From thieves, Dante and Virgil move on to meet souls of those who had committed fraud, including Ulysses, a headless troubadour, and an alchemist.
Doré
From barrators, being hacked at by a pack of devils in their boiling tar, through hypocrites wearing habits weighted with lead, to thieves being tormented by snakes. Sheer hell.
A Bolognese man who pimped his sister, Jason of Golden Fleece fame, a couple of popes, and assorted astrologers – all suffering for their sins.
He introduced the Nabis’ argot, gave them all names, and remained true to their style for longer than most.
These sinners are on barren sand, flakes of fire falling on their exposed flesh. Having spoken to some, Dante and Virgil board the monster Geryon.
Dante and Virgil pass the Minotaur and move into the seventh circle, where murderers and highwaymen are immersed in boiling blood, and Harpies torment those who took their own lives.
After the Furies appear at the gate of Dis, an angel opens the gate, and Dante and Virgil see the tombs containing those guilty of heresy.
In the fourth circle, the avaricious and spendthrifts push boulders at one another. In the fifth are the wrathful and the miserable, steeped in the Stygian marsh.
Here, the rain comes down in sheets, with snow and large hailstones. First an encounter with the three-headed monster dog Cerberus, then a chat with an old acquaintance.
The Second Circle of Hell, in which those whose sin was lust are blown by eternal storms. The story of Paolo and Francesca, and many wonderful paintings.
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