9 Circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno

2018

In 'Inferno,' the first part of the larger work The Divine Comedy,
Dante must travel through nine different levels of Hell to save the
soul of his beloved, Beatrice

Synopsis
Satan resides in the center of Hell, where he blows cold air into the
ninth circle, while Dante, guided by Virgil, journeys through nine
levels of Hell to save Beatrice's soul, with each circle representing a
specific sin and inhabited by notable figures associated with each
sin.

The text describes the nine circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno and the punishments inflicted
on sinners in each circle.
Satan is at the center of Hell, below the ninth circle, and is being punished for betraying God.
Each circle represents a specific sin and comes with its own set of trials and torments.
Dante's guide through Hell is the spirit of the Roman poet Virgil.
Dante's journey through Hell is an attempt to save the soul of his beloved, Beatrice.
The text also mentions notable figures from history who are associated with each sin and
are found in the corresponding circle.

Highlights
 Satan is at the center of Hell, below the ninth circle
 The beating of Satan's wings blow the cold air into the 9th circle
 Dante's guide is the spirit of the Roman poet and author of the epic Aeneid, Virgil
 In 'Inferno,' the first part of the larger work The Divine Comedy, Dante must travel
through nine different levels of Hell to save the soul of his beloved, Beatrice
 Each of the circles represents a specific sin, comes with its own set of trials and
torments, and is often inhabited by notable figures in history that are associated with
each sin
Summary

Why is the ninth circle of Hell cold?

Satan is at the center of Hell, below the ninth circle.

Satan is being punished for betraying God and is the furthest from God's light.

The center of Hell is freezing cold.

The beating of Satan's wings blow the cold air into the 9th circle

What are the nine circles of Hell and what do they mean?
The 9 circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno hold the souls of sinners.

Each circle contains those guilty of specific sins.

Lower circles hold the souls of those who are guilty of the most grievous sins.

Punishment in accordance with each sin is inflicted for eternity

What are the layers of Hell called?

The layers of Hell are called circles.

The nine circles spiral downward until reaching the bottom point which is as far from
heaven as possible.

In the early 1300's, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy.

The first of the three cantiche, or sections, is Inferno.

In Inferno, Dante takes a journey through each of the 9 circles of hell in an attempt to save
the soul of the woman he loves, Beatrice.

Dante's guide is the spirit of the Roman poet and author of the epic Aeneid, Virgil

Unbroken Circles
In 'Inferno,' the first part of the larger work The Divine Comedy, Dante must travel through
nine different levels of Hell to save the soul of his beloved, Beatrice.

Each of the circles represents a specific sin, comes with its own set of trials and torments,
and is often inhabited by notable figures in history that are associated with each sin.

With the Spirit Virgil as his guide, Dante navigates his way through the deepest, darkest pits
of despair imaginable: ''The gateway to the city of Doom.

Through me The entrance to the Everlasting Pain.

Each of the 9 circles in hell represents a different sin, each with its own degree of
wickedness.

The punishment, which is relevant to each sin is inflicted in the corresponding circle.

As Dante travels through each circle, he encounters notable figures from history who were
guilty of sin.

Dante notes that as the circles descend, they become progressively smaller.

People who committed the nine sins during their lifetime were assigned to an analogous
circle of hell and destined to receive punishment.

The following subsections will describe the 9 circles of hell punishments and the historical
figures encountered in each

First Circle of Hell

The souls in Limbo belong to those people who lived ethically and morally but were never
baptized and did not accept or believe in the Christian savior Jesus Christ.

The souls in Limbo sigh, longing to move on to a better place, but they are not punished
more severely because they lived before the time of Christ.

Limbo was once filled with many characters from the Old Testament of the Christian Bible
including Adam, Noah, and Moses; a crowned heavenly figure retrieved them from Limbo
and took them to heaven.

It seems that those who remain in Limbo will reside there for eternity.

While visiting Limbo, Dante meets great poets who were friends of Virgil's, ancient
mathematicians and scientists, and benevolent rulers from lands that did not have access to
Christianity

Second Circle of Hell

The second circle of Hell holds those who gave in to lust when reason would have served
them better and those who committed adultery.

In life, these people were swept up in their feelings of lust.

In Hell, their souls are battered and tossed about by strong winds which symbolize their
raging lust.

In the second circle of Hell, Dante encounters the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, who allowed
her lustful affair with Marc Antony to escalate to a point that resulted in Egypt being
conquered by Rome
Third Circle of Hell
In the third circle of Hell are those souls who were guilty of gluttony, or indulging in food or
drink excessively.

The souls suffer a constant excessive and dirty storm of rain and snow.

Ciacco, an Italian socialite, resides in the third circle of Hell.

Ciacco informs Dante that this circle holds the souls of a great number of politicians.

The third circle is guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus whose three mouths are a
symbolic representation of the overindulgence committed by gluttons.

Cerberus prevents the souls from leaving the third circle

Fourth Circle of Hell

Those who were guilty of the sin of avarice, or greed, reside in the fourth circle of Hell.

In life, these people hoarded money, spent excessive amounts of money, or were highly
materialistic.

These people hoarded money, spent excessive amounts of money, or were highly
materialistic

They each strove to hold as much material wealth as possible.

In Hell, they are forced to push great masses of weight.

Those who were miserly with money push in opposing directions from those who wasted a
great deal of money

Fifth Circle of Hell

There are two types of souls in the fifth circle: those who became or violently angered, and
those who were sullen, or moody and grumpy, in life.

Those who gave in to their anger are punished by being in a constant physical battle with
one another that takes place on the surface of the River Styx.

Those who were sullen are partially buried in the mud where they choke on their anger for
eternity.

Dante meets his real-life political nemesis Filippo Argenti who is later torn apart by other
souls in the fifth circle

Sixth Circle of Hell

The sixth circle of Hell contains the souls of those who were guilty of heresy.
Heresy is holding beliefs contrary to those taught by orthodox theologies such as
Christianity.

The souls in Dante's sixth circle of hell were not faithful Catholics.

Their punishment is to spend eternity inside of tombs that are encased in flames.

Since these souls did not follow the path toward eternal life, they are entombed forever.

The more severe the person's heresy, the hotter the flames

Seventh Circle of Hell

Souls guilty of violence are punished in the sixth circle of Hell.

These souls are divided into three groups: those who committed violence against others
through murder, beatings, or destruction of property; those who committed violence
against themselves; and those who were violent against God by being blasphemous by
acting or speaking in a way that is offensive to God. Each type of violence is contained to its
own layer within the seventh circle.

People who hurt themselves are pecked at by bird-women called harpies or attacked by
dogs.

Those who committed violent acts against God writhe in burning sand and burning rain

Eighth Circle of Hell

Different kinds of fraud are punished in the eighth circle of Hell. The circle is guarded by the
monster Geryon who Virgil summons to carry himself and Dante into the depths of the
circle.

Using the Christian Church in order to make a profit for themselves, are trapped upside
down in what appear to be baptismal fonts in the third layer of the eighth circle.

Their feet are oiled and set on fire, and the intensity of the heat depends on the intensity of
their sin.

In the fourth layer of the eighth circle are those who practiced sorcery or falsely claimed to
be seers or prophets

Their heads face backward and they are blinded by tears.

Ninth Circle of Hell

All of the souls in the ninth circle are submerged in ice, but there are four layers

Those who committed the worst betrayals are deeper within the ice. The top layer, called
Caina after Cain who killed his brother Abel in the Christian Bible, contains the souls of
those who betrayed their family.
The top layer, called Caina after Cain who killed his brother Abel in the Christian Bible,
contains the souls of those who betrayed their family

The heads of these souls are above the surface of the ice. The second layer, called Antenora
for Antenor, a Trojan soldier who helped the Greeks conquer Troy, holds those who
betrayed their country.

In Inferno, Dante and his guide Virgil travel through the nine circles of hell where they view
the punishments inflicted on each and those condemned for their sins

First Circle
Let's first look at the first circle. The first circle Dante encounters is limbo, which contains
the souls of those who, despite living righteous lives, didn't accept Jesus Christ into their
hearts and were cursed from entering Heaven, as said in the poem:.

''The misery of that sight of souls in Hell Condemned, and constant in their loss, prevailed
So greatly in me, that I may not tell How passed I from them, sense and memory failed So
far.''

Third Circle
In the third circle of gluttony, those with insatiable appetites are trapped in a freezing slush
and are guarded by the three-headed dog, Cerberus.

As described in the poem: ''For sodden around me was the place of bane, The third doomed
circle, where the culprits know The cold, unceasing, and relentless rain Pour down without
mutation.''

Fifth Circle
''There is no greater woe In all Hell's depths than cometh when those who Look back to
Eden.''

Seventh Circle
Let's look at the seventh circle. The seventh circle of violence is guarded by the Minotaur
and is divided into three sections based upon whom an individual held violent thoughts or
actions, with punishments including a river of blood, thorny trees, and burning sand.

Eighth Circle
Similar to the seventh circle, the eighth circle of fraud is divided into sections based on the
type of fraud.

Summoned by Virgil, Geryon, the Monster of fraud, appears and carries Virgil and Dante on
his back.

The punishments in this circle are as torturous as its predecessors: eternal whipping, being
surrounded by excrement, demonic baptisms, having their heads twisted around
backwards, a lake of boiling pitch, walking in robes filled with lead, a pit filled with snakes
and lizards, physical assault by a demon with a sword, and infection with putrid diseases

Ninth Circle
The ninth circle of treachery features a large frozen lake where the bodies of traitors are
buried up to their heads and must suffer freezing winds on their faces.

As described in the poem: ''Ye that go Unhindered through these homes of gateless woe, - Is
my son with thee?

Hast thou nought to tell?\\''I answered, 'Single through the gates of hell.''

''Ye that go Unhindered through these homes of gateless woe, - Is my son with thee? Hast
thou nought to tell?\\''I answered, 'Single through the gates of hell.''

Lesson Summary
Led by the Spirit Virgil, who serves as the guide in Hell, on a quest to save the woman he
loves, Dante travels through nine circles of Hell, each circle giving rise to its own
punishments.

Residing within each circle are names and faces familiar to Dante: literary and historical
figures whose fates lie within the confines of the gates of Hell.

Each circle represents its own sin: not accepting Jesus Christ as savior, lust, gluttony, greed,
wrath, heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery.

Each person imprisoned in the various circles is punished harshly and horribly according to
the sin.

Dante is determined to save Beatrice, so he presses on with Virgil at his side, through
horrifying, oppressive, and tormenting sights and sounds within each circle, proving that
love is its own form of courage