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Line 9: − As Virgil and Dante make their journey, they begin with the five lesser circles of Hell:+ − * [[Limbo]]+ − * [[Lust]] − * [[Gluttony]] − * [[Greed]] − * [[Anger]] − In each place, Dante questions the souls dwelling there, called ‘shades’ due to their lack of a body. All the shades will be resurrected and given new bodies, and continue in their deserved location. He identifies many people from history as well as his political contemporaries. He describes each location by poetic symbols referring alternately to Greek and Roman mythology, as well as Biblical and historical events.+ + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Line 41:
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→Structure of Hell: More detail
Dante's vision of Hell is a very ordered one. Hell is an enormous conical pit that leads down to the centre of the Earth. Within the pit are nine circles of decreasing size, where those condemned to Hell are punished. Every kind of sin has its own allotted place, either an entire circle or, lower down, a subdivision of a circle.
Dante's vision of Hell is a very ordered one. Hell is an enormous conical pit that leads down to the centre of the Earth. Within the pit are nine circles of decreasing size, where those condemned to Hell are punished. Every kind of sin has its own allotted place, either an entire circle or, lower down, a subdivision of a circle.
===The gate of Hell===
At the gate of Hell there is an inscription, famously ending 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here', because those condemned to Hell have lost their chance of salvation for good. Beyond the gate is the river Acheron, the first of four rivers in Hell. As in classical mythology, a ferryman carries the souls of the dead across the river. Gathered on the near bank are the Futile, souls of the dead who did nothing remarkable in their lives and are condemned to be forgotten.
===Limbo===
The first circle of Hell is Limbo, home to those who led good lives but were not Christians, so cannot enter Heaven. Although it is in Hell, Limbo is relatively pleasant - the only punishment is disappointment and regret.
The four lower circles of Hell are inside a walled city called Dis. The first of these (the sixth circle overall) punishes [[Heresy]]. The seventh circle is split into three regions, where different forms of violence are punished:
===The lesser circles===
* Violence against others, including tyranny
The next four circles punish sins of weakness, as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Circle
! Sin
! Punishment
|-
| Second
| Lust
| Wind
|-
| Third
| Gluttony
| Rain
|-
| Fourth
| Spending and hoarding
| Pushing boulders around
|-
| Fifth
| Anger
| Submerged in a marsh
|}
The marsh in the fifth circle is the river Styx. Dante and his guide must again be ferried across to continue their journey.
===The City of Dis===
The four lower circles of Hell are inside a walled city called Dis. From outside the city looks like a bustling metropolis of evil, but inside it is revealed to be an eerie and deserted graveyard. This is the sixth circle of Hell, where [[Heresy|heretics]] are buried in tombs and set on fire.
===The seventh circle: Violence===
The seventh circle is split into three regions, where different forms of violence are punished:
* Violence against others, including tyranny.
* Violence against oneself, ie suicides and wanton spendthrifts
* Violence against oneself, ie suicides and wanton spendthrifts
* Violence against [[God]] or nature, including blasphemers, usurers and homosexuals.
* Violence against [[God]] or nature, including blasphemers, usurers and homosexuals.
In Dante’s time, [[Julius Caesar]] was honored as the first emperor of Rome, and Rome brought the ‘[[Pax Romana]]’. <ref> [[The Divine Comedy]], By Dante Alighieri, Translated by Charles Singleton, Bollingen Series 80, Vol 1: Inferno. Copyright 1970 by Princeton University Press. </ref>
In Dante’s time, [[Julius Caesar]] was honored as the first emperor of Rome, and Rome brought the ‘[[Pax Romana]]’. <ref> [[The Divine Comedy]], By Dante Alighieri, Translated by Charles Singleton, Bollingen Series 80, Vol 1: Inferno. Copyright 1970 by Princeton University Press. </ref>
== In Popular Culture ==
== In Popular Culture ==
A 2002 best-selling mystery novel by Matthew Pearl, ''The Dante Club,'' is a piece of historical fiction set in [[Boston]] in 1865. It is based partly on real events; the [[Dante Club]] was real, the mystery story is not. At the time, not many people in the [[United States]] knew [[Italian]] or Dante's work. A group of writers formed a club to translate Dante's work and promote his importance. Three of them were [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes]], and [[James Russell Lowell]]. Like Dante's work itself, it has frightening and gruesome scenes, but is rich in historical background.
A 2002 best-selling mystery novel by Matthew Pearl, ''The Dante Club,'' is a piece of historical fiction set in [[Boston]] in 1865. It is based partly on real events; the [[Dante Club]] was real, the mystery story is not. At the time, not many people in the [[United States]] knew [[Italian]] or Dante's work. A group of writers formed a club to translate Dante's work and promote his importance. Three of them were [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes]], and [[James Russell Lowell]]. Like Dante's work itself, it has frightening and gruesome scenes, but is rich in historical background.