, can you do a circles of hell post like the heaven one?

The Nine Circles of Hell 😈🔥

Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy is divided into 3 parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno presents us with the popular concept of Nine Circles of Hell.

Ante-Inferno

Think of this as the Ground Lobby for Hell.

The Gates of Hell have this inscription: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate" (Abadon all hope, ye who enter here)

Souls who couldn't choose between good and evil reside here, tortued and chased by hornets and snakes. (Seems like indecision is also a sin, haha)

There are angels here as well who chose to be on the side of neither good and evil, and they're also tormented.

After crossing the river on the boundary for hell with Charon, you meet the first level of hell:

First Circle: Limbo

The first circle is home to the unbaptized and virtuous pagans, who simply didn't know that Christ exist.

These souls have lived morally, but failed to accept Christiantiy as a religion

No physical torture, but waves of sadness flow through the souls, lamenting the fact that they're close to Heaven but aren't in it.

Retirement community of the afterlife: Hippocrates, Aristotle, Virgil, Homer, Horace, Ovid, Socrates, Plato, Saladin

Second Circle: Lust

The wind-buffeted second circle of Hell is the final destination of the lustful and adulterous.

Souls are blown about in a violent storm, without hope of rest. They are torn in a raging storm and thrown against rocks.

Cleopatra and Helen of Troy were among its most famous residents. Francesca da Rimini and her lover Paolo.

Third Circle: Gluttony

Those who overindulge themselves are forced to lie in vile, freezing slush, guarded by Ceberus

Unable to move, they lay on the ground forever while being hurled with sweage and dirt.

Ciacco of Florence is here.

Fourth Circle: Avarice & Prodigality

This section of Hell is reserved for the money-grubbers and overly materialistic among us. Those who hoarded money come here.

The greedy battle each other, forever rolling giant boulders on each other. When they push the heavy weights, it rolls back and the process starts all over again.

Plutus guards them.

Fifth Circle: Wrath & Sulllenness

Dante tells us that the wrathful and angry souls of this circle spend eternity waging battle with each other on the banks of River of Styx.

The sullen are forced to breath below the dark waters, chocking on the black mud derived from the world above.

Fillippo Argenti is here.

───〃★ Door to Lower Hell: gate guarded by fallen angels ★〃───

Sixth Circle: Heresy

Heretics spend eternity entombed in flaming crypts in the sixth circle. Think of a graveyard with burning tombstones.

Heresy is the sin of having beliefs opposed to the Christian belief, which can be a little vague in modern times.

Florentines Farinata degil Uberti and Cavalcante de' Cavalvanti are here.

Seventh Circle: Violence

The Seventh Circle is sub-categorized into 3 smaller rings: Oter, Middle and Inner.

The outer ring is filled with blood and fire and reserved for murderers and thugs. Centaurs guard the Outer Ring, shooting criminals with arrows.

The middle ring is where, according to Dante, suicide victims go. They’re transformed into trees and fed upon by harpies.

The inner ring, a place of burning sand, is reserved for those who are violent against God and nature (blasphemers)

Eighth Circle: Fraud

Geryon, a creature symbolizing fraud, welcomes you to the eighth circle. He has a human face, a scorpion tail and giant wings.

The eighth circle is subdivided into ten trenches, where you’ll find con artists of all sorts. These trenches are called Malebolge (Evil pockets) and each contains different types of criminals who commited fraud.

Panderes and seducers, flatterers, sorcerers, false prophets, liars, thieves, people who created false money, counterfeits, impersonators, schismatics, etc. reside here.

Ninth Circle: Treachery

The final circle is a frozen wasteland occupied by history’s greatest traitors. Betrayers of are frozen in a lake of ice, and most of Satan's body is also immersed in ice.

It is divided into 4 stages: (1) Caina - traitors to family (2) Antenora - traitors to nation or politicians (3) Ptolomaea - hosts to betray theiur guests (4) Judecca - those to betray their lords/masters.

In the very center, Satan punishes the greatest betrayers of all time: Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ, and Brutus and Cassius who betrayed Julius Caesar.

Satan has three mouths, each of which eats a specific person: with left and right devouring Brutus and Cassius and the centre mouth devouring Judas. 

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[fawnforevergone]

Quick List of References to Dante's Inferno in "Unreal Unearth" (Part Two)

HELLO !!! there is now an updated list since we have now heard the old album so please go check that out instead: [ the ultimate "unreal unearth" reference list" ]

[ PART ONE ]

I'm back!! A bit later than intended but here are the rest of the references we currently know :]

THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE ALBUM RELEASE !!!! please take it with a pinch of salt.

"ALL THINGS END" This song, similarly to "Eat Your Young", doesn't have many specific references, but, as Hozier himself has said, the song is about the sixth circle of Inferno, 'Heresy'. The act of Heresy is the act of holding a belief contradictory to (especially Christian) religion, and this idea is very prevalent throughout the song. "Just knowing that everything will end should not change our plans when we begin again." 'Ending' is used in two ways throughout the song. One: A breakup. Two: Death. The latter is important for Heresy, where Hozier clearly defies the idea that death will be the end for him. 'Beginning again' is often a term used to relate to the afterlife, and, here, Hozier shows himself going against God's plan to give him a restart, saying that he won't allow death and finality to dictate how he lives his life. No specific references to Inferno, but Dante was a religious man, and that theme especially sticks out in this song.

"TO SOMEONE FROM A WARM CLIMATE (UISCEFHUARITHE)" Now, this placement of this song confuses me heavily, I'll be honest. The word "Uiscefhuarithe" is an Irish word meaning "water cooled", which wouldn't align with where we are in Inferno. We are either in circle six or seven, so 'Heresy' or 'Violence', both of which deal with the idea of heat, fire, or boiling sands/rivers. Since the song is name "To Someone...", I believe the song could be written towards the idea of someone in this circle of Hell, rather than Hozier, or whoever he is writing as, residing there themselves. No references with the lyrics we have so far, but the 'warm climate' is interesting for where we are at this point in Hell.

"BUTCHERED TONGUE" So, at this point, I'm highly unsure of where we are in terms of circles, but I'm trying my best. This song will either be 'Violence' or 'Fraud', yet, as far as I can tell, and please correct me if you spot something I don't, I don't see any specific references to anything in particularly. "And ears were chopped from young men, if the pitch cap didn't kill them. They are buried without scalp in the shattered bedrock of our home." However, this lyric does seem to display unjust and violent imagery, so perhaps the song is leaning towards Hozier's distaste of those deserving of the punishment that the circle of 'Violence' holds.

"ANYTHING BUT" Now, I believe we are at 'Fraud', the eighth circle. The issue with these last three circles, especially the eighth, is that they are split into subcategories, 'Fraud' of which has ten. However, the first few circles of 'Fraud' contain people such as panderers, seducers, and flatterers, and the song appears to be very flattering. "I'd lower the world in a flood, or, better yet, I'd cause a drought. If I was a riptide, I wouldn't take you out." This song could be in a similar context to most of the album where Hozier admits to the sin, yet argues against the idea of the sin being a bad thing when it's not practiced in extremity. For example, the 'Lust' in 'Francesca' is portrayed as harmless yet consuming love. Aspects of 'Eat Your Young' convey hunger, 'Gluttony', in a, again, harmless lustful way and then contrasts it with a political hunger. 'Anything But' seems to fall into that category of turning a sin into a love song, as Hozier often does.

"ABSTRACT (PSYCHOPOMP)" I'm going to make a leap and say that this song could possibly not be about a circle at all, but, instead, the transition from one circle to the next. A 'Psychopomp' is a chauffeur of death, someone like the Grim Reaper or, as aforementioned, Charon, who plays a heavy role in the story of Inferno, and, obviously, Virgil, the second main character of Inferno. "The poor thing in the road, its eye still glistening. The cold wet of your nose, the earth from a distance: See how it shines, see how it shines." The lyrics seem to reflect on the idea of something dead, yet also still recognising the beauty in its now-faded life. Since the album seems to be a metaphor for one or more relationships, and the song after this is 'Unknown/Nth', I'm going to make the assumption that this song is Hozier reflecting on the goodness of a previous relationship from the persona of a Psychopomp, delivering this love from life to death. Inferno is about the idea of death, and Dante spends most of his journey being lead, delivered, and guided through sin by various people, but particularly Virgil, who, after the final circle, he parts with.

"UNKNOWN/NTH" This song is stacked with references to the Nth and final circle of Inferno, 'Treachery'. "I'd have walked across the floor of any sea, ignored the vastness between all that can be seen and all that we believe." 'Treachery' is a frozen over lake, where winds grow stronger the closer you grow towards the middle. It's a vast, frozen expanse and, although not a sea floor, crossing the lake of 'Treachery' evokes a similar image in my mind to what Hozier is saying. "Where you were held frozen like an angel to me." There are many 'angel' lines but, with the mention of 'frozen' and the ice of 'Treachery', I'll pick this one. The reason why the winds grow stronger in 'Treachery' the closer you get to the centre is because, stuck in the middle, too big to escape, is Lucifer, the fallen angel. The winds are caused by the violent movement of his wings as he tries to move, only trapping himself further. "You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me. You smile, now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth. And, what's left of it, I listen to it tick, every tedious beat, going unknown as any angel to me." The imagery of Hozier having his heart stuck in someone's teeth is a metaphor to the fact that, when Dante and Virgil arrive at the sight of Lucifer, they see that he is chewing on Judas, another betrayer of God/Jesus. "Going unknown as any angel to me" is gorgeous. Hozier realises, as God did with Lucifer, that the one he loves is no angel, but a traitor. 'Treachery' is a betrayal of trust, and the song clearly references neglect or mistreatment of Hozier's love and trust, and the metaphor of God and Lucifer is a beautiful way to put that. "That I'd walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you?" The walk through Hell is a long and tiresome journey, to which Hozier references here. He relates his experience of this relationship to the walk through Inferno, arriving at 'Treachery' and feeling like, despite the outcome not being a positive one, he finally knows his lover in their painful entirety.

"FIRST LIGHT" Though we have no lyrics, I have a theory... as always, but, at the end of this day, this title means SO much being the closing track. At the end of Inferno, Dante and Virgil leave Lucifer stuck, and make their way out of Hell through the same tunnel that Lucifer's body left behind after he was thrown through the earth, down to Hell. They emerge on the other side of the earth and Dante says they can "see, once more, the stars", ending on a cadence of hope, similar to a 'first light'. I mention in part one of this post the utter darkness of Inferno that Hozier references in the earlier songs on this album, and this title seems like a perfect conclusion to emerging from Inferno, and recovering from the damage he suffered throughout his journey.

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OKAY !!!! If I missed anything, let me know, I'm so excited to know what everyone else thinks of the album, and WE ARE GETTING DE SELBY PART TWO IN LIKE FOUR DAYS ?!?!?!?!?! SOOOO

I'm thinking of doing a long winded break down for each song on the album, and previous albums too, so perhaps I will share more of my theories later since, surprisingly, some of you are actually interested in listening to me word vomit over a text post. ANYWAYS!!! I hope this was helpful to some people or at least interesting :] I had fun writing it, so <3

[sirfrogsworth]

The number of items you qualify for determines which circle of Hell you will end up in.

Here is a handy guide to see who you will be partying with in The Inferno.

First Circle: Limbo or "Heaven Lite."

Were you a decent person but forgot to get baptized? Welcome to Meh-ven. Not quite as good as Heaven, but you still get to live in a neat castle.

Second Circle: Lust or "Too horny for Heaven."

This circle is for those who banged their way through life. You are punished by being blown violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing you from finding peace and rest.

So, basically Chicago.

Third Circle: Gluttony or "You should have ordered a salad instead of that Bloomin' Onion."

I'm pretty sure this is the fat shaming Hell. You are overseen by a giant worm monster named Cerberus and placed into a large slushie machine. You must lie in frozen slush for eternity thinking about all of those hot dog eating contests you won.

Fourth Circle: Greed or "What? I gave $20 to the Red Cross every year!"

You are overseen by Pluto, the dog of Mickey Mouse. Or maybe the demoted dwarf planet. I honestly did not do enough research to be sure. Circle 4 is divided into people who spent too much and people who hoarded too much. They must push giant boulders at each other in a game of eternal rock jousting.

Fifth Circle: Anger or...

The angry must join a fight club and brawl each other atop the River Styx.

The grumpy must gurgle beneath the pugilists--submerged forever in that same river.

Sixth Circle: Heresy or "Ya know, I'm pretty sure the Earth revolves around the Sun. Hey, why is this priest placing me in shackles? It's just science, bro!"

Did you go against the Church? Well, for that they just straight up set you on fire. Not the most creative damnation, but I'm sure all of the flaming souls look neat from a spectator's point of view.

Seventh Circle: Violence or "Apparently, these things are all the same amount of bad... murder, suicide, and booty sex."

This circle is divided into three other circles. Which means there are 12 total circles. Which is confusing, but whatever.

In sub-circle 7a, you have the murderers. They are submerged in a river of blood that is also on fire.

Is blood flammable? Did Dante even try to set blood on fire before writing this? I'm thinking, no. YOU ARE TESTING MY SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF, DANTE.

In sub-circle 7b, you have people who have taken their own life. These folks are turned into shrubbery. Once in your final shrub form, this handsome harpy gal slowly eats you for eternity.

In sub-circle 7c, you have all of the anal fornicators. If you ever stuck it in a butt or had it stuck in your butt, you get to spend your afterlife in a desert of burning sand. And it is raining. So it is one of those rare rainy deserts I guess. Oh, but the rain is on fire.

WHY ARE SO MANY NON-FLAMMABLE THINGS ON FIRE, DANTE?

Eighth Circle: Fraud or "Is fraud really worse than murder?"

I'm going to be straight with you.

The eighth circle is a hot mess.

I'm pretty sure Dante was getting tired of creating new circles for every bad person, so he made a catchall for the villains that didn't quite fit into the previous circles and sub-circles. Instead of creating 10 sub-circles for the 8th circle, he decided to just throw everyone into their own hell ditch. These ditches are called Bolgias.

And now a Top Ten List from the home office in Wahoo, Nebraska.

Top ten types of people stuck in an eternal Bolgia ditch in the 8th circle of hell.

10. Falsifiers such as counterfeiters and wellness gurus. 9. Divisive individuals such as Fox News pundits and Chris Pratt. 8. Advisors such as self help authors and life coaches. 7. Thieves such as whoever created overdraft fees. 6. Hypocrites such as rich Pro-Lifers who have paid for several abortions for their mistresses. 5. Corrupt politicians such as (the list exceeded this post's maximum word count). 4. Wizards!

3. People who purchase pardons like pretty much anyone associated with Donald Trump. 2. Flatterers such as pick up artists and old ladies who tell me I am handsome in the grocery store. 1. Seducers such as people who have cake and want sex and are like, "Would you like some tasty cake in exchange for sex?"

Look, seduction is in the eye of the beholder and all I'm saying is cake would probably work on me.

Circle Nine: Treachery or "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"

Okay, so the 9th circle has 4 rounds.

Which sound an awful lot like circles.

Which brings us to 16 circles in the 9 circles of Hell.

I'm wondering if Dante named the book before he wrote it and everything was done with permanent ink so he couldn't change it.

The 9th circle has 4 frozen circles rounds, each dedicated to notorious traitors. Like a tribute to their epic level of sinfulness.

First up you have the Cain round. He was the first person to ever have a little brother and no one told him you can't just kill the little shit. People in the Cain round are encased up to the base of the neck, so they can still look around and stuff.

The second round is dedicated to Antenor. He was a Trojan. In reality, he negotiated peace with the Greeks. In myth, he opened the city gates and let the Greeks in so they could murder everyone. He was spared because he painted his house with panther blood.

"Panther Blood... 60% of the time it works *every* time." --Antenor

People here are encased to the top of the neck, so they are looking one direction forever.

Coming in round three we have Ptolemy. He didn't care much for his father-in-law, Simon Maccabaeus. So he invited Simon and his sons to a fancy banquet and Red Wedding'd the shit out of them. Ptolemy rounders are encased face-up in the ice just below eye level. That way, whenever they cry for being damned, their tears will freeze over. Over time those frozen tears create an ice visor that takes away the ability to weep ever again. And I'm guessing everything is real blurry too.

Round four is dedicated to the most infamous betrayer of all time. That's right, my favorite character in JC Superstar... Judas Iscariot.

Judas rounders are completely encased in ice. Permanently frozen and immobile with their bodies in every conceivable distorted and twisted position. Chances are, they have too much Heaven on their minds.

And in the very center of the nine-ish 16 circles of Hell, you have Satan himself. The fallen angel, Lucifer.

The story, as I like to imagine it, goes like this...

Lucifer was shooting the shit with the other angels and was all, "I could probably take God, right? He's not so tough."

And since a utopian existence is actually pretty boring and without drama, the other angels responded, "Absolutely! You've been working out and look totally jacked. You got this, dude." All while trying to hold in their laughter.

ANGEL PRANKS!

Lucifer then challenges God and gets instantly Thanos snap'd into a frozen lake. Lucifer sulks for all eternity wondering why those other angels told him he could whip God's metaphorical noncorporeal ass.

Satan is depicted as a hideous three-headed beast frozen up to his waist. He has six bat-like wings that flap and create a chilling breeze that keeps the ice frozen. Literally a hell of his own making. In each of Lucifer's mouths is a famous traitor being forever gnawed. History's most famous collective stabbers, Brutus and Cassius are being chewed in the left and right heads. And Judas is stuck in the viscous center maw while getting the world's worst backscratch from Satan's claws.

But wait, it gets racist!

Each devil head is a different color... Red for Europeans. Yellow for Asians. And black for Africans.

Dante, you little shit.

Alright folks, it is time to add up your totals. Which circle or sub-circle of Hell are you going to party in for eternity?

I'll do mine.

I am slightly homo for Chris Evans when he uses his biceps to curl a helicopter. I want him to hug me because I think he probably smells nice.

I do consider myself a feminist because I watched too many woke Disney films and I was indoctrinated by public schools.

I once ran out of RAM because I had too many tabs open in Chrome. I'm not sure if that qualifies me as a "porn freak" but I'm going to count it.

I smoked pot twice. The first time it made me feel like my head was full of bees and then I passed out for 12 hours. The second time I only inhaled once... and my head filled with bees and I passed out for 12 hours. Counting it.

When I was 18 my church's youth counselor matter-of-factly stated that my best friend was going to Hell. I thought, "That's silly, he's just a theater nerd who wore a floofy shirt and a Phantom of the Opera cape to school on multiple occasions. He's harmless and religion is dumb." So a big check for atheist.

I idolize my bestie Katrina because she is very good a puns. Is that worthy of idolization? Probably not. But I stand by it regardless.

And as far as masturbation goes... again, I ran out of RAM for having too many tabs open in Chrome.

I think I qualify for the seventh circle of Hell. I think I am going to engage in some mild thuggery so I can hang out in 7b as a nice shrub getting eaten by a harpy.

I realize there are only 12 options and 16 possible circles. So I have decided you may use a yoga pants multiplier.

1x if they are too tight but you went through tremendous effort to put them on so you are just going with it. 1x if they were acquired from an MLM mom on Facebook. 1x if they make that booty pop. 1x if they contain a pattern with as many non-complimentary colors as possible.

Welp. I put way too much effort into this.

I guess I'll see you all in Hell!

[insomniac-jay]

Some Hell lore ft. Lucifer himself and Magdalena

Heavily based on the version from Dante's Inferno, Paradise Lost, and classical depictions

Hell is divided up into different parts: the nine circles, seven rings, and Demon realm

Most Fallen Angels reside somewhere between the sixth and ninth circles in Dis while others live in Pandemonium, the capital

Speaking of which, Fallen Angels and Demons don't really mix as I stated before

This is because Lucifer abandoned them in favor of the Demons when he went on to become king of Hell, using the failed rebellion against God as a justification

Which is why him and Magdalena broke up in the first place shortly after Jezebel was born

Fallen Angel wings look like a combination of their Angel wings and bat wings

Pandemonium is actually a nice city if you ignore the fire

The government is mix of a monarchy and an organized crime syndicate with the ruler (Lucifer/Satan) acting as the head honcho and the other princes acting as the high ranking members

Dis is a gated city that looks like something out of medieval Europe

The royal palace is constantly under renovation to make it bigger. It's genuinely surprising how anyone, residents and workers, are able to get any work done

There's a Garden of Eden made by Lucifer after he claimed the throne and became king

@mayameanderings @floof-ghostie @calciumcryptid

[ddarker-dreams]

inspired by a dream:

a dante’s divine comedy esque journey where you travel through the circles of inferno and confront your yanderes. perhaps you’d be able to gain a kernel of closure through hearing their various laments, or maybe you’d discover they never intend to repent for the sins they committed in life. 

rough idea ?? of some of the characters who’d occupy the various circles of hell that depend on how they lived/treated their darling:

first circle (limbo): kazuha, diluc, giorno (those who didn’t treat their darling reprehensibly in life, but still deserving of divine punishment)

second circle (lust): scaramouche (lusting after the ‘humanhood’ he tried to obtain through courting his darling), hisoka (sorry for making him your roommate scara)

third circle (gluttony): ??? 

fourth circle (greed): pantalone

fifth circle (wrath): pannacotta fugo, phinks

sixth circle (heresy): dottore, albedo, chrollo

seventh circle (violence): feitan, illumi, childe

eighth circle (fraud): kaeya, dainsleif, bucciarati (for betraying passione) 

ninth circle (treachery): dio (waves up to his son on the top level), alucard

[blue-eyed-giant]

@neo-stellophism ok so my explanations will be very surface level bc i was very much not a good student when we learned dante at school lol (but let's be honest, hozier isn't an italian lit professor anyway)

at first i didnt get "all things end" too but after refreshing my memory i think i got it! the 6th is "heresy" and for dante heretics were the epicureans who didn't believe the body contained a soul in the christian way and that human consciousness died with the body. if we take the phrase in its strict meaning in christian belief not all things end: heaven and hell, god, and souls never die. even when the body dies the soul simply changes its plane of existence, so in a way life never ends as well. literally nothing we intend is scrawled in sand because all our actions (and according to some beliefs, thoughts) are meaningful in our last judgement and are decisive on whether we go to heaven or hell. the belief stated in the song contradicts christianity, so it is heresy and belongs in the sixth circle.

"anything but" is very tricky because it doesn't directly depict fraud but there are a few ways i finally connected it to the eighth circle. the circle is made up of 10 ditches, the last of them contains counterfeiters. according to dante falsifiers of identity are counterfeiters as well and through the song hozier lists all the things he wishes to be instead of being himself (as if he wishes to be "anything but" himself, depicting himself as something he is not). in the 13 cantos relating to the eighth circles there is also the recurring theme of metamorphosis as punsihment but this may very well be a stretch because the vibes are very off.

thank you for making me review my dante studies lol i've been meaning to do this for a while! again, i'm not an expert, just a very bad italian student who mostly relied on summaries at school so if anyone is an expert i would love to see their opinions :)

[effervescent-fool]

Hozier, through All Things End, speaks of harsh endings and new beginnings, weight and isolation. It’s clear that he was inspired by the intention and desperation of the heretics of the sixth circle. Intention is mentioned throughout the writing by Dante for the sixth circle and through All Things End. Hozier writes “all that we intend is scrawled in sand/ and slips right through our hands”. While speaking with Farinata, the heretic mentions that he did not plan for things to end the way they did in Florence. There is the mention of intention. Things do not end as planned, and no matter how many times things fail or go wrong, people will continue in how they see best fit. Rather than trusting God’s plan and works, a heretic will act how they want. All Things End is played in an A minor chord at 75 BPM. Minor chords normally evoke a sort of melancholy feeling, not necessarily sad, but certainly not as lively as a major chord. An average song is played around 100 BPM, making All Things End slower than it really feels. While listening to the song, everything feels upbeat and alive with chorus and the claps. The same way Hozier takes a melancholy key and slow BPM and makes it feel alive, Dante wrote Farinata to be completely dismissive of the fact that he was in hell. Although both situations should evoke a negative emotion, neither end really does. could be longer but it's a group project and this is the smallest portion of it so I couldn't add any more BUT this is it

OHHH yeah. this is incredible

[declanowo]

Random Weekly (horror) Films - Week Five - Silent Hill

8/12/23

Silent Hill

In my early teenage years, when I was first getting into the idea of writing full novels, I fell in love with the concept of Dante’s Inferno. Simply put, it is the first part of the Italian writer's epic poem, Divine Comedy. The Inferno depicts Dante’s journey through hell, a nine circled creature. Despite never having read the poem, I became obsessed with the circles, referencing them constantly in my own work, reading about what you must endure within each circle, their relation to sin. All of it was astonishingly interesting to me. While researching for Silent Hill, I came across a few mentions of The Inferno, which brought me back to those moments where I would sit reading about it when I was younger, this in turn even reminded me of my time in sixth form, where the poem would occasionally be mentioned, and I would become infatuated once more. Still to this day, I haven’t read the poem, which illustrates the grasp it has on me. Silent Hill’s exploration into another world, one between life and death, a purgatory of sorts, alongside its heavy religious themes makes it so interesting to me, and is where much of The Inferno influence shines through. While the film starts hopefully bleak, it devolves with time, hope dwindles, and the true, grey light leads us to the realisation that there is no sanctuary lurking inside of the titular town, but only destruction, and treachery. 

I was incredibly excited when I spun Silent Hill on my wheel! Based on the popular game series, the film had always intrigued me; a few months ago, I watched around three hours of the first game, and found myself curious about the story nestled beneath the gameplay which was simply uninteresting to me. However, the games still stood out, given their thick and distinctive style, an aesthetic that is carried across to the film in several ways. 

To discuss my thoughts on the film, I’ve divided aspects of it into sections to discuss, however in short, I enjoyed this film. I wanted to like it more - the first act was my favourite, followed by the third, however, I found myself somewhat bored during the second, which feels too long to me, although it is more complex than this, as I will later discuss. 

One of the key pieces of most narratives are characters. Silent Hill is no exception, the film grows from a small cast, creating an isolated and terrifying feeling with it, before showing that sometimes, being alone can be better, as we meet the cult. However, I feel rather mixed on most of these characters - in my mind, I am in a limbo as to whether or not I enjoy them, or instead find them bland. While watching, I definitely leaned into the latter, especially during the second act, however, upon reflection, this feels unfair, yet I can’t ignore that my brain is certainly blocking out many of the more dull moments of the movie. 

Starting with our protagonist, Rose Da Silva (played by Radha Mitchell) who enters Silent Hill after her sleepwalking adoptive daughter continues whispering of the ghost town. However, after arriving, and passing out (the result of a car crash), she finds her daughter missing. Rose replaces the first game's protagonist, Harry Mason, however I believe the two are fairly similar. In fact, the reason she was written over him was because he was described as not being a very masculine character. Firstly, this is pretty disappointing to find out, writer Christophe Gans, explained that he felt the characters actions of fainting, being dizzy and talking to himself, were too feminine, so instead of altering the character, he changed the protagonist into a woman - I felt the decision could have been more so focused on the relationship between Rose and her husband, who is so against taking their daughter to Silent Hill, it feels like the gender roles here could have been an interesting topic, however, I guess instead this change was made for a pretty silly reason. I will try not to lament on this any further, but I do find it curious that these, very human and regular person traits are connected to femininity here, it feels overtly sexist in the view of femininity correlating to fragility. 

Rose is a difficult character, on one hand she has a single goal, which is helping/ finding her daughter - we don’t get much shading to her character in the first act beyond this, and that worked perfectly for me, however, over time I found this to be a larger problem. Although she does talk to herself, it is often to uncover the mysteries nestled within the town rather than to develop her character, which stays fairly one note throughout - maybe this is a result of the character being based on Harry Mason, an everyman, however, when the film changes from a single person wandering, enamoured with fear and desperation, to a group searching, I feel like it lends itself to a change in dialogue and direction for the character, unveiling more about them rather than just their goals, because all I know about Rose, is that she wants to find her daughter. Once again, I stopped minding as much towards the third act, yet the second act feels so long as a result of this issue I have!

Next is Cybil Bennet, a character ripped straight from the first game. Played by Laurie Holden, the character is a police officer, who chases after Rose suspiciously, before joining her cause as the two fall victim to Silent Hill’s warped world. She acts as a foil to Rose, being far more grounded in reality. I went back and forth on whether or not I liked her, she is so abrasive and initially refuses to listen, and while somewhat annoying to watch when we know Rose isn’t lying, it does make sense, and builds up an interesting character, who grew on me across the duration of the film! Once again, the second act is an issue for her character, although less so than with Rose, however, she was great! She became an enjoyable second voice to Rose!

Finally, I shall discuss Sharon, the missing child. Her story is so interesting, the reveal in the third act brought my attention and enjoyment back to the film, and I found her to be the most interesting puzzle of the film. Her constant appearances around the town as we wander are creepy! I really enjoyed this character! 

Moving onto what might be one of my favourite elements of the movie - its themes. Whenever I write these after watching a film, I am incredibly excited to delve into the themes and meaning behind it - whenever my lust isn’t sated, it can make a somewhat less than stellar review.

Religion is most evident in this film as a result of the church, alongside the cult led by Christabella. This cult is fearful, relying on the ideology of good vs evil. Their fear is the catalyst for the film, with them burning ‘witches’ to prevent any wrong coming to them; the ideal of good and evil is presented as grey when we arrive at the concept of killing (as opposed to murder), is it morally good to kill someone who is evil? Ridding the world of evil is inherently good, but by doing so, they expose themselves to evil. In the end, Alessa, the so-called witch they burnt, is neither entirely bad, nor good, there are pieces to her, good and bad, and they are what persists on. Although her evil shines through, she is still grey, rather than any absence of colour, the concept of good and evil will always overlap, and trying to fit in with a theoretical, omnipotent perception of this is inherently impossible. In the end, the evil burns within those who cannot discern that they harbour both, which is at the heart of Silent Hill - it is two sides of the same coin, neither is all that appealing. 

We can see Silent Hill itself as an allusion to purgatory and hell - here we can see the inspiration from Inferno. The regular world is bleak, a constant search for Rose’s husband that he will never be able to complete, because that which he seeks is elsewhere. Yet, he never is willing enough to take a leap anywhere to escape the purgatory - for him, there is no heaven, nor hell. In contrast, Rose assimilates into hell, as she spirals to the bottom of the Silent Hill dimension, where she can live, frozen in the ice. 

Next, I want to talk about the creatures that reside in Silent Hill. There is an abundance of them, so I will touch on only the most interesting few, however, before that, I want to discuss the effect the gluttony has on this film. While the game similarly uses a large array of creatures, it isn’t entirely comparable to the film, which is far shorter, and doesn’t need such a wide variety of creatures for the protagonist to fight. Regardless, I found many of them to be enjoyable, especially when they were played by professional dancers, in contrast to the CGI creatures that stick out in a way that feels perfectly 2000s. What I find so interesting about the creatures in the game, is they all appear to have purpose and meaning seeped into why they are there - they are born from established fears, Alessa’s memories and foreshadowing. In part this is still retained, which I do appreciate - however I have a specific exception. I also enjoy the fleshy and bug theme that is strung throughout these creatures! 

To start on a positive, the dark nurses are very cool! Their scene is anxiety evoking, as we fear when they will move again - their movements are aided so well by the professional dancers playing them! They are a manifestation of the way Alessa viewed her nurses, which I think works well, as they are adapted from the Bubble Head Nurses from Silent Hill 2, who were not based on this. Although, it does raise the question of why the characters are designed to be so overtly sexual, while it makes sense in the games for the characters they are manifested from, here it does feel like they have simply taken the iconic character and placed them in with some altering, while still neglecting certain aspects that don’t entirely make sense. However, this isn’t too big of a problem for me, given how cool the scene is and how little they appear. 

In contrast, Pyramid Head felt so out of place to me. Despite being a pseudo mascot for the franchise, the characters first appearance was in the second game (which Gan’s initially wanted to adapt, viewing the story as similar to Orpheus and Eurydice, however, the presence of the titular town is what drew him away from working on it, as there it is used as a mere backdrop) and here his working in feels rather flimsy. Although a cool design and garnering one of the most fun kills of the film, he serves no purpose being in the film, and doesn’t do much! It was pretty disappointing to me, given that the character is what I have been seeing so much of in regards to the series. Apparently in the sequel this is wrapped up better, however here his placement feels egregious! 

Moving on to a problem I had with this film, being its length. Although I much prefer a ninety minute film, I won’t refuse to watch, nor find a longer movie to be unenjoyable. However the film must stay engaging for that whole period, which some do struggle to do! The greed of having such a long film is understandable to me, why cut so much that you have written and filmed? Yet, the film feels too long without much payoff for a large portion of it! Mainly, this comes down to the second act I have mentioned a few times - there is a transition from a solo wander through the town, to a group search; the two juxtapose one another, from trying to find clues, to searching downright, from focusing on atmosphere, to focusing on building mystery. This is fine, but not enough happens in the second act, I feel, to warrant it being so long! 

Usually, I find anger towards the use of a grey movie - it’s so bland, and is usually a result of the focus not being on the look of the film! However, much like in Hush, it works so excellently for me here! Mostly because the dark lighting and greys come as a contrast to the natural lighting of the regular world, it makes us feel uncomfortable to be in, and it highlights the dreary tone and foggy atmosphere. Here, there is excellence in the colour grey, which I find pretty rare! The film uses it both for its atmosphere, and its bleak tone!

Maybe the most hypnotising thing about the film is its score. I doubt this is heresy to say, given that it is borrowed from the first four games. However, it fits so perfectly - composer Akira Yamaoka creates such an amazing score that is eerie, catchy and matches exactly the tone of the series. My favourite is Laura Plays the Piano, which has been stuck in my head ever since! While writing, I have been listening to the soundtrack, and I doubt it will ever leave my mind - even in my brief times with the first game, the title music is what stuck with me most. 

I will touch on the film's violence briefly, through its series of kills! A few of them really made an impact - Anna especially, as we see her skin and muscles torn off by Pyramid Head, which is excellently dark and creates a terrifying point of no return! What makes it stand out so much is that we finally have someone who can freely be killed to set the stakes, without having to forfeit our protagonists so early! At this point, we grow fearful, feeling like anyone can die, which isn’t incorrect, and in such a bloody and violent way only adds to this. The other kills I enjoy all entail the barbed wire, a motif in the film! It’s such a visceral image, and it links to the crucifixion we watch begin, as Jesus wore a thorny crown, alluding to a mocking claim of authority. It also matches the gritty, survivalist feel that is laced throughout the film!

Finally, we reach the atmosphere the film builds. It would be fraud, if not to discuss that this film builds up such a dark, gritty and unfamiliar place. Fog rolls across the town, obscuring our view, as well as our protagonists, and it blends nicely with Alessa appearing sometimes! Whenever you see fog in a horror movie, we are conditioned to assume something may be lurking, and here it is no different! 

Particularly, I enjoy the way the film emulates the fixed camera angles of the first game, which creates such a rigid and particular style, it is inescapable, and forces us to try to see more despite knowing we cannot! Touches like this show just how much the film meant to Gan’s, who spent five years simply trying to get the rights. 

To wrap up my thoughts on this film, I enjoyed it a lot! The treachery of the setting itself is so much of what makes this film so fun, and while I found it to be held back by certain aspects, such as some of the character work, and a few somewhat incoherent plot points, I still mostly had fun with it, and it has made me consider engaging with the games! There feels like so much more built into this series than what is shown in the film, which is no criticism of the movie, however I do want to see what that is! 

7/10

[mask131]

Dante’s Hell: Masterpost

Here is the full list of my various posts summarizing/analyzing/breaking down/exploring Hell as depicted in Dante Alighieri’s poem “Inferno”, the first part of his work “The Divine Comedy”.

What is it all about? : General introduction to “Inferno” ; the shape and structure of Hell

The best... well “least worst” part of Hell: From the Gates of Hell to King Minos

Storm and mud, winds and rains: The Second and Third Circles (Lust and Gluttony)

Two sides of the same coin: The Fourth and Fifth Circles (Greed and Wrath)

The Midlands of Hell: The City of Dis/The Sixth Circle (Heresy)

Three rings to damn them all: The Seventh Circle (Violence)

Ten little frauds... : The Eighth Circle (Fraud)

The bottom of Hell: The Ninth Circle (Treachery)

[unwelcome-ozian]

I was searching your blog for information on Dante's Inferno (The Divine Comedy) but couldn't find anything. I remember reading about it on here a while ago, so I was wondering if you could direct me to those posts (if they still exist)? Thank you!

There would be nine levels modelled after each circle of hell, a tenth level as the centre of hell the top level would be The dark woods.

The dark woods: The nine circles would be: First Circle (Limbo) Second Circle (Lust) Third Circle (Gluttony) Fourth Circle (Avarice) Fifth Circle (Anger) Sixth Circle (Heresy) Seventh Circle (Violence) Eighth Circle (Fraud) Ninth Circle (Treachery)

Numbers in the system:

Three: relates to sin. The three main types of sin are incontinence, violence, and fraud. Nine: A multiple of three; the number of circles in Hell. Ten: The perfect number is the nine circles of Hell plus the vestibule. Thirty-Three: A multiple of three; the number of cantos in each part. Ninety-Nine: The total number of cantos plus Canto I, The Introduction. One Hundred: A multiple of ten; considered by Dante to be the perfect number.

There are seven major monsters:

Minos, Cerberus, Plutus, Minotaur, Centaurs, Harpies and Geryon.

The three infernal rivers:

River Acheron Styx Phlegethon

The three rivers form Lake Cocytus.

Other:

Demon guards-gate keepers Angels-Open the gates

Three beasts:

A leopard, a lion, and a wolf. The three beasts are metaphors for three different sins: the leopard represents lust, the lion pride, and the wolf represents avarice. They should be placed on the corresponding levels as

The sun represents Heaven, as well as God’s energy and happiness. There should be no sun on level 5.

Some parts in the system from the script would be: Dante, Virgil, Ulysses, Muhammad, Lucifer, Guido da Montefeltro, Charon, and Beatrice.

Example level 7:

Three rings:

Sins of violence take three forms: other people (one's neighbour), oneself, or God (Inf. 11.28-33). Those who perpetrate violence against other people or their property--murderers and bandits--are punished in the first ring of the seventh circle, a river of blood

Those who do violence against themselves or their own property--suicides and squanderers inhabit the second ring, a horrid forest.

A barren plain of sand ignited by flakes of fire that torment three separate groups of violent offenders against God: those who offend God directly (blasphemers: Inferno 14); those who violate nature, God's offspring (sodomites: Inferno 15-16); and those who harm industry and the economy, offspring of nature and therefore grandchild of God (usurers: Inferno 17).

Areas:

Nether hell Phlegethon Wood of suicides Abominable Sand The great barrier/Waterfall Located In Cantos: XII-Murder; XIII-Suicide; XIV-Blasphemy; XV-XVI-Sodomy; XVII-Usary

Parts/Alters

Centaur Alexander the Great Atilla the Hun Harpies Pier Capaneus Brunetto Latini Geryon Old Man of Crete Programmer added parts/alters Suicide Self harm Punisher Some internal programs specific to seven

Centaurs Programming- If parts attempt to leave the area they are shot with arrows.

Boiling Blood Programming-Parts that attempt to leave or break programming feel as if their skin is boiling.

Phlegethon Programming-Punishment programming. Parts are punished by being placed in the river. The depth they are placed into the river correlates with what rule they have violated.

Self-hatred Programming-Form of silence programming/depression programming.

Suicide Programming-(Script specific)

Spiritual Programming-Belief/group specific.

*Typically the script for the Divine Comedy is used in Germany.

Oz

[illustriousmuses]

100 Days of Dante: Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy – Inferno: Canto 10

Hi everyone! I’m late with this post as I was struggling with the reflection questions (still am!) but I did my best. Enjoy!  Questions for Reflection The sixth circle of hell is dedicated to the punishment of Heresy, a vice of the intellect and the will: it is obstinacy in error. There Dante meets the souls of the Epicurean philosophers who live eternally in burning tombs for having denied the…

[aloilmokka]

I might have spent too much time on placing members of the 12 kizuki and Muzan into the 9 circles of hell described in Dante's Inferno during school and I'm not not sure why-

First Circle: Limbo - Rui

Second Circle: Lust - Daki

Third Circle: Gluttony - Enmu

Fourth Circle: Greed - Gyutaro

Fifth Circle: Wrath and Sloth - Hantengu and Gyokko

Sixth Circle: Heresy - Doma

Seventh Circle: Violence - Akaza

Eighth Circle: Malebolge/Fraud - Muzan Kibutsuji

Ninth Circle: Treachery - Kaigaku

[o-craven-canto]

A list of the typs of sins and punishments in Dante’s model of Hell, if you care about this sort of thing:

Antinferno. The antichamber of Hell, where the damned are kept before Charon ferries them across the Achaeron river. It also contains the “blameless and praiseless” quasi-damned, which as punishment for never committing fully to either good or evil run eternally after a meaningless banner. On a carpet of worms. While being stung by wasps and horseflies. This also includes the angels that were loyal to neither God nor Lucifer. (Canto 3)

First circle (Limbo). This contains the souls who died without any particular sin to punish, but also without baptism, and therefore cannot enter Heaven. (Except very few illustrious Jews and pagans who were personally brought to Heaven by Jesus after his own death.) In sum, babies who died before baptism and particularly noble pagans. No punishment, except a state of eternal godless gloom. (Canto 4)

Circles 2 to 5 punish the incontinent, that is, people who were unable to restrain their own passions and impulses. The further down you go, the less noble said passions are, going from excess to dearth of love.

Second circle. Here Minos, judge of Hell, assigns all the proper damned to their final punishment. The Lustful are thrown around by endless hurricane winds (and possibly smashed against rocks? That’s unclear). (Canto 5)

Third circle. The Gluttonous lie like hogs or worms in stinking mud under a filthy, freezing rain. Occasionally they are also scratched and bitten by Cerberus. (Canto 6)

Fourth circle. Ostensibly guarded by the demon Pluto, pagan god of mineral wealth. The Hoarders and the Wasters (the two opposite facets of Greed) roll around massive boulders in two opposite crowds around a circular arena, until they smash against each other at one end; then they turn and roll their boulders towards the opposite end, and so on. (Canto 7-8)

Fifth circle. Fully occupied by the cold swamp of Styx; those who are destined to lower circles must be ferried by Phlegyas. Two kinds of sinners: the Wrathful, who are constantly insulting and beating each other in the mud, and the Slothful (which are basically... people suffering from depression), who are stuck to the bottom, eternally drowning. (Canto 8)

Sixth circle. The walls of the great burning city of Dis, guarded by the Furies and by an army of demons. The space inside the city walls is filled with burning open tombs, where Heretics are punished (or specifically “those who deny the immortality of the soul”, so perhaps not all heretics; Epicureans are mentioned). After the Final Judgment, all the tombs will be closed. (Canto 9-11)

The final three circles are located inside Dis. They punish malice, that is, actively and intentionally doing evil. Malice is divided into violence and fraud, which are, respectively, perversions of strength and intelligence; intelligence is a higher faculty than strength, so fraud is a worse sin than violence.

Seventh circle. The circle of Violence, separated from the others by a great ravine created by the earthquake that shook Hell at Christ’s death. The ravine is guarded by the Minotaur. Divided into three sub-circles or gironi:

First girone. The Violent against Others suffer in the Phlegeton, a river of boiling blood. The worse their sin, the deeper they are sunk: robbers are boiled ankle-deep, murderers up to their waste or neck, while tyrants are wholly down. Centaurs armed with bows and arrows prevent the damned from escaping. (Canto 12)

Second girone. The Violent against Themselves: Suicides are turned into suffering trees that can only speak (and bleed) when their branches are broken. Harpies nest in their canopies and feed on their leaves. Squanderers are pursued and devoured by hounds, often breaking plenty of branches as they try to flee and hide. After the Final Judgment, the Suicides’ original bodies will be brought to Hell and hung from their branches. (Canto 13)

Third girone. A vast sandy desert, made scorching by a slow snowfall of fire, which punishes those who are Violent against the Natural Order. Sodomites are allowed to run to dodge the fire, though if they ever stop they will be bound to the ground for a hundred years, while Blasphemers have to lie with their back on the burning sand, and Usurers sit on it with their head between their knees. (Canto 14-17)

The seventh and eight circle are separated by a great abyss. Travellers must be ferried through by the human-headed dragon Geryon, demon of Fraud.

Eight circle (Malebolge, the “evil sacs”). The circle of Fraud, divided into ten concentric rings or bolge.

First bolgia. The Seducers march in rows as they are flogged by devils. This is passed over pretty quickly. (Canto 18)

Second bolgia. Pimps and Flatterers are sunken in a pit full of human feces. (Canto 18)

Third bolgia. Simoniacs, i.e. clerics who buy and sale holy offices (big concern in the 14th century!) are lodged upside-down in holes, with their feets on fire. There is a small number of holes; when a new damned soul comes, it occupies a hole by pushing everyone further down. All wicked popes in history are jammed in the same hole. (Canto 19)

Fourth bolgia. Oracles, Astrologists, and Witches (including all prophets from pagan myths, which apparently did not gain points for making true prophecies) walk in a row with their head twisted backward. (Canto 20)

Fifth bolgia. Barrators, i.e. corrupted politicians, are cast in boiling pitch. Whenever one tries to flee, or even rises too far out of the pitch, flying devils called malebranche (”evil clutches”) fish them out and tear them apart with metal hooks. (Canto 21-22)

Sixth bolgia. Hypocrites walk with heavy monk-like robes, which have gilded surfaces but are actually of thick lead. The one exception is Caiaphas, who tried Jesus: he is crucified in the ground and trampled by all the other damned. (Canto 23)

Seventh bolgia. Thiefs are tormented by a variety of snakes (and occasionally dragons). Sometimes, snakes jump on the damned and merge with their body into grotesque chimeras; sometimes beeing bitten by a snake will cause a damned to turn into a snake themself, while the snake may gain human form. (Canto 24-25)

Eighth bolgia. Ill Advisers, i.e. people who tempt or advise others to sin, are wrapped in great flames. (Canto 26-27)

Ninth bolgia. Sowers of Discord, e.g. those who start civil wars, religious schisms, or strife within a family, are brutally mutilated (e.g. disemboweled, beheaded, disfigured) by a sword-wielding devil. Wounds, of course, heal only to be reopened again. (Canto 28)

Tenth bolgia. All sorts of Fraudulents are afflicted by all sorts of diseases: hydropsy for forgers, malaria for perjurers, leprosy for alchemists, rabies for identity thieves. (Canto 29-30)

The eighth and ninth circle are separated by a pit in which the Giants and Centimans from classical myths, plus Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel, are chained. (Canto 31)

Ninth circle. The circle of Treason, which is set apart from regular Fraud by the addition of broken trust. It is entirely occupied by the frozen waters of river Cocytus, which pools on the bottom.

First zone (“Caina”). Traitors of their Family, stuck in ice to their waist. (Canto 32)

Second zone (“Antenora”): Traitors of their Homeland, stuck in ice to their necks. (Canto 32)

Third zone (“Tolomea”). Traitors of their Guests, lying in the ice on their backs so that tears pool and freeze inside their eyes. Apparently people who commit this sin can go straight to Hell before they die, while their body is taken over by a demon (this of course makes no sense in Christian doctrine). (Canto 33)

Fourth zone (“Judecca”). Traitors of their Benefactors, completely entombed in ice. At the center of Judecca there is Lucifer, traitor of God, trapped up to his waist, whose eternally flapping wings cause Cocytus to freeze. Lucifer has three mouths, with which he’s constantly chewing the three “supreme traitors”: Brutus, Cassius, and Judas. Lucifer’s navel marks the exact center of the Earth and the Universe. Under his legs starts the tunnel that leads one through the other hemisphere of the Earth, right to the shores of Purgatory. (Canto 34)