Allegories found in Dante's Inferno

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Allegories found in Dante’s Inferno
Dante’s view of history has been described as “both archaic and eschatological” (Davis). Eschatological meaning a theological science concerned with death, judgment, heaven, and hell. These topics prevail in Dante’s works, but more in the sense of allegorically representing the current turmoil in Italian politics.
In Dante’s journey through hell he unsurprisingly meets several politicians in the numerous circles of hell. He encounters three beasts at the advent of his travels; the she-wolf, the leopard, and the lion. These beasts represent different political ideologies, and the current state of Italy.
The she-wolf is widely associated directly with Italy. Described as both “whorish” and “greedy” (Davis), the she-wolf represents Italy’s current state as the aforementioned qualities of “whorish” and “greedy” country. A likewise comparison could be drawn between the she-wolf and the wolf that nurtured Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome (Davis). The she-wolf is the definitive quality of Florence (Davis). Virgil, Dante’s guide, says that the she-wolf will only be stopped by a figure known as the Greyhound. The she-wolf represents evilness, and it is thought by some scholars that the Greyhound could symbolize the second coming of Christ (Gilbert). The Greyhound will kill the she-wolf and restore innocence and rid the world of evilness, just as Christ will rid the world of its evilness. The Leopard is the symbol for fraudulence. Florence, at this time, is known for its riches. It has an illustrious textile and banking industry and filled to the brim with the corruptness that comes from success. Rampant politicians, noblemen, the pope, all are enemies of Dante. The Leopard represents ...

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...he inferno Dante encounters many from his past. Such as Filippo who stole his estate, and Ciacco a member of an opposing political party. Dante shows no mercy when assigning them to their circle, as they showed no mercy to him in life. Charon the ferryman that ferried Dante and Virgil across Acheron cannot be found in the Christian bible. Neither can Cerberus nor Plutus.
Dante’s respect for classical poets such as Virgil or Homer or even Ovid can be seen in his construction of Hell. Dante is a god-fearing man but it appears that Dante’s admiration for his poetic forefathers outweighs his fear of the Christian lord (Daivs). For this reason characters from classical mythology such as Minos, king of Crete, and Ulysses, the great adventurer have places in Dante’s Inferno. Dante’s combination of myth and theological beliefs is genus and shows his adeptness at his trade.

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