Divine Comedy - The Guardians of Dante's Inferno

The Guardians of Dante's Inferno

Dante's Inferno is one of the best written works of all time because it

was written as an allegory inside an excellent story. A key part of this

allegory was how Dante used different guardians in the various circles of

hell. These guardians were used to symbolize the punishments of the

sinners.

Minos is the guardian of Circle II, the circle of the Lustful. He

symbolizes an accusing personality because his job is to give punishments

to the sinners. The bodies of the sinners confess the sins automatically,

and that shows the sinners know everything about themselves when it is too

late to repent. Minos is important because he is used to stress that none

of the sinners can doubt which sins they have committed, and that the crime

will receive a matching punishment. The lustful were carried away by their

passions in their previous lives, and therefore they are thrown about by a

black wind. Dante considers lust to be the highest sin because it is

mutually committed to the pleasure of both parties.

Cerberus is the guardian of Circle III, the circle of the Gluttons.

Cerberus is meant to portray the image of uncontrolled appetite. In

mythology, he was known to devour people who approached hell, and therefore

is a glutton himself. However, being a glutton, he must surrender himself

to his appetite. His appetite just overtakes him when Dante throws dirt in

Cerberus' mouth, and the poets are allowed to enter the circle. Cerberus

is an example of how everything must submit to the glutton's appetite,

including his soul. This is a dark sin because they now worship food

instead of God, and this is reciprocated by the rain, which belies the

jolly nature of gluttons and gives them dark temperaments. Gluttony is a

sin which involves one person, and it is more of a selfish sin, but the

gluttonous are alone because they always ate alone.

Pluto is the guardian of Circle IV, the circle of Misers and Spendthrift.

Pluto is meant to symbolize riches, as he is the god of wealth that

springs from soil in ancient mythology. This is appropriate because he

guards those who hoarded money and those who spent it foolishly.