Dante's Hell, which as the artist has rendered in the above depiction, can be imagined as a conical-shaped pit composed of Nine Rings, each of which houses a category of sinners. These categories are structured according to the notion of Contrapasso: A term that means, in the vernacular, to let the punishment fit the crime--a concept built on cosmic retribution. Each beginning with Limbo is hierarchical, with the least offensive transgressions representing the first ring of the Underworld, with the more offensive sins ranked progressively deeper and deeper, ending in the Ninth Circle, which houses those accused of Treachery--betrayal of one's kin, or of earthly (or heavenly) lord. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus with kiss, is positioned here along with Mordred, from Arthurian legend who murdered his uncle/father, as well as Cain, who murdered his brother. At the very center tip is Satan (or Lucifer) who sits, three-faced in ice, devouring the worst transgressors of this realm. He is said to be the inverse of God: he is ignorant, powerless, and full of hate, doomed to eternity to devour the souls of the unrighteous (1).
Canto VI: Dante and his guide enter the Third Circle of hell, where those guilty of gluttony are housed. They observe the sinners wallowing in muck while being pelted with filthy rain and hail. The more they struggle to get clean, the filthier they become. Meanwhile, the three-headed dog, Cerberus stands guard, barking and howling at the Pilgrim and the Poet. Virgil throws a handful of slime to the creature who eats it up greedily. While there, Dante encounters Ciacco, a fellow Florentine, who has dire news about the future of Florence. He mentions three other great Florentine officials, Farinato, Tegghiaio, and Rusticucci, and Dante inquires about their fate in the afterlife: "They lie below with blacker souls, by different sins pushed down to different depths," says Ciacco before moving on.
Canto VII: In this Canto, the two travelers reach two circles of the underworld, the fourth and fifth, that house the Prodigal and Miserly (Avaricious) in the fourth circle; the wrathful in the fifth. Plutus, the god of wealth, who exclaims "Pape Satan, pape Satan aleppe!" - a phrase even Dante geeks cannot figure out. The two pass the demon without comment, and Plutus seems to lose substance. They come upon a group of souls (the avaricious) and the prodigal (reckless spendthrifts) tugging this way and that, one side shouting "Why hoard?" the other shouting "Why waste?" Dante learns that these are the souls of the "priests and popes and cardinals, in whom avarice is most likely to prevail" (414). Dante thinks he should be able to recognized a few of these "tonsured heads," but the truth is, their deeds have earned them this place in hell and they are muddied beyond recognition. Their love of money--and of Fortune--is useless, as all the gold in the world could not save them. Dante poses the question concerning the nature of Fortune and Virgil scoffs. "How overwhelming is your ignorance!" he says to Dante, before holding forth on his explanation that Fortune seeks out her beneficiaries, shifting them every so often to make things fair. Interestingly, Fortune is cast as a woman in Virgil's monologue (think of "Lady Luck"), and she is hated by those who are lucky. Perchance because she was thought of as capricious and fickle?
They reach the swampy, murky, icky river Styx. In it are bodies writhing and fighting, "their faces scarred with rage" (415). They fight and squirm and headbutt each other. Directly beneath the Wrathful are the Sullen, who in life could not be swayed from their self-pity to enjoy life, so they are doomed to an eternity in a pool of sludge to sing a hymn which sounds like gurgling noises to those above the surface. Dante and Virgil are grossed out and they leave, encounter a high tower.
Canto VIII: Virgil and Dante encounter the mythical ferryman Phlegyas (from the Aenead) and Filippo Argenti, who is apparently a jerk, because Dante doesn't mind seeing a mob of souls rip him apart. Then onward to the City of Dis, where Virgil is turned away at the gate. The two are rattled: Dante begs Virgil not to leave him by his lonesome in hell, and the poet assures him that he will not, and don't worry, there will be help from heaven.
Canto IX: Visibly and understandably shaken, Dante and his guide discussed what just happened. Virgil is visibly shaken, stuttering out words of assurance that help is on the way. Dante's not so sure, and asks Virgil if any soul has ever ventured this far into hell before. Virgil assures him that even he, a well-meaning Pagan from Limbo, has been down there before. He traveled into the depths of hell to retrieve a soul for Erichtho, who sent him all the way down to the pit of Judas (which is way, way, way down there) and bring out that soul. Virgil goes on talking as he is wont; meanwhile, Dante's gaze travels up the tower to spot a graphic site: Three women, covered in blood, dangle from the tower. These women are the Furies, sent to warn them that Medusa is on her way to turn them into stone. Then Virgil covers Dante's eyes so that he won't be turned to stone. Then they hear something coming. Ripping through the sky and making a big ruckus is an angel coming to save the day. Virgil uncovers Dante's eyes and tells him to look: God's messenger has arrived, and the angel opens the gate with one wave of his wand. The angel admonishes the souls inside for trying to resist God's will. The two enter and find more misery: tombs in the ground shoot flames while the souls of Arch Heretics writhe in pain.
Canto X: Dante and Virgil enter the tombs of the Epicurean heretics, where they encounter a political enemy of Dante, one Farinata. The two talk. Then, Cavalcanti di Cavalcanti arrives in ghostly form to talk about his son, Guido. Then he disappears. Farinata predicts that Dante will "soon know the pain of exile" (more political allegory here); then Dante wants to know how it is the dead can see into the future but not the present.
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