The first Circle of Hell comprises of unbaptized pagans as well as virtuous non- Christians (Dante and Kirkpatrick 24). These groups of people are facing punishment and are in an inferior form of heaven. Seven gates surround them signifying seven virtues. Among the group, Dante could identify prominent people and earlier philosophers including Julius Caesar, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Cicero and Homer
Level 2: Lust
Virgil accompanies Dante where they see people who overindulged due to lust. The people face violent winds that push them back and forth. The disturbance could not let them have peace or rest. It was easy to note people who practiced adultery in the past including Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, and Tristan
Level 3 Gluttony
Virgil and Dante visualized the greedy souls supervised by worm-monster Cerberus. The punishment is severe with never ending the icy pain. The symbol here is people who overindulge in drinking, eating, and worldly pleasures. The gluttonous overlooks those languishing in poverty or diseases
Level 4: Greed
Heresy punishment will surely face the greedy. Dante visualized people who used selfishness to their advantage. There are those who used to hoard possessions before they spending a lavish life later. Here visible personality includes popes, cardinals and the clergymen.
Level 5 Anger
The sullen and wrathful face punishment in this circle. Virgil and Dante while on a boat view the angry people fight each other on river Styx; Sullen gurgles beneath the water. The lifetime sins come to the floor. Lamentations bubble on the surface of a doleful hymn. Hateful and cruel people meet their fate in Styx.
Level 6: Heresy
The heretics face punishment for eternity. Dante engages several people fro Florentines and sees ancient philosopher Epicurus, Pope Anastasius and Emperor Fredrik II. The series suffers from not having faith in God and life after death
Level 7: Violence
There are three rings dividing the circle. The outermost ring is home to murders and violent people. Dante could identify Alexander the great Centaurs and mythological figure sinking fire and boiling blood (Burges 1). The inner reign houses sodomites and blasphemers who are dwelling in burning rain from heaven and burning desert sand. The third region comprises of poisoning fruits. During final judgment, the war-mongers will be showered with flakes of fire on their bodies. The sodomites and blasphemers will writhe in pain and lament with wide open eyes.
Level 8: Fraud
The fraudsters are like flying monsters with different bodies and natures. The hypocrites, thieves, and falsifiers are among people who belong to Dante’s 10 Bolgias. Others include magicians, simonists, false prophets and sorcerers, evil advisers, perjurers, and counterfeits. Justice has the divine doth smite the fraudsters with its hammer.
Level 9: Treachery
The four rounds in the night circle are named after personalities Cain, Antenora, Ptolomaea, and Judas respectively (Dante 25). Fallen angel Satan resides and all despicable people in this circle. The seriousness of sin will lead to residents frozen in icy lake face out mouth and eyes freezing down. Those with grave since are placed deep into the ice. The people who are traitors to the family, country, and benefactors will have to face with the frigid pit of despair.
Work Cited
Dante, Alighieri, and Robin Kirkpatrick. Circles of Hell. , 2015. Internet resource
Burges Adam. Guide to Dantes 9 Circles of Hell. A guide to the structure of inferno. APR 2018. from https://www.thoughtco.com/dantes-9-circles-of-hell-741539. Accessed on April 30, 2018
