List of cultural references in the Divine Comedy explained

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is a long allegorical poem in three parts (or canticas): the Inferno (Hell), Italian: [[Purgatorio]] (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise), and 100 cantos, with the Inferno having 34, Purgatorio having 33, and Paradiso having 33 cantos. Set at Easter 1300, the poem describes the living poet's journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise.

Throughout the poem, Dante refers to people and events from Classical and Biblical history and mythology, the history of Christianity, and the Europe of the Medieval period up to and including his own day. A knowledge of at least the most important of these references can aid in understanding the poem fully.

For ease of reference, the cantica names are abbreviated to Inf., Purg., and Par. Roman numerals are used to identify cantos and Arabic numerals to identify lines. This means that Inf. X, 123 refers to line 123 in Canto X (or 10) of the Inferno and Par. XXV, 27 refers to line 27 in Canto XXV (or 25) of the Paradiso. The line numbers refer to the original Italian text.

Boldface links indicate that the word or phrase has an entry in the list. Following that link will present that entry.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z – References

A

Abel

Biblical second son of Adam and brother of Cain.

Important biblical figure.

Absalom and Ahithophel: Absalom was the rebellious son of King David who was incited by Ahithophel, the king's councilor.

The mythological Greek underworld river over which Charon ferried souls of the newly dead into Hades.

Achilles

The greatest Greek hero in the Trojan War. An account well known in the Middle Ages has him killed by Paris after having been lured with the promise of Priam's daughter Polyxena.

Ancient city in Western Galilee, it was the last Christian possession in the Holy Land, finally lost in 1291. Inf. XXVII, 86.

Adam

According to the Bible, the first man created by God.

Aegina

A Greek island between Attica and Argolis in the Saronic Gulf. According to tradition it was named by its ruler Aeacus—son of Zeus and Aegina, daughter of the river-god Asopus—after his mother. In Ovid's Metamorphoses (VII, 501–660), Aeacus, tells of a terrible plague inflicted by a jealous Juno (Hera), killing everyone on the island but Aeacus; and how he begged Jupiter (Zeus) to give him back his people or take his life as well. Jupiter then turned the islands ants into a race of men called the Myrmidons, some of whom Achilles ultimately led to war against Troy.

Aeneas

Hero of Virgil's epic poem Aeneid, his descent into hell is a primary source for Dante's own journey.

Ruler of the winds in ancient Greek mythology. Purg. XXVIII, 21.

A semi-legendary Greek fabulist of whom little reliable is known. A famous corpus of fables is traditionally assigned to him.

Greek poet of the 5th century BCE.

Pope from 535 to 536.

Athenian princess who envied her sister's love affair with Hermes. When she attempted to block Hermes' access, he changed her to stone.

Liturgical anthem addressed to Jesus as Lamb of God. Sung while the Eucharistic bread is being divided. It ends with "Dona nobis pacem." ("Grant us peace.")

Ancient King of Persia according to the Book of Esther. He married Esther, whose father was Mordecai. Haman, the prime minister, became enraged at Mordecai for refusing to bow in his presence. Haman then plotted a pogrom of the Jews in the kingdom. The plot was discovered, and Ahasuerus had Haman executed.

See Absalom.

Town in Latium near Rome which founded the Latin League in the early years of Rome.

Albert I of Germany

Roman-German King (1298–1308) from the Habsburg family. He was King during the events of the Comedy.

Alberto da Casalodi: Guelph count of Brescia, he was Signore of Mantua during the feuding between Guelphs and Ghibellins. He was ousted in 1273 by his advisor Pinamonte dei Bonacolsi.

See Griffolino of Arezzo.

Son of Eriphyle, who presumed herself worthy to wear jewelry designed for the gods. Her presumption resulted in her husband's death. Alcmaeon murdered his mother in revenge.

Tegghiaio Aldobrandi: Florentine son of the famous Aldobrando degli Adimari, he was podestà of Arezzo in 1256 and fought at the battle of Montaperti in 1260, where his warnings against attacking the Senese forces went unheeded, and the Florentines were annihilated.

see Erinyes.

King of Macedon (356–323 BCE) and the most successful military commander of ancient history

Ali

Cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, and one of his first followers. Disputes over Ali's succession as leader of Islam led to the split of Islam into the sects of Sunni and Shi'a.

Amphiaraus

Mythical king of Argos and seer, who although he had foreseen his death, was persuaded to join the expedition of the Seven against Thebes. He was killed while fleeing from pursuers, when Zeus threw a thunderbolt, and the earth opened up and swallowed him.

ancient town in central Italy. Birthplace of Pope Boniface VIII.

Pope Anastasius II

Pope who Dante perhaps mistakenly identified with the emperor Anastasius I and thus condemned to hell as a heretic. Anastasius I was a supporter of Monophysitism, a heresy which denied the dual divine/human nature of Jesus.

Anchises

Father of Aeneas by Aphrodite. In the Aeneid he is shown as dying in Sicily.

Loderingo Andalò (c. 1210–1293): Of a prominent Ghibelline family, he held many civic positions. In 1261 he founded the Knights of Saint Mary or Jovial Friars, a religious order recognized by Pope Clement IV. Its mission was to promote peace between warring municipal factions, but its members soon succumbed to self-interest. Together with Catalano dei Malavolti, he shared the position of governor of Florence. Loderingo is extolled for his fortitude in dying by his friend, the poet Guittone d'Arezzo.

Chaplain of the popes Alexander IV and Gregory IX, he was made bishop of Florence in 1287 and there remained until 1295, when he was moved to Vicenza, only to die shortly after.

See Malatestino.

Anglo-Scottish War

the state of endemic conflict between England and Scotland in which neither side could 'remain within their borders'.

The father-in-law of Caiaphas, he also is called High-Priest. He appears to have been president of the Sanhedrin before which Jesus is said to have been brought.

Antaeus

Son of Neptune and Gaia. A giant whose invincible strength came from contact with the earth. Hercules killed him by lifting him from the earth and crushing him.

Counselor to King Priam of Troy during the events of the Trojan War.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (c. 215–163 BCE): Last powerful Seleucid king, he is famous principally for his war against the Maccabees.

Greek god of the sun, music and prophecy who led the Muses, the goddesses who inspired literature and arts.

Apulia

A region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. In the Middle Ages, it referred to all of southern Italy. The barons of Apulia broke their promise to defend the strategic pass at Ceperano for Manfred, the son of Frederick II, and allowed Charles of Anjou to pass freely into Naples. Manfred was subsequently killed (1266) at the Battle of Benevento, a crucial blow to the Ghibelline cause.

The eleventh sign of the zodiac. When the sun is in Aquarius (between January 21 and February 21), the days start to visibly grow longer and day and night begin to approach equal length. Inf. XXIV, 1–3.

Thomas Aquinas

Dominican theologian considered to be one of the greatest scholars of the Church.

In Greek mythology, a woman who challenged Athena to a contest of skill in weaving. Athena destroyed her work and converted the woman into a spider.

Arcolano of Siena: A member of the Maconi family, he was a member of the notorious Sienese Spendthrift Club. He fought in the Battle of Pieve al Toppo in 1288, where according to Giovanni Boccaccio, he preferred to die in battle rather than live in poverty. Arethusa

In Greek mythology she was a nymph daughter of Nereus. Running away from a suitor, Alpheus, she was transformed by Artemis into a fountain.

A Black Guelph and member of the Adimari family, who were enemies of Dante. Inf. VIII, 31–66.

Ancient Theban woman, sister of Deipyle and wife of Polynices.

Giant of ancient Greek mythology with multiple eyes.

Daughter of Minos, king of Crete, who helped Theseus kill the Minotaur, the offspring of Ariadne's mother Pasiphaë and a bull.

Aristotle

4th-century BCE Greek philosopher whose writings were a major influence on medieval Christian scholastic philosophy and theology, particularly on the works of Thomas Aquinas.

People of Argos, or more generally all Greeks Inf. XXVIII, 84.

City in the south of France and supposed location of the tombs of Charlemagne's soldiers who fell in the battle of Roncesvalles.

River which runs through Florence.

In Lucan's epic poem Pharsalia, he is the Etruscan seer who prophesies the Civil war, Caesar's victory over Pompey, and its ending in 48 BCE.

See Hera.

Athena

Greek Goddess of Wisdom. "Pallas" is a widely used epithet for her.

Major Greek city of antiquity.

The Fate who determines mortals' deaths by cutting their threads.

Augustus (63 BCE – 14 CE): The Roman Emperor under whom Virgil found fame as a poet.

Roman goddess of dawn

Prayer to the Virgin Mary.

Azzo VIII

Lord of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1293 until his death in 1308. He was rumoured to have murdered his father Obizzo II d'Este.

B

The Roman name of the Greek god Dionysus, protector of wine.

Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (1155–1190). He captured Milan in his Italian campaign in 1154. Purg. XVIII, 119.

Barrators: Those who have committed the sin of barratry. Barratry

The sin of selling or paying for offices or positions in the public service or officialdom (cf. simony).

Beatrice (1266–1290): Dante's idealised childhood love, Beatrice Portinari. In the poem, she awaits the poet in Paradise, replaces Virgil as Dante's guide, and conducts him through the heavens. She symbolises Heavenly Wisdom. Saint Bede

English monk, and scholar, whose best-known work, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title "The father of English history".

Belacqua

Personal acquaintance of Dante's, perhaps Duccio di Bonavia, a music instrument maker noted for his laziness.

(c. 500–565) Roman general who served under the Emperor Justinian and regained much of Italy for the Empire.

Mastro Benvenuto: Nicknamed Asdente ("toothless"), he was a late 13th-century Parma shoemaker, famous for his prophecies against Frederick II. Dante also mentions him with contempt in his Convivio, as does Salimbene in his Cronica, though with a very different tone.

12th-century abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

Daughter of Bellincione Berti dei Ravignani, from about 1180 wife to Guido the Elder of the great Guidi family, and grandmother of Guido Guerra. The 14th-century Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani remembers her as a model of ancient Florentine virtue.

Bertran de Born (c. 1140 – c. 1215): French soldier and troubadour poet, and viscount of Hautefort, he fomented trouble between Henry II of England and his sons.

Tuscan poet. He uses the phrase "dolce stil novo" to describe the poetry of Dante, Guido Guinizelli, and Guido Cavalcanti. Purg. XXIV, 43–63.

A prominent 13th-century astrologer, and a staunch Ghibelline, he is famous for having boasted of being responsible for the Senese victory at Montaperti in 1260.

Bonaventure

Franciscan theologian.

Buonconte: Son of military strategist Guido da Montefeltro, he helped expel the Guelph party from Arezzo in 1287. His army was defeated by Guelphs from Florence at the Battle of Campaldino in 1289. Dante fought for Florence in the battle. Buonconte's body was not found after the battle. Pope Boniface VIII (c. 1235–1303): Elected in 1294 upon the abdication of Celestine V, whom he promptly imprisoned. He supported the Black Guelphs against Dante's party the White Guelphs (see Guelphs and Ghibellines). He was in conflict with the powerful Colonna family, who contested the legitimacy of Celestine's abdication, and thus Boniface's papacy. Wishing to capture the impregnable Colonna stronghold of Palestrina, he sought advice from Guido da Montefeltro, offering in advance papal absolution for any sin his advice might entail. He advised Boniface to promise the Colonnas amnesty, then break it. As a result, the Collonas surrendered the fortress and it was razed to the ground. Guglielmo Borsiere, a pursemaker accused of sodomy (see Sodom), who made a joke that was the subject of the Decameron (i, 8). Martin Bottario: A cooper of Lucca who held various positions in the government of his city. He died in 1300, the year of Dante's travel.

Gaulic king who invaded Rome and held the city for ransom in the 4th century BCE.

Briareus: Son of Uranus and Gaia and one of the Hekatonkheires ("hundred-handed") Agnello Brunelleschi: From the noble Florentine Brunelleschi family, he sided first with the White Guelphs, then the Blacks. A famous thief, he was said to steal in disguise. Brutus, Lucius Junius

Traditionally viewed as the founder of the Roman Republic, because of his role in overthrowing Tarquin, the last Roman king.

Brutus, Marcus Junius (died 43 BCE): One of the assassins of Julius Caesar, with whom he had close ties. His betrayal of Caesar was famous ("Et tu Brute") and along with Cassius and Judas, was one of the three betrayer/suicides who, for those sins, were eternally chewed by one of the three mouths of Satan. Inf. XXXIV, 53–67.

C

Venedico and Ghisolabella Caccianemico: Venedico (c. 1228 – c. 1302) was head of the Guelph faction in Bologna, he was exiled three times for his relationship with the marquess of Ferrara, Obizzo II d'Este. Cacus

A mythological monster son of Hephaestus, he was killed by Heracles for stealing part of the cattle the hero had taken from Geryon. Dante, like other medieval writers, erroneously believes him to be a Centaur. According to Virgil he lived on the Aventine.

Cadmus

Mythical son of the Phoenician king Agenor and brother of Europa, and legendary founder of Thebes. Cadmus and his wife Harmonia are ultimately transformed into serpents. (See also Hera.)

Roman poet of the 2nd century BCE.

Town in France that was notorious for its Cahorsins, Christian financiers who engaged in usury that was then considered sinful.

Cain

The son of Adam and brother of Abel. He murdered his brother out of envy.

Caiaphas

The Jewish High Priest during the governorship of Pontius Pilate of the Roman province of Judea, who according to the Gospels had an important role in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Calchas

Mythical Greek seer at the time of the Trojan war, who as augur at Aulis, determined the most propitious time for the Greek fleet to depart for Troy.

Calliope

The Muse of epic poetry.

Figure from Roman mythology and Virgil's Aeneid (VII, 803; XI), was the warrior-daughter of King Metabus of the Volsci, and ally of Turnus, king of the Rutuli, against Aeneas and the Trojans, and was killed in that war.

Capaneus

In Greek mythology, in the war of the Seven against Thebes, he defied Zeus who then killed him with a thunderbolt in punishment.

Capocchio

Burned at the stake for alchemy in 1293.

Caprona

Fortress on the Arno near Pisa, in 1289, it was besieged by a Tuscan Guelph army. The Ghibellines surrendered, and were allowed, under truce, to leave the castle, passing through (with trepidation) the enemy ranks. Caprona's fall along with the Guelph victory in the same year at Campaldino represented the final defeat of the Ghibellines. Dante's reference to Caprona in the Inferno, is used to infer that he took part in the siege.

Cardinal Virtues

The foundations of a moral life, attainable by all, regardless of religion. They include Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude.

Casella

Florentine composer and singer (died before 1300) and friend of Dante's, who set at least one poem from Dante's Convivio to music. Purg. II.

Cassius

The most senior of Julius Caesar's assassins, Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman politician and soldier.

A Papal castle in Rome with bridge attached. Inf. XVIII, 28–33.

Catalano dei Malavolti (c. 1210–1285): From a powerful Guelph family of Bologna, he was podestà in several towns, including Florence, and governor of his city. He was commander of the infantry in the Battle of Fossalta in 1249, when the Ghibellines suffered a crushing defeat. He later became a member of the Knights of St. Mary, founded by Loderingo degli Andalò. Catiline

a Roman politician of the 1st century BCE who is best known for the "Catiline conspiracy", an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.

Cato the Younger (95–46 BCE) : Politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a Stoic. Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti

(died c. 1280) Father of Guido Cavalcanti, his shade appears to Dante, alongside the shade of Farinata degli Uberti. Inf. X 52–72.

Guido Cavalcanti (c. 1255–1300): First Florentine poet of Dolce Stil Novo, close friend of Dante and son of Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti. Inf. X, 56–63, Purg. XI, 97–98.Francesco de' Cavalcanti: Nicknamed Guercio ("one-eyed" or "squinter"), he was murdered for unknown reasons by the inhabitants of the village of Gaville, near Florence. Reportedly his death started a bloody feud between his family and the villagers, leaving most of the inhabitants of Galville dead.

See Maremma.

Pope Celestine V

A hermit named Pietro da Morrone, he abdicated the Papacy in 1294 after only five months. His successor, Boniface VIII, immediately jailed him and two years later apparently murdered him.

Centaurs: In Greek mythology, a race part Man and part horse, with a horse's body and a human head and torso.

In Greek mythology, he was the three-headed dog who guarded the gate to Hades. In the Aeneid, Virgil has the Sibyl throw a drugged honey cake into Cerberus' mouths; in the Inferno, Dante has Virgil throw dirt instead.

City on the Savio River during Dante's time, though free, its politics were controlled by Guido da Montefeltro's cousin Galasso da Montefeltro. Inf. XXVII, 52–54.

Son of Charles of Anjou and King of Naples (1285–1309)

Charles of Anjou (also Charles I of Sicily) (1227–1285): Son of Louis VIII of France, he was one of the most powerful rulers of his age and the undisputed head of the Guelph faction in Italy. His dream of building a Mediterranean Empire was wrecked by the Sicilian Vespers.

(1270–1325) Second son of Philip III of France. Invaded Italy and took Florence in 1301, placing the Black Guelphs in power. Subsequently, Dante was exiled from Florence.

In Greek mythology, a sea monster who swallows huge amounts of water three times a day and then spouts it back out again, forming an enormous whirlpool. Mentioned frequently by classical writers.

Charon

The mythological Greek figure who ferried souls of the newly dead into Hades over the underworld river Acheron. Inf. III, 82–129.

Chiron

Leader of the centaurs, legendary tutor of Achilles. Inf. XII, 65.

Ciacco ("pig"): Nickname, for a Florentine contemporary of Dante, perhaps well known as a glutton, and probably the same who appears in Boccaccio's Decameron (IX, 8). Ciampolo di Navarra

Utterly unknown to sources other than Dante, this Ciampolo (i.e. Jean Paul) appears to have been in the service of Theobald II, king of Navarre.

14th-century Florentian woman. She was born into the Florentine Della Tosa family and married into the Alidosi family of Imola, near Bologna.

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (c. 106 – c. 43 BCE): Roman statesman and author.

Florentine painter (c. 1240–1302)

Circe

Mythical daughter of Helios, god of the Sun, and sister of Aeetis, king of Colchis. She was an enchantress who lived near the Gulf of Gaeta, who turned the crew of Odysseus into pigs on their journey home from the Trojan war. But Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, forced her to release his men from her spell (Ovid, Met. XIV, 435–440). She fell in love with Odysseus and he stayed with her for another year and in some accounts, she had a son Telegonus with Odysseus, who was to accidentally kill him.

Town in ancient Greece near Parnassus. Par. I, 36.

Pope Clement V (1264–1314): Born in France as Bertran de Goth, he was made archbishop of Bordeaux by Pope Boniface VIII. He was elected pope in 1305 and was remarkable for his dissolution of the Templars and his de facto move of the Papal See from Rome to Avignon (See Avignon Papacy). He was thought to have negotiated with Philip IV of France for his papacy, becoming a puppet of the French monarchy.

The Muse of History.

The Fate who determines the lifespan of each mortal by measuring out thread and then cutting it.

A Benedictine monastery founded in 909, in Burgundy. The elegant robes of the Cluniacs are described with irony in a letter of Saint Bernard, a Cistercian, to his nephew Robert, who had left the Cistercians to join the Cluniacs.

Cocytus

"The river of lamentation", in Greek mythology, it was the river on whose banks the dead who could not pay Charon wandered. It flowed into the river Acheron, across which lay Hades. In the Inferno it is a frozen lake forming the ninth circle and the bottom of Hell.

Ancient kingdom at the eastern end of the Black Sea. According to ancient Greek legend, Jason and the Argonauts sailed there in search of the Golden Fleece.

(1252–1258) King of Sicily until 1258, when he was defeated and deposed by Charles of Anjou. Purg. XX, 68.

Queen of Sicily in the 12th century and mother of Emperor Frederick II.

Constantine the Great (272–337): The famous Roman Emperor who passed the Edict of Milan in 313 and converted to Christianity. According to medieval legend, Constantine was inflicted with leprosy because of his persecution of Christians, and in a dream was told to seek out Pope Silvester on Mount Soracte, who baptised and cured him. According to the forged document, the Donation of Constantine, Constantine gave to the Pope the power to rule over Rome and the Western Roman Empire, which Dante sees as the source of the corruption of the Papacy.

See Maremma.

Cronus

In Greek mythology, King of Crete during the Golden Age. He had several children by Rhea, but swallowed them at birth because he had learned from his parents Gaia and Uranus, that he was destined to be overthrown by a son. However, Rhea managed to save Zeus who eventually fulfilled that prophecy.

Roman general who amassed the largest fortune in Roman history. He died in a battle with the Parthians. A story later circulated that the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth.

Cunizza da Romano (1198–c. 1279): sister of Ezzelino III da Romano. Par. IX, 13–66.Gaius Scribonius Curio

A distinguished orator, and supporter of Pompey the Great, he switched his support to Julius Caesar after Caesar paid his debts. Lucan (Phars I 270–290) has Curio urge Caesar persuasively, to quickly cross the Rubicon and invade Rome.

Cyclops

Children of Uranus and Gaia, they were giants with a single eye in the middle of their forehead. In Roman mythology, they helped Vulcan make thunderbolts for Zeus.

Alternative name for Aphrodite or Venus, the goddess of love. Also, the planet Venus.

D

Daedalus

In Greek mythology, he was a legendary inventor and craftsman. He designed the Labyrinth, and fashioned wings for himself and his son Icarus, enabling them to fly.

Protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. He and his companions fasted rather than incur ritual defilement when they ate in the court of the king of Babylon.

European river flowing through much of central and southeastern Europe.

King David

Biblical king of the Jews. His counselor Ahithophel, incited David's son Absalom against him.

Three generations of men in a Patrician Roman family, who each answered the call to arms and died in battle.

Deianira

Wife of Heracles, she was abducted by the centaur Nessus, but Heracles shot him with a poisoned arrow. She was tricked by the dying Nessus into believing that a love potion could be made from his blood, which she later gives to Heracles poisoning him. Inf. XII, 68.

Deidamia

Mythical daughter of Lycomedes, king of Scyros, she gave birth to Achilles' only son, Pyrrhus Neoptolemus, but died of grief when, because of the urgings of Odysseus (Ulysses), Achilles left her to go to the war against Troy.

Greco-Roman goddess, known as the "virgin goddess."

Dido

Queen of Carthage. In Virgil's Aeneid, she becomes the lover of Aeneas despite a vow of eternal fidelity to her dead husband Sichaeus. Consequently, as "colei, che s' ancise amorosa" (she who killed herself from love"), Dante places her amongst the sexual sinners. Inf. V, 61–62.

Diomedes

Mythical king of Argus, he participated in the expedition against Troy, where his prowess is extolled in the Iliad. A great friend of Odysseus (Ulysses), he was his companion in many feats, most notably the theft of Troy's Palladium and the ruse of the Trojan Horse.

Dionysius the Areopagite (fl. c. 50): Athenian judge who was converted to Christianity and became a bishop of Athens. As was common in the Middle Ages, Dante has confused him with Pseudo-Dionysius, the anonymous 5th-century author of Celestial Hierarchy.

Tyrant of Syracuse (405–367 BCE).

Dis

Another name for Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld, used by Dante as both the name of Satan and his realm.

Fra Dolcino

In 1300 he headed the Apostolic Brothers, a reformist order which, inspired by the example of St. Francis renounced all worldly possessions. He and his followers were condemned as heretics by Clement V, and fled into the hills near Novara. Facing starvation they surrendered and Dolcino was burned at the stake in 1307.

Saint Dominic

Founder of the Dominican Order.

Roman Emperor (81–96). His religious policies resulted in persecution of Christians and Jews.

Buoso Donati: Of the noble Florentine Black Guelph Donati family, he was one of those who accepted the peace between the factions proposed by Cardinal Latino in 1280. He died around 1285. Cianfa Donati: Of the Donati family, he is known to have acted as advisor to the Capitano del popolo in 1281. In 1289 he is reported as already dead. Forese Donati (?–1296): A Florentine poet, friend of Dante, and relative of Dante's wife, Gemma Alighieri. Piccarda Donati

Sister of Forese Donanti, already dead at the time setting of the Comedy.

E

Eagle

Bird which appeared on the Standard of the Roman Legions and symbolized the authority of the empire.

River in Spain.

Mother of Dardanus founder of Troy and ancestor of Aeneas.

see Anglo-Scottish War

Son of Poseidon and Iphimedeia, Ephialtes was a giant who attempted to scale Mt. Olympus by piling mountains on each other.

Epicurus was an Ancient Greek philosopher who was the founder of Epicureanism, one of the most popular schools of Hellenistic Philosophy, which had many followers among Florentine Guibellines. His teaching that the greatest pleasure is merely the absence of pain was viewed as heresy in Dante's day because this greatest good could be attained without reference to a god or an afterlife.

According to a story in Lucan's Pharsalia, she was a sorceress sent to the underworld by Sextus Pompeius to divine the outcome of the upcoming battle of Pharsalia between his father, Pompey the Great, and Julius Caesar.

Erinyes

(also known as the Furies). In Greek mythology, they were Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, three female personifications of vengeance.

Ancient King of Thessaly who cut down a grove of trees sacred to Demeter. Her revenge was to give him insatiable hunger which eventually caused him to consume his own flesh.

Eteocles and Polynices: Mythical sons of Oedipus and Jocasta, they succeeded their father as kings of Thebes. Eteocles' refusal to share the throne led to the war of the Seven against Thebes, in which the two brothers killed each other. Their enmity in life was such that Statius (Thebais XII, 429 ff.) says even the flames of their shared funeral pyre were divided.

empire of the Abyssinian people situated on the Horn of Africa under the Solomonic dynasty (1270-1974).

River originating in Terrestrial Paradise which shares a common source with the River Lethe. To drink from the Eunoe is to recall to memory all the good deeds of one's life after losing all memory in the River Lethe.

Greek playwright of the 5th century BCE.

Euryalus

Friend of Nisus, he is a Roman mythological who appears in the Aeneid—one of those who "died for Italy". Inf. I, 106–108

Eurypylus

He was a member of the Greek army that conquered Troy. It is told that while the fleet was at Aulis he was sent to the Delphic Sibyl to ask for a favourable wind.

Jewish Prophet and author of a book of the Old Testament.

Ezzelino da Romano III (1194–1259): Leader of the Ghibellines in Northern Italy, known for his cruelties against the citizens of Padua.

F

Roman family of the Republican Age.

Mountain in the Apennine Range

Farinata degli Uberti (died 1264): Leader of the Florentine Ghibellines famous for his defeat of the Guelphs (Dante's faction), at the Battle of Montaperti in 1260, causing the Guelphs to be exiled from Florence, though he was able to argue successfully against the destruction of the city. Farinata was posthumously condemned as a heretic during the Franciscan inquisition of 1283. To make peace between the Black and White Guelphs, Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti, let his son Guido Cavalcanti, the future poet, marry Farinata's daughter.

Flower symbolizing the French crown. Purg. XX, 86.

Florence

Dante's home city. He was exiled from Florence in 1302 and never returned. The Comedy was composed during the period of exile.

Forlì

City in Romagna. In 1282, under Guido da Montefeltro, it withstood a combined siege by French and Guelph forces, dealing the French a crushing defeat. After 1300 it was ruled by the Ordelaffi.

In Dante's cosmology, a power created by god to "guide the destinies of man on earth" (H. Oelsner, P.H. Wicksteed and T. Okey The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Vol I, p. 79). Inf. VII, 61–96, XV, 91–96.

figure formed by a combination of the last stars of Aquarius and the first of Pisces. Used by geomancers for divination.

Animal often used to symbolize deceit or cunning.

See Paolo and Francesca.

Eminent jurist of Bologna who taught law at the universities of Bologna and Oxford. Son of the great Florentine jurist Accorsio da Bagnolo, author of the Glossa Ordinaria on the Corpus Iuris Civilis.

Saint Francis of Assisi (1182–1226): Son of a wealthy merchant, he spurned his father's riches and founded the Franciscan Order, formally recognized by Pope Honorius III in 1223.

14th-century manuscript illuminator.

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Was renowned for his Epicurean lifestyle, and alleged to have punished traitors by cloaking them in leaden capes and placing them into boiling cauldrons.

Vanni Fucci

Nicknamed Bestia, for his brutality, he was the Illegitimate son of Fuccio de' Lazzari. He took part in the vicious struggles that divided his city Pistoia, siding with the Black Guelphs, repeatedly sacked the houses of his political enemies. In 1293, he stole the reliquary of San Jacopo from the sacristy of the Cathedral of Pistoia, for which crime the innocent Rampino Foresi was arrested and nearly executed, before the guilt of Fucci and his accomplices was discovered.

see Erinyes.

G

One of the Archangels of Christian tradition. He was the angel who announced the conception of Jesus to the Virgin Mary.

Galen (131–201): Ancient Greek physician. Ganymede

Young Trojan prince abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle and carried to Olympus to serve as cupbearer in the court of the gods.

A 160-foot leaning tower in Bologna built in the 12th century.

interpreter of patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. Purg. XIX, 3.

Geryon

In Greek mythology, son of Chrysaor and Callirhoe, was a winged giant. The tenth labour of Herakles was to steal his cattle. In Medieval times, he was viewed as an example of treacherous deception, which may explain Dante's choice of him as an emblem of fraud.

Hero of ancient Israel. According to Judges 7:4–7, he selected the best warriors by the way they drank their water.

Florentine painter. (1266/7–1337)

Florentine banker, he had held several important offices which earned him a knighthood.

Ancient Greek mortal changed into an immortal sea god by eating magical reeds at the sea-shore.

"Glory to God in the Highest." Opening of a canticle sung in morning prayer services and at the beginning of the Latin Mass.

Fra Gomita: Chancellor of Nino Visconti and Governor of the giudicato of Gallura, in Sardinia—at the time a possession of Pisa. He accepted a bribe to let escape a group of Visconti's enemies who were in his custody. For this he was hanged.

12th-century canon lawyer and Camaldolese monk.

Pope Gregory

Gregory I "the Great" (590–604).

Griffin

Legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.

Griffolino of Arezzo: He duped Alberto da Siena saying, that for money, he would teach him to fly. As a result, Griffolino was burned at the stake for heresy by the Bishop of Siena, who favored Alberto, who was perhaps the Bishop's illegitimate son. Guelphs and Ghibellines

Factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries. After the Guelphs finally defeated the Ghibellines in 1289 at Campaldino and Caprona, (Dante apparently fought for the Guelphs at both), they began to fight among themselves. By 1300, Dante's city, Florence, was "divided" between the Black Guelphs, who continued to support the Papacy, and White Guelphs, Dante's party. That year the Whites defeated the Blacks and forced them out of Florence, however, in 1302, the Blacks, with the help of Pope Boniface VIII, were victorious and the Whites, including Dante, were banished from Florence. Inf. VI, 60–72.

Guido Guerra (c. 1220–1272): Member of one of the greatest Tuscan families, he was one of the leaders of the Guelph faction in Florence, under whose banners he fought the disastrous battle of Montaperti in 1260. Exiled following the triumph of the Ghibellines, he returned to Florence in 1267 when the Guelphs retook control of the city. Guido Guinizelli

Italian poet (c. 1230–1276). Dante considered him the founder of his style of poetry (Dolce Stil Novo).

Guido da Montefeltro (1223–1298): Renowned leader of the Ghibellines of Romagna. As ruler of Forlì, in 1282, he defeated a French force, which was besieging the city. In 1296 he retired from military life and entered the Franciscan order. Pope Boniface VIII, in 1297, asked his advice on how to capture Palestrina, the impegnable stronghold of the Colonna family, offering in advance papal absolution for any sin his advice might entail. He advised Boniface to promise the Colonnas amnesty, then break it. As a result, the Collonas surrendered the fortress and it was razed to the ground. Dante also mentions him in the Convivio, where he curiously extols his piety and sanctity. Guido da Polenta

The powerful aristocratic ruler of Ravenna and Cervia, the former town taken by him in 1275 and the latter shortly after. He was father of Francesca da Rimini, and grandfather of Guido Novello da Ravenna, who was to give Dante hospitality in his last years. The coat of arms of his family contained an eagle.

Italian poet of the generation before Dante. Purg. XXVI, 55, 124.

Son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (1208–1265) who was leader of the baronial opposition to king Henry III of England. Simon was killed at the battle of Evesham and Guy revenged his death by killing the king's nephew, another Henry, in a church in Viterbo.

H

Pope for 38 days in 1276.

Ancient military leader of Carthage, who led an invasion of "Arabs" over the Alps into Italy in the Second Punic War in the late 3rd century BCE.

Harpies

Monsters from Greek mythology with human female faces on the bodies of birds.

Hector

The greatest Trojan warrior, in the Trojan War.

Hecuba

Wife of Priam king of Troy, mother of Hector, Paris, Polyxena and Polydorus. Captured after the fall of Troy, she went mad after seeing her daughter Polyxena, sacrificed on the tomb of Achilles and the corpse of her son Polydorus, murdered by Polymestor, King of Thrace (Euripides, Hecuba, Ovid Metamorphoses XIII, 429–575). According to Ovid she growled and barked like a mad dog.

Helen

Wife of the Spartan king Menelaus and lover of the Trojan Paris, her abduction caused the Trojan War.

Mountain in Boeotia sacred to the Muses. Purg. XXIX, 40.

Minister to Seleucus IV, Hellenistic ruler of the Seleucid Empire. According to II Maccabees 3:21–28, he was sent to Jerusalem to plunder the treasury of the Temple, but was turned back by supernatural figures, including a man mounted on a horse.

Also called bloodstone, is dark green with spots of red. In the Middle Ages the red spots were thought to be the blood of Jesus, and it was believed to have miraculous powers, including making its wearer invisible. Boccaccio writes about it in his Decameron (VIII, 3). Inf. XXIV, 93.

Hellespont

Narrow strait connecting the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea and separating Europe from Asia Minor. In Herodotus' account of the Persian Wars, Xerxes, king of the Persians, spanned the Hellespont with a bridge to invade Greece. When a storm destroyed the bridge, the king ordered his soldiers to flog the waters as punishment.

Henry of England (Arrigo d'Inghilterra): Henry III (1216–1272) Hera (Juno in Roman mythology): Greek goddess, she is the wife of Zeus (Jupiter). A jealous goddess, she often sought revenge against Zeus' many lovers. One of those was Semele, who was the daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus. One of Hera's many acts of revenge against Semele, was to cause Athamas, husband of Semele's sister Ino, to be driven mad. Mistaking Ino, holding their two infant sons Learchus and Melicertes, for a lioness and her cubs, he killed Learchus, and Ino still holding Melicertes jumped off a cliff into the sea. (Ovid, Metamorphoses IV, 416–542). Another lover of Zeus, and victim of Hera was Aegina, daughter of the river-god Asopus (see Aegina above). Heracles (Latin: Hercules): Son of Zeus and Alcmene, he is probably the most famous Hero of Greek mythology. Of his many achievements, the most famous are the Twelve Labours.

According to the Book of Judith, an Assyrian general who invades Israel. He is killed by Judith, who seduces him in his tent.

Homer

Greek poet credited with the authorship of the epic poems the Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan War, and the Odyssey, which tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus' adventures returning from that war.

Horace

Latin lyric poet.

(c. 939–996) First King of the Franks and founder of the Capetian Dynasty.

Hypsipyle

Queen of Lemnos, she was seduced and abandoned by Jason while en route to the Colchis with the Argonauts.

I

Icarus

In Greek mythology, the son of the inventor Daedalus. They escaped from imprisonment in Crete using wings of feathers and wax invented by Daedalus. However, Icarus flew too near the Sun, the wax melted, and he fell to his death.

See Troy.

major river of Asia which flows through present day Pakistan and India, with its source in the Tibetan Himalayas.

See Hera.

In Greek legend, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Her father intended to sacrifice her in order to placate the gods who withholding winds to carry the Greek fleet to Troy.

Greek personification of rainbows and messenger of the gods.

The biblical father of the patriarch Israel.

Archbishop of Seville, and one of the great scholars of the early Middle Ages.

One name given to the biblical patriarch Jacob.

J

Jacopo da Santo Andrea: Notorious spendthrift from Padua. He may have been executed by Ezzelino da Romano in 1239. Jason

Greek mythological hero who led the Argonauts to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece.

Jason

Brother of the High Priest of Israel Onias III, he succeeded his brother in c. 175 BCE. According to 2 Maccabees he obtained his office by bribing the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah.

Judge in ancient Israel who made a careless vow to offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving for victory in battle and accidentally committed his daughter to that sacrifice. The story appears in Judges 11.

Jerusalem

Location of the Temple of Solomon and site of Jesus' crucifixion. Considered in the Middle Ages as the geographical center of the inhabited world.

Jesus

Central figure of Christianity. According to Christian legend, in what is called the Harrowing of Hell, he descended into Hell after his death and rescued certain souls from Limbo.

Wife and mother of Oedipus, ancient king of Thebes. They had two sons, Polynices and Eteocles. Statius' Thebaid tells the story of the family conflict.

John the Baptist

The desert prophet, who baptised Jesus. He became the patron saint of Florence, displacing the Roman Mars, and his image was stamped on the cities gold coin, the florin.

The name used to refer to the author of the Gospel of John. He is also traditionally identified with John the Apostle and the author of the Book of Revelation.

River on the border of Israel.

See Zeus.

The first Jubilee of the Roman Catholic church took place in 1300. Inf. XVIII, 28–33.

Judas Iscariot

Disciple who betrayed Jesus.

Daughter of Julius Caesar and wife of Pompey.

Julius Caesar (100–44 BCE): The celebrated Roman dictator and military commander.

See Hera.

Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus, an emperor of Byzantium, known as "the last Roman emperor". A saintly man respected for his law reforms.

Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, Roman poet of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE.

K

L

Lacedaemon

Also known as Sparta, a leading city in ancient Greece.

One of the three Fates in Greco-Roman mythology. With a measuring rod, she measures out the life-span of every mortal.

Laertes

Mythical father of Odysseus (Ulysses), he was one of the Argonauts. In the Odyssey he takes part in the massacre of Penelope's suitors.

Central figure of the Arthurian legend. Reading tales of his amorous adventures led Paulo and Francesca astray.

Brunetto Latini

Famous Florentine Guelph politician and writer, friend and teacher of Dante until his death in 1294.

The principle papal residence, from the beginning of the 4th century, until the beginning of Avignon Papacy, in 1305.

The "Latian king" and one of a group of figures associated with the history of Troy, Virgil's Aeneid, and the history of Rome encountered by Dante in Limbo. Inf. IV, 121–128.

Daughter of Latinus and Amata and wife of Aeneas.

Deacon in the Church in Rome, martyred in 258. According to tradition, he was tied to a grate and burned to death.

Leah

Sister to Rachel, first wife of Jacob, and mother of six of the tribes of ancient Israel. She was the less attractive of the two sisters, but Jacob was tricked into marrying her first. (Gen 29:16–25)

Ancient Greek youth who carried on a love affair with Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, who lived on the opposite shore of the Hellespont. Each night he would swim across the strait to be with her.

See Hera.

Lethe

One of the rivers of Hades in Greek mythology. To drink its waters is to forget everything. In the Comedy, its source is in Terrestrial Paradise at the top of Purgatory. When it reaches the base of the mountain, it flows down a narrow passageway to the center of the Earth.

Son of Jacob and Leah and eponymous forebear of a tribe of ancient Israel. The tribe of Levi was responsible for duties of worship and did not receive a tribal homeland.

Constellation of the zodiac. During the events of the Comedy, it would be highest in the sky at about 1 A.M.

Limbo

The first circle of Dante's Hell and the scene of Inf. IV. It is a kind of antechamber in which the souls of the good who died before Jesus spend eternity with no punishment other than the lack of the divine presence. In Dante's version, figures from Classical antiquity significantly outnumber those from the Old Testament.

Livy (c. 59 BCE – 17 CE): The famous Roman historian author of the monumental Ab Urbe Condita, telling the history of Rome from the origins down to his own times.

Germanic tribe who invaded Italy in the 6th century BCE and established a kingdom in the northern part of the peninsula.

Lucan (39–65): Latin poet, whose Pharsalia, an epic poem on the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, is an important source for Dante. Like Seneca he was forced to commit suicide by Nero for his participation in the Pisonian conspiracy. Lucca

A Tuscan city of considerable importance in the Middle Ages; generally Guelph, it was traditionally an ally of Florence and an enemy of Pisa.

Lucia of Syracuse

(Saint Lucy) 4th-century martyr saint associated with light and those, like Dante, who suffered from poor eyesight. She symbolises Illuminating Grace in the poem.

Legendary woman in the history of the Roman Republic, whose rape by the son of king Tarquinius Superbus was revenged by Brutus when he overthrew the king.

Writer of the third Gospel. Luke includes a story of the resurrected Jesus quietly joining two disciples as they walked the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13–27)

Ancient king of Nemea. According to Statius's Thebaid (V.499–730), Lycurgus received Hypsipyle and her two sons as refugees from Lemnos and put his own son in her care. When she accidentally permitted the Lycurgus' son to die of a snakebite, the enraged king wanted to kill her. Her two sons rushed to her side to protect her.

M

See Paolo and Francesca.

Malatesta da Verucchio

Founder of the powerful Malatesta family, he and his son Malatestino, were Guelph rulers of Rimini from 1295, who killed the chief members of the rival Ghibelline family, the Parcitati, including their leader Montagna de' Parcitati. Malatesta had two other sons Giovanni, who married Guido da Polenta's daughter Francesca, and Paolo who became her lover (see Paolo and Francesca).

Malatestino

Son of Malatesta da Verrucchio, after his father's death in 1312, he became Signore of Rimini. He had two nobles of Fano, Guido del Cassero and Angiolello di Carignano, drowned, after he had summoned them to a parley at Cattolica.

Malebolge ("evil-pouches"): The eighth circle of Dante's hell, it contains ten trenches wherein the ten types of "ordinary" fraud are punished. Malebranche ("evil-claws"): In the Inferno, it is the name of a group of demons in the fifth pouch of the Malebolge. They are led by Malacoda ("evil-tail"), who assigns ten of his demons to escort Dante: Alichino, Calcabrina, Cagnazzo ("big dog"), Barbariccia (leads the ten), Libicocco, Draghignazzo, Ciriatto, Graffiacane ("dog-scratcher") Farfarello and Rubicante. Another Malebranche is Scarmiglione. Manfred

King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266.

Manto

Mythical daughter of Tiresias, from her father she inherited the power of prophecy.

Mantua

An important and ancient city in Lombardy. Its name is probably of Etruscan origin.

Wife of Cato the younger.

Maremma

Area consisting of part of southern Tuscany (and partly coincident with the province of Grosseto) and some part of northern Latium (a bordering region of the province of Viterbo). in Dante's time it was a desolate marshland, plagued by malaria.

Mars

In Roman mythology, the god of war.

Ancient Greek who challenged Apollo to a contest of musical performance judged by the Muses. After Marsyas lost, Apollo flayed him to death.

Charles Martel of Anjou (1271–1295): son of Charles II of Naples. Pope Martin IV

Pope from 1281 to 1285. According to Dante, he died after a gluttonous feast of eels and wine.

Mary

The mother of Jesus.

Master Adam: Possibly an Englishman, who came to Bologna by way of Brescia. He was employed by the Guidi, counts of Romena, to counterfeit the Florentine florin. Stamped with the image of John the Baptist, the florin contained 24 karats of gold. His contained 21, for which crime he was burned at the stake in 1281. Matilda: Sole permanent resident of the Terrestrial Paradise. Saint Matthias

After Judas' betrayal and suicide, he took his place as one of the Twelve Apostles (Acts of the Apostles I:23–26). Late legends state he was either crucified in Colchis or stoned by the Jews.

Medea

Mythical daughter of Aeetes, king of Colchis, she helped Jason get the Golden Fleece, but was abandoned by him. She took revenge by killing their two children.

Medusa (also known as the Gorgon): In Greek mythology, a female monster whose gaze could turn people to stone. See Erinyes.

See Erinyes.

Ancient Greek hero who died when his mother completed the burning of a stick. Purg. XXV, 22.

See Hera.

Archangel

daughter of King Saul and wife of King David.

legendary Phrygian king who greedily asked that all he touched be turned to gold.

Roman goddess of wisdom, equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena.

Minos

A semi-legendary king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. In The Divine Comedy, he sits at the entrance to the second circle in the Inferno, which is the beginning of Hell proper. Here, he judges the sins of each dead soul and assigns it to its rightful punishment by indicating the circle to which it must descend. He does this by circling his tail around his body the appropriate number of times.

Minotaur

In Greek mythology, a creature that was half man and half bull. It was held captive by King Minos of Crete, inside the Labyrinth, an elaborate maze designed by Daedalus. It was slain by Theseus.

Miserere: ("Have mercy.") Incipit of Psalm 51 (Psalm 50 in the Vulgate Bible.) It is one of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Sicialian name for Mount Etna, thought to be Vulcan's furnace.

an important prophet in many Abrahamic religions. He was the leader of the Israelites and the purported author of the Torah.

Gaius Mucius Scaevola, ancient Roman soldier from a noteworthy family. When captured by enemies, he held his right hand in a fire to show his steadfast willingness to give his life for Rome.

Muhammad (c. 570–632): The founder of Islam. Muses

In Greek and Roman mythology, the inspiring goddesses of song, poetry and art. It was a standard literary device to invoke their aid when undertaking a difficult writing task.

Myrrha

In Greek Mythology mother of Adonis, who in disguise committed incest with her father (Ovid, Metamorphoses, X, 298–502)

N

God of the sea. Inf. XXVIII, 83.

Nessus

See Centaur.

Saint and Bishop of Myra in the 4th century. One legend about Nicholas is that he rescued three young poor girls from a life of prostitution by a secret gift of dowries.

Pope Nicholas III (c. 1220–1280): Born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini from an eminent Roman family, he was made cardinal by Innocent IV and became pope in 1277, where he distinguished himself for his ability as a politician.

A major river in northeastern Africa.

Nimrod

Great-grandson of Noah. According to Genesis, he was a "mighty hunter" and King of Shinar. Legends about him have him in charge of building the Tower of Babel.

Nino de' Visconti: See Ugolino della Gherardesca.Ninus

Mythical king of Assyria and eponymous founder of Nineveh, he was the husband of Semiramis.

Queen of Thebes, whose seven sons and seven daughters were killed by Apollo and Diana after Niobe boasted she was superior to their mother Latona.

Nisus

Son of Hyrtacus and friend of Aeneas and Euryalus. He was mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid. – One of those who "died for Italy". Inf. I, 106–108

Biblical patriarch. He is best known for building the Ark to save mankind and land animals from extinction during the Flood.

O

Obizzo II d'Este

Marquess of Ferrara in 1264–1293 and a leading Guelph. Popular tradition had it that he was killed by his son, Azzo VIII.

Oderisi of Gubbio: 13th-century manuscript illuminator. None of his works survive. Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology): King of Ithaca, he was the son of Laertes, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus. Known for his guile and resourcefulness, he is the hero of Homer's Odyssey, and a major character in the Iliad. During the Trojan War, with Diomedes, he stole the Palladium and conceived the trickery of the Trojan horse. He was famous for the twenty years it took him to return home from the war. Sinibaldo degli Ordelaffi

Head of the noble Ordelaffi family and ruler of Forlì and the surrounding territory in Romagna from the end of the 13th century. His coat of arms contained a green lion.

Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Orestes avenged his father's murder by killing his mother. He refused to let his friend Pylades take the blame for the act.

Paulus Orosius (c. 385–420): Historian and theologian; associate of St. Augustine. Orpheus

Mythical Greek singer and poet who, like Dante, descended into the underworld.

Ovid

Latin poet, whose Metamorphoses, is Dante's principle, mythological source.

P

Signore of Faenza on the river Lamone, and Imola on the river Santerno. Ghibelline by birth, he was a Guelph in Florence. His coat of arms was a white lion on a blue field.

Pageant of Church History: Elaborate allegorical representation of the history of the Christian Church which Dante witnesses in Purgatory. Purg. XXXII & XXXIII. Pageant of the Church Triumphant: Elaborate allegorical representation of the Church Triumphant which Dante witnesses in Purgatory. Purg. XXIX & XXX. Palladium

A statue of Pallas Athena. Since it was believed that Troy could not be captured while it contained this statue, Odysseus (Ulysses) and Diomedes stole it during the Trojan War (Aeneid II, 228–240).

Legendary ancient Roman youth who bravely fought and died for the liberties of early Rome. His story is recounted in the Aeneid, Book X.

Paolo and Francesca

Brother and wife, respectively, of Giovanni Malatesta. The pair were lovers and reputedly killed by Giovanni. Francesca was the daughter of Guido da Polenta.

Montagna de' Parcitati: Of the noble Parcitati family, he was head of the Ghibelline faction in Rimini until Malatesta da Verrucchio assumed control of the town in 1295. Montagna was first jailed and then treacherously murdered by Malatesta and his son Malatestino. Paul

One of the apostles of Jesus.

Paris

Trojan, son of Priam and Hecuba, brother of Hector, and abductor of Helen.

Mountain in Greece near Delphi associated with Apollo and the Muses.

Wife of King Minos of Crete and mother of the Minotaur. According to Virgil's Eclogue VI, 45–60, she conceived by a bull while hiding inside a hollow wooden cow.

The "Lord's Prayer" taught by Jesus to his disciples.

Penelope

Faithful wife of Odysseus (Ulysses) king of Ithaca, refusing the many suitors who invaded her home, she waited twenty years for him to return home from the Trojan War.

Queen of the Amazons, she fought on for Troy during the Trojan War.

See Sicilian bull.

northeast promontory of Sicily.

Aulus Persius Flaccus. Roman writer of the 1st century BCE

Saint Peter

One of the apostles of Jesus, and first pope.

A colossal bronze pine cone cast in the 1st or 2nd century CE in Rome. Originally located in the Campus Martius, it is now located in a courtyard in the Vatican Museum.

In Greek mythology, the son of Helios, the sun god. To prove his paternity, he asked his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the sun for one day. Unable to control the horses, Phaëton almost destroyed the earth, but was killed by Zeus.

Philip IV of France (1268–1314): King from 1285, his reign is memorable for many reasons. In particular he is famous for having shattered the temporal ambitions of the popes. Phlegethon

"River of fire", in Greek mythology, one of the rivers of Hades.

In Greek mythology, the site of Zeus's defeat of the Giants (Gigantes) at the end of the Gigantomachy. Inf. XIV, 58.

In Greek mythology he was the ferryman for the souls that cross the Styx. Inf. VIII, 10–24.

Phoenix

Mythical bird, which at the end of its life-cycle, burns itself to ashes, from which a reborn phoenix arises.

A wise Centaur and friend of Herakles. Inf. XII 72.

Pia de' Tolomei

A Sienese woman allegedly murdered by her husband, Paganello de' Pannocchieschi, who had her thrown from a window in Maremma.

Sister of Dante's friend Forese Donati who failed to carry out her lifelong monastic vow.

Pier da Medicina: Apparently a political intriguer in Romagna, of whom little is known. Early commentators say he sowed discord between the Malatesta and Polenta families.

Roman governor of Judea, responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus.

Pillars of Hercules

Name given to the promontories—the Rock of Gibraltar in Europe and Monte Hacho near Ceuta in Africa—that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. According to legend, Heracles (Hercules), on his way to steal the cattle of Geryon split a mountain in half, thereby forming the Strait of Gibraltar and connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean. The pillars marked the western boundary of the classical world, beyond which it was unsafe to sail.

Pinamonte dei Bonacolsi

An able and shrewd politician he took advantage of the fights between Guelphs and Ghibellins that were dividing Mantua to establish himself in 1273 as supreme ruler of the city, founding a Signoria that was kept by his family until 1328.

Athenian tyrant of the 6th century BCE. His wife angrily demanded the life of a young man seen publicly embracing their daughter. Pisistratus refused to succumb to anger and gives a mild reply.

Pistoia

A Tuscan town which in Dante's time had lost much of its autonomy, becoming a sort of Florentine dependency.

Greek philosopher and teacher of Aristotle. In Dante's day, his writings were less influential than those of his student.

Roman poet of the 2nd century BCE.

In Greek mythology, he was the personification of wealth. Dante almost certainly conflated him with Pluto, the Roman god of the Underworld. He is found in the fourth circle of Dante's hell, in which the greedy and prodigal are punished. Inf. VII, 1–15.

Italian seaport (now part of Croatia) famed for its Roman necropolis.

Ancient Greek sculptor, famous for his realism.

See Hecuba.

Ancient king of Thrace. He killed Polydorus, young son of the Trojan King Priam, to steal the treasure that the boy possessed.

See Eteocles

Polyxena

Trojan daughter of Priam and Hecuba. In some accounts, Achilles fell in love with her, and was killed while visiting her. At the demand of Achilles' ghost, Polyxena is sacrificed on Achilles' tomb.

Pompey "the Great" (106–48 BCE). Famous patrician Roman general.

Priam

King of Troy, husband of Hecuba, father of Hector and Paris.

Eminent Latin grammarian active in the 6th century who wrote the Institutiones grammaticae, extremely popular in the Middle Ages.

Roman goddess whose story is the myth of springtime. She was the daughter of Ceres and wife of Pluto, king of the underworld. In Greek mythology her name is Persephone.

Official in the early Hasmonean kingdom which then controlled Judea.

Ancient King of Tyre. He murdered his uncle and brother-in-law to obtain their wealth.

Pyrrhus: Either Achilles's son Neoptolemus, killer of Priam and many other Trojans, or Pyrrhus of Epirus, could be intended, although the latter was praised by Dante in his Monarchy (II, ix, 8).

Q

R

Rachel

Sister to Leah, second wife of Jacob, and mother of two of the tribes of ancient Israel, including Joseph and Benjamin. She was the more attractive of the two sisters, but Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah first. (Gen 29:16–25) She symbolises the contemplative life in the Comedy.

A gentile woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land. She assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city prior to their attack.

King of ancient Israel. He was the son of Solomon and succeeded him on the throne. Because of his oppressive taxation, the northern tribes revolted and formed an independent kingdom.

See Cronus.

One of the most important 12th-century mystic theologicans. A Scot, he was prior of the famous Augustinian abbey of Saint-Victor in Paris from 1162 until his death in 1173. His writings on mystical contemplation won him the title "Magnus Contemplator", the great contemplator.

Jacopo Rusticucci

Florentine Guelph of Guido Cavalcanti's guild, active in politics and diplomacy.

S

Sabellus and Nasidius

Two soldiers of Cato's army in Lucan's poem Pharsalia (IX, 761–804), who are bitten by snakes, while marching in the Libyan Desert, after which their bodies "transform". Sabellus' transforms into a rotting formless mass; Nasidius' swells, then bursts.

Young women abducted by Roman youths in the early days of Rome. Par. VI, 41.

12th-century Kurdish Muslim leader renowned for his military prowess, generosity, and merciful attitude to his opponents during the Crusades.

Salve Regina

Hymn to the Virgin Mary used in evening services. The song addresses Mary from "the vale of tears."

Region north of Jerusalem and west of the Jordan River. According to John 4:4–28, Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman at a well. Their dialogue is about spiritual thirst.

13th-century Sienese noblewoman.

early Christian woman who died along with her husband after confessing to withholding money promised to the Church (Acts 5:1–11).

Satan

Biblical angel who embodies evil and is the greatest foe of God and mankind.

Seventh and outermost planet in the geocentric planetary theory in Dante's day.

First king of ancient Israel. He died by falling on his own sword after losing a battle at Gilboa.

Gianni Schicchi

Disguised as the Florentine Buoso Donati, who had just died, he dictated a new will, bequeathing to himself Donati's best mare.

Roman general (236–183 BCE) who defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama.

Constellation in the form of a Scorpion and sign of the Zodiac.

see Anglo-Scottish War

The second of the wars fought between Carthage and Rome (219–202). According to Livy, Hannibal sent to Carthage "a pile" of gold rings from the fingers of thousands of slaughtered Romans.

See Hera.

Semiramis

Legendary figure who was, in Dante's day, believed to have been sexually licentious after the death of her husband Ninus.

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE): Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist, forced to commit suicide by Nero for his participation in the Pisonian conspiracy, called "morale" (moral), by Dante.

King of Assyria (705–681 BCE). His failed siege of Jerusalem is discussed in II Kings, which notes the army's destruction by a plague sent by God and his later assassination by his sons.

A river near Lucca.

A list developed by Christian moralists of the principal vices. They include Pride (superbia), Greed (avaritia), Lust (luxuria), Envy (invidia), Gluttony (gula), Anger (ira), and Sloth (acedia).

Sextus Pompeius

Son of Pompey the Great and opponent of Julius Caesar, portrayed by Lucan as a cruel pirate (Pharsalia VI, 420–422).

Sibyls

Oracles in Ancient Greece. Par. XXXIII, 66.

Sichaeus

First husband of Dido and ruler of Tyre, he was murdered by Dido's brother.

Sicilian bull

A brazen figure of a bull used as an instrument of torture. The echoing screams of its victims, roasting inside, were thought to imitate the bellowing of a bull. It was created by Perillus for the tyrant Phalaris. Its creator was also its first victim.

Silvester I

A saint, he was Pope from 314 to 335. In the Middle Ages, supported by a forged document called the "Donation of Constantine", it was believed that he had baptized Constantine and cured him of leprosy, and as a result, that he and his successors had been granted rule over Rome and the Western Roman Empire. For Dante, this event was the beginning of the ever-increasing worldly wealth and power of the papacy, and the corruption that went along with it.

The magician (or proto-Gnostic) of Samaria. In the Acts of the Apostles (8:9–24) he is rejected by the apostle Peter for trying to buy the ability to confer the Holy Spirit. From his name is derived the word Simony.

Greek poet of the 5th century BCE.

Simony

Sin of selling or paying for offices or positions in the church hierarchy (cf. barratry).

Sinon

In Virgil's Aeneid, he was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War, who, having pretended to change sides, convinced the Trojans to bring the Trojan Horse into Troy, thus allowing the Greek soldiers hidden within it to climb out after dark, open the gates to the city, and let in the Greek army, who then captured the city.

Seductive chimera, half-woman and half-bird, who lures sailors to shipwreck on rocks with her singing.

Greek philosopher.

Reginaldo Scrovegni

One of the richest Paduan bankers. In expiation of his father's sin, his son Enrico commissioned the Cappella degli Scrovegni in 1300 that was frescoed by Giotto.

Sodom

Biblical city, which during the Middle Ages, became associated in Christian thinking with the sin of homosexuality. Sodomy, like usury, was viewed as a sin against nature.

Solomon

Biblical king; son of King David; proverbially the wisest of men.

Spendthrift Club (Brigata Spendereccia): A group of rich young Sienese nobles, devoted to squandering their fortunes on foolish extravagances and entertainments. Arcolano of Siena was a member. Sordello

13th-century Italian troubadour, born in Goito near Virgil's home town Mantua.

Statius

Publius Papinius Statius (c. 45 – c. 96). Roman poet of the Silver Age and author of the Silvae, the Achilleid and the Thebais.

See Harpies.

Styx

One of the rivers encircling Hades in the Aeneid (VI, 187, 425).

Sylvius

See Aeneas.

Mythological Greek nymph who, escaping her sexual defilement, fled to a river and was converted into a hollow reed which sang as the wind blew.

T

Tagliacozzo

Site of a defeat by Manfred's nephew Conradin, by Charles of Anjou, who, following the advice of his general Erard ("Alardo") de Valery, surprised Conradin, with the use of reserve troops.

Tarpeian Rock

cliff on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, where an ancient temple to Saturn was located.

Tarquin

Last king of Rome, he was overthrown by Lucius Junius Brutus, considered the founder of the Republic.

Zodiac constellation in the form of a bull.

Te Deum laudamus

"We praise Thee, O God." Ancient Latin hymn sung in the morning monastic offices. Also sung in special occasions of celebration.

Te lucis ante

"To Thee before the close of day." Latin hymn sung at Compline, the final monastic prayer office of the day.

Telemachus

Son of Odysseus (Ulysses) and Penelope, he plays an important role in the Odyssey. In the lost Telegony he appears to have married Circe and been granted immortality.

Publius Terentius Afer. Roman playwright of the 2nd century BCE.

Terrestrial Paradise: According to the Comedy, Terrestrial Paradise is the Garden of Eden where the original man and woman first lived. (Gen 2 & 3) It is located at the top of the mountain of Purgatory. The events of Cantos XXVIII through XXXIII in the Purgatorio take place there.

City of Ancient Greece.

Greek sea god, whose daughter is Iris, the goddess of rainbows.

Greek goddess of divine justice and one of the Oracles of Delphi.

Theobald V of Champagne (c. 1238–1270): The eldest son of Theobald IV of Champagne, on his death in 1253 he succeeded him as Count of Champagne and, as Theobald II, king of Navarre. He died childless in 1270. Theological Virtues

Virtues granted to believers by God's grace. They include Faith, Hope and Love.

Theseus

Legendary king of Athens who visited the underworld and, in the version used by Dante, was rescued by Herakles.

Noble ancient Greek woman. Wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles.

In a tale by Ovid (Metamorphoses IV, 55–166), Thisbe and Pyramus are lovers in ancient Babylon separated by a wall.

River which runs through Rome and empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea.

A dialogue of Plato where the celestial source and destiny of the human soul are discussed.

Tiresias

A mythical blind soothsayer who was transformed into a woman and then back into a man, seven years later. He has an important role in classical literature, including the Odyssey.

see Erinyes.

Trojan lover of Eos, Titan of the Dawn.

Roman Emperor (79–81). As a general, he completed the campaign to put down a Jewish revolt and recapture Jerusalem in 70 CE. Par. VI, 92–93.

Son of Gaia. Tityus was a giant killed by Zeus for attacking Leto.

Protagonist of the ancient Jewish book of the same name. Tobit is conducted on a journey by the Archangel Raphael.

Queen of the Massagetae in the 6th century BCE. According to Herodotus, Cyrus the Great led a failed invasion of her lands. After his defeat and death in battle, Tomyris plunged his severed head into a wineskin filled with blood.

Titus Manlius Torquatus, Consul and Dictator in Rome during the 4th century, BCE.

City in France. Pope Martin IV was treasurer of the church there when he was elected pope in 1281.

Roman Emperor (98–117) at the height of the Empire. According to Medieval legend, he was posthumously converted to Christianity by Pope Gregory the Great.

Troy

Also called Ilium, the site of the Trojan War, described in Homer's Iliad, and the home of Aeneas. The Greeks were victorious by means of the wooden Trojan Horse, which the Greeks left as a "gift" for the Trojans. The Trojans brought the horse through the gates into their walled city, and the Greek soldiers who had hid inside the horse were able to open the gates and let in the rest of the Greek army.

See Cicero.

Turnus

A chieftain of the Rutuli whose conflict with Aeneas is the subject of the second half of the Aeneid, at the end of which he was killed by Aeneas in single combat (Aeneid II, 919)—one of those who "died for Italy". Inf. I, 106–108.

Hero of medieval French romance, he was a Cornish Knight of the Round Table, and adulterous lover of Isolde.

Tuscany

region of Italy where Florence is located.

Son of Tartarus and Gaia. Typhon was a giant with a hundred serpent heads.

U

Ugolino della Gherardesca

Leader of one of two competing Guelph factions in Pisa. In 1288 he conspired with the Archbishop Ruggiere degli Ubaldini to oust the leader of the other faction, his grandson Nino de' Visconti. Ugolino was, in turn, betrayed by Ruggiere and imprisoned with several of his sons and grandsons. They all died of starvation in prison.

See Odysseus.

Usury

The practice of charging a fee for the use of money; viewed by the medieval church as a sin because it went contrary to the idea that wealth is based on natural increase, which was believed to be a gift from God.

The ancient Muse of Astronomy. She became the Muse of poets describing sacred themes.

V

See Saint Bede.

Shipyard and naval depot for Venice, built c. 1104, in Castello sestiere, it was one of the most important shipyards in Europe, and was instrumental in maintaining Venice as a great naval power.

Venus

Roman goddess of love. In Greek mythology she was known as Aphrodite.

Evening monastic prayer service. As a reference to a period of time, Vespers is 3 P.M. to 6 P.M.

("The royal banner draws forth.") Medieval Latin hymn.

Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) (70–19 BCE): Latin poet. He serves as Dante's guide through the Inferno and Purgatorio. In the absence of texts of Homer, the readers in the Middle Ages considered Virgil's Aeneid to be the great epic poem of the Classical world. In Dante's time, many believed that Virgil had predicted the arrival of Christianity in lines from his Eclogue IV: "at the boy's birth in whom/the iron shall cease, the golden race arise" (trans John Dryden). This made him doubly suited to his role as guide. He also symbolises Reason. Virgil accompanies Dante from Inf. I, 61 to Purg. XXX, 54. Vulcan

In Roman mythology, blacksmith of the gods and, with the help of the Cyclops, maker of thunderbolts for Jove.

W

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (1278–1305).

Z

Michele Zanche (died 1290): Governor of the giudicato of Logudoro, in Sardinia. He administered the province for King Enzo, son of the Emperor Frederick II. When Enzo was made prisoner in 1249, his wife divorced and married Zanche. The latter ruled Logudoro until 1290, when he was murdered by his son-in-law Branca Doria. Zion: Mountain in Jerusalem where Solomon's Temple was constructed. Zeus (also Jove or Jupiter): Chief god of Classical mythology. Saint Zita (c. 1215–1272): Canonized in 1696, she is the Patron saint of all maids and domestics. In her city, Lucca, she was already, in life, an object of popular devotion and reputed a saint. In Dante's time, her fame had already made her a sort of patron saint of her city. The Elders of Saint Zita were ten citizens of Lucca who, along with the chief magistrate, were the rulers of the city.

References

External links

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