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[[Image:Gustave_Dore_Inferno1.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Dante lost in the dark forest: ''In the midway of this our mortal life / I found me in a gloomy wood, astray'' (Canto I)]]

[[Image:Gustave_Dore_Inferno1.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Dante lost in the dark forest: ''In the midway of this our mortal life / I found me in a gloomy wood, astray'' (Canto I)]]

The '''Inferno''' is the first of the three cantiche in [[Dante]]'s poetic work, ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'', about his imagined trip to [[Hell]] ('Inferno' is the Italian word for 'Hell').  It is very frightening. According to Dante, the inscription at the entrance to Hell reads "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

The '''Inferno''' is the first of the three cantiche in [[Dante]]'s poetic work, ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'', about his imagined trip to [[Hell]] ('Inferno' is the Italian word for 'Hell').  It presents a terrifying view of Hell. According to Dante, the inscription at the entrance to Hell reads "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

''The Divine Comedy'' was most famously illustrated by [[Gustave Doré]], whose very literal interpretations of the punishments sinners suffer in Hell are truly horrifying. Note that the Inferno draws heavily on classical (including [[mythology|mythological]]) as well as biblical sources, so does not show what Hell is literally like.

''The Divine Comedy'' was most famously illustrated by [[Gustave Doré]], whose very literal interpretations of the punishments sinners suffer in Hell are truly horrifying. Note that the Inferno draws heavily on classical (including [[mythology|mythological]]) as well as biblical sources, so does not show what Hell is literally like.