The idea of being structured and divided into circles is almost as ancient as the concept of hell itself.
It is found in interpretations of the Old Testament and in references to the new. Different Christian denominations characterize each of the circles of hell differently.
No consensus about them in both Judaism and Islam. Representatives of other religions in which hell or something similar appears afterworld interpret it differently. Thus, their structure and underworld features vary widely.
Many may note that Christian religious teachings define the presence of everything seven circles of hell, and a similar number of celestial circles.
The concept nine circles of hell, this is a philosophical doctrine and vision of the structure of hell from the point of view of the then realities catholic church respected Dante Alighiere, poet, writer, theologian and thinker from Italy. Lived in the thirteenth century AD.
The Divine Comedy
One of the greatest literary and social creations of Mr. Dante is rightfully considered The Divine Comedy.
It still influences the culture of the entire planet. This story has three parts, each of which describes Hell, Purgatory and Heaven respectively.
Dante divided hell into nine circles, unequal in structure and design features, in which the souls of sinners were tormented according to their guilt.
1. Limbo is the first level of hell, where unresolved children, as well as people who lived virtuously but were not Christians, ended up. Their destiny is to experience sorrow right up to eternal judgment.
2. The second circle of hell is reserved for lovers of adultery and passionate love. They have to suffer from the storm.
3. For lovers of gluttony, gourmets and all sorts of gluttons, in the third circle torture is prepared by decomposition and rotting, under torrential rains and an unbearably scorching sun.
4. Circle number four includes greedy people, spendthrifts and misers. Their punishment is very original, they always argue again and again, colliding with each other.
5. People who are always given over to despondency can end up in the fifth circle of hell. And also those who cannot control their anger. Their punishment is an endless fight in the endless swamp.
6. False teachers and heretics, falling into the sixth circle of hell, forever remain ethereal ghosts in hot graves, mocked by the furies.
7. It is interesting that the seventh circle of hell has three zones:
– First belt, prepared for tyrants, robbers and robbers. They are forced to boil in boiling blood in a deep ditch. Those who emerge also receive an arrow from the centaurs.
– Second belt, meets lovers gambling, and squander a fortune, as well as suicides. They are punished differently. The former are constantly tortured by hound dogs. While the latter are played to shreds by the Harpies.
– Blasphemers who committed violence against the divine, whether it be a physical image or spiritual desecration, as well as sodomites. They have to hang around under the fiery rain in the middle of an absolutely barren desert.
8. The eighth circle of hell is reserved for deceivers. It consists of as many as ten ditches with different torments for different varieties deceivers. And each of them is original in its own way.
9. The last circle of the inferno is interesting for its climate; it is icy and consists of four zones. Traitors come here from among those who betrayed loved ones, relatives or friends.
In particular, it is there that Cassius, Judas and Brutus languish. Every sinner there is frozen up to his neck in ice and suffers precisely from the cold.
Conclusion
Analyze "The Divine Comedy" It can take a very long time, but it’s better to do it by reading it yourself. Here we simply note that this literary work and the divisions of hell are not recognized by official religions.
Although it is partly built on the analysis of ancient legends in combination with the Christianity of Catholic Italy of the era in which it was written.
Christianity highlights seven circles of hell, and their features and properties are interpreted slightly differently between faiths. As for occultists and mystics, they are divided into several groups.
The largest group consists of those who recognize the division into seven circles. Many occultists working with the traditions of other cults call different numbers of circles.
A separate group consists of those mystics who do not associate the circles of hell, like the world of demons, with any religious teaching. At least directly.
They usually talk about having 6 circles of hell sometimes with the addition of a seventh. Having a completely different property and essentially being not a circle, but a rational being. However, very little is known to outsiders about the views of this group...
Hell and its 9 circles made some noise in due time.
The effect continues to this day. Once upon a time, the great dreamer and entertainer Dante Alighieri described hell in his “Divine Comedy”. In his opinion, the underworld consists of 9 circles. The lower each circle, the more serious the sins that a person committed during his lifetime.
Today for you is a colorful guide to the circles of hell from The Divine Comedy.
Now you will see that not everything is so bad in this world ☺
1st CIRCLE OF HELL - LIMBUS.
Its guardian is none other than CHARON.
A stern, gloomy and principled grandfather. He transported the souls of the dead across the river STYX. Performing your duties clearly and specifically. Moreover, under no circumstances did he take anyone back. Souls in this circle are tormented by the punishment of “painless sorrow.” Basically, representatives of the first circle of hell are infants who have not been baptized and virtuous non-Christians. I mean it's simple good people who did not quite obey the church.
Limbo is home to ancient philosophers and poets (including Virgil): Noah, Moses and Abraham were also here - all the righteous men mentioned in the Old Testament, but then they were allowed to ascend to Paradise.
2nd CIRCLE OF HELL - LUST.
This place is guarded by MINOS - an intractable, fair judge of the damned and the father of the Minotaur, who distributes souls in circles.
During his lifetime, King Minos was a great lover of women, but he was also a good ruler. He wrote laws for all Cretans (Island of Crete). He received these notes from Zeus himself, in a cave. What else? =)
So, Minos rules on the second circle and judges the souls of the departed. Voluptuous people spend eternity with him. That is, all adulterers, harlots and just people who showed excessive ardor in bed. The 2nd circle of hell punishes these scoundrels with torsion, torment by a storm and blows of souls against rocks.
3 CIRCLE OF HELL - Gluttony
This circle is guarded by CERBERUS, and it guards the exit from the world of the dead, and not the entrance, as many people think.
In general, Cerberus is, in fact, a beautiful three-headed dog, which has a poisonous snake instead of a tail. The heads are very similar to those worn by his mother, Echidna. Some are inclined to believe that he has 50 goals or even a hundred.
This handsome man was killed by Hercules.
The 3rd circle of hell is inhabited by unfortunate gluttons, gluttons and even gourmets! The most famous, thanks to Dante Alighieri, is Ciacco. This glutton lives in a stinking swamp, where cold rain constantly falls on him.
In general, in the third circle of hell, everyone is punished - rotting. They decompose there under the scorching sun and pouring rain.
4TH CIRCLE OF HELL - STINGY (GREED).
PLUTOS rules there.
In Greek mythology, he is known as the god of wealth. Most often, when depicting Plutos, a cornucopia was attributed to him.
But Dante described him in his “Divine Comedy” as a bestial demon.
In the 4th circle of hell, misers, greedy people and wasteful individuals languish, unable to make adequate expenses. Their punishment is not as vile as on the third round, but more “heavy”.
They drag huge weights from one place to another and, if they somehow collide with each other, they immediately begin a furious fight.
5 CIRCLE OF HELL - ANGER and LAZINESS
A rather gloomy and gloomy place, guarded by the son of ARES (the god of war) himself. His son's name is PHLEGIUS.
To get to the 5th circle of hell you need to be very angry, lazy or sad. Or better yet, all at once!
I went and killed a bunch of people, was too lazy to clean up the corpses and became sad =))
So, in the fifth circle of hell there is an eternal fight. The place of the fight is the STYX swamp. The darkest thing about that river is the bottom. It consists of those who were depressed and bored during their lifetime.
So, smile all the time, you never know...
6 CIRCLE OF HELL - THE WALLS OF THE CITY OF DITA.
These are the walls of the city DITA (the Romans called Hades, the god of the underworld, DITA, also known as Orc). Yes, all these are the names of the underground god, after whom the city was named.
Guard the 6th circle of hell - FURY. Grumpy, cruel and very angry women.
They say that the furies appeared as a result of the very first crime - Kronos wounded his father Uranus, drops of his blood that fell to the ground gave birth to these evil ones.
The furies mock heretics and false teachers.
Punishment in the 6th circle of hell is existence in the form of ghosts, in red-hot graves.
The transition to the seventh circle is fenced off by a fetid abyss.
7 CIRCLE OF HELL - CITY OF DIT. It is divided into three zones. The main inhabitants are people who committed violence. But they live in every zone different kinds rapists:
1 BELT is called FLAGETON.
Those who committed violence against their neighbor, against their material values and property. So, tyrants, robbers and robbers spend their time in the first belt. The guys are boiling in a ditch of hot blood, and if anyone emerges, the CENTAURS shoot at him.
By the way, according to Dante Alighieri and his “Divine Comedy”, the Macedonian and the tyrant Dionysius swim precisely there, splashing in the warm waves of the blood of their victims.
2 BELT is the FOREST OF SUICIDES.
Those who committed violence against themselves languish there, they are turned into trees and they are torn to shreds by HARPIES (daughters of sea deity Thaumanta).
Known for suddenly appearing and kidnapping human children and people's souls. Also, those who senselessly disposed of their wealth are gamblers and the like.
Spenders and gamblers are tormented by hound dogs.
3 BELT – COMBUSTIBLE SANDS.
Blasphemers who have committed violence against deities spend their time there. Also those who showed violence against their nature (Sadomites), as well as art (extortion).
The punishment is staying in an absolutely barren desert, the sky of which drips fiery rain on the heads of the unfortunate.
Protects those languishing in the 7th circle of hell and its belts - MINOTAUR.
A creature that resulted from a perverted relationship between the wife of King Minos, Pasiphae, and a bull donated by Poseidon.
Pasiphae copulated with a bull, seducing him by lying down in a wooden model of a cow made by Daedalus (an outstanding artist and engineer who built a labyrinth on the island of Crete).
8 CIRCLE OF HELL - SINS, EVIL CREVICES.
The circle consists of 10 ditches. And this is the most fucking popular of all circles!
It is also called EVIL CRACKS or SINUSES.
The guard of the 8th circle of hell is GERION - a giant with six arms, six legs and wings. This monster consisted of three human bodies.
He was killed by none other than Hercules!
In Evil Crevices, deceivers suffer their difficult fate. And now, about the types of torture and executions in each of the 10 ditches:
1 ROV.
Seducers and pimps sit there. All these sinners are walking in two columns, towards each other. They are constantly tormented by demon drivers.
2 ROV.
Filled with flatterers. Mired in fetid excrement, they while away their time.
As if, watching TV and surfing the Internet all day and night, we are not like these unfortunate people.
3 ROV.
The 8th circle of hell, according to Dante Alighieri and his “Divine Comedy,” is occupied by high-ranking clergy who traded positions in the church.
They are Simonists. Simonists received their definition thanks to the attempt of the Jew Simon to buy the gift of performing miracles from the Apostle Peter and the Apostle John.
The punishment for them is imprisonment of the body in a rock, head down. Hot lava flows down the feet of the Simonists.
4 ROV.
The edges are filled with astrologers, witches, fortune tellers and soothsayers.
Their heads are turned 180 degrees (towards the back).
At 5 RVE
The raking demons are having fun. They boil the bribe-takers in tar, and pierce those who stick out with hooks. So, if you are a “dirty” politician, train yourself not to breathe under tar for as long as possible during your lifetime;)
6 ROV
filled with hypocrites clad in lead robes.
7 ROV
- thieves who are killed again and again by the poisonous reptiles of the earth.
8 ROV
9 ROV
- a haven for the instigators of discord. They are subjected to eternal torture - disembowelment.
10 ROV
- false witnesses, counterfeiters, counterfeiters of metal and words.
People who work with metal are very lethargic, but at the same time they suffer from terrible scabies. False witnesses in hell run around in rage and bite everyone they meet.
The counterfeiters are disfigured by dropsy and die (but not completely).
Forgers of words are exhausted from fever and headache.
9 CIRCLE OF HELL DANTE.
The most sinister and thus the most attractive. His name is BETRAYAL, THE BELT OF CAIN, THE MIDDLE, THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, THE BELT OF JUDECCA AND THE ICY LAKE OF COCYTHUS.
Among the most famous celebrities who spend eternity there are: BRUTUS, JUDAS ISCARIOT and CASSIUS.
The 9th circle of hell is guarded by stern guards. Giants named EPHIALTES, ANTHEAUS, BRIAREUS AND LUCIFER.
BELT OF CAIN - Traitors to relatives.
CAIN in Western Semitic and biblical mythology
1) eldest son of Adam and Eve,
2) son of the angel Samael and Eve, or
3) the son of the evil one (devil) and Eve, in general, the very first person born on Earth.
Cain is the father of Enoch and the founder of his line.
And also Cain is a fratricide.
ANTENORA BELT - Traitors to the Motherland and like-minded people.
ANTENOR- in ancient greek mythology Trojan, friend and adviser to Priam, husband of Theano (Theano), daughter of the Thracian king Kissei. Antenor himself is a traitor according to post-Homeric legend.
TOLOMEY'S BELT - Traitors to friends and table mates.
This circle received its name from the name of Ptolemy, the governor of Jericho, who, having invited his father-in-law, the prince-high priest of Judea, and his two sons, treacherously killed them at a feast.
GIUDECCA BELT
is the last circle, or rather the central circle of hell. The belt is named Giudecca after the Apostle Judas, who betrayed Christ.
In the middle of the Giudecca (in other words, in the CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, LUCIFER, frozen with his shins into an ice floe, torments in his three mouths the traitors to the majesty of the earthly and heavenly (Judas, Brutus and Cassius).
And now a little about the wonderful guards of the 9th circle of hell:
BRIAREUS
- half-bull, half-snake or giant with 100 arms and 50 heads. He defended himself with 100 shields from the lightning of Zeus himself.
EPHIALTE
- simply aggressive and possessing immeasurable physical strength giant. Known for asking for the hand of Athena herself. Although, some believe that to Hera. But what difference does it make who disgraced him? After all, neither one nor the other were seen in an intimate relationship with Ephialtes.
ANTEI
- son of Gaia and Poseidon.
Antaeus received incredible strength when he came into contact with the ground. And the earth is his mother, named Gaia.
He is the king of Libya. During his lifetime, this giant loved to fight with all travelers and defeat them all. He even built an entire temple out of the skulls of the losers.
He was defeated by, who do you think, HERCULES!
This cunning son of Zeus tore the unfortunate, lover of skull structures, from the ground, and then strangled him or broke his back.
By the way, they say that Hercules made life in Libya better.
LUCIFER, as well as DARNISH.
By the way, from Latin Lucifer is nothing other than luminous.
Once upon a time this “light bearer” was an angel. As they say, he became proud and wanted to take the throne of God.
Well, mutual hatred began there, Lucifer became what we know him now, after which he was expelled from paradise. Thus he ended up in hell.
As for the 9th circle of hell, Dante describes in detail the prince of darkness Lucifer: he has three mouths, in each of which the greatest traitors in history are tormented, namely Judas, Brutus and Cassius. VIP seats, so to speak.
Traitors are doomed to the 9th circle of hell. The most insidious sin, according to Dante Alighieri. All possible types betrayers languish there. Traitors to the Motherland, traitors to loved ones, traitorous friends, and so on. All of them were frozen up to their necks in ice, and their traitorous faces were turned to the bottom. They experience eternal torment in the cold.
That's all 9 circles of hell by Dante Alighieri.
I hope you gained some knowledge. But I hasten to remind you that this is not a lie, this is a purely Catholic idea of hell. So, if this is knowledge, it is only in the area fiction, which made you fall asleep during lessons and classes, without even trying to remember it.
Not all of them, of course, but still...
A long time ago, back in 1321, Dante Alighieri wrote his Divine Comedy. In it he presented his model of the Underworld. In the work, the author describes hell as a place that consists of nine different locations, which he calls the 9 circles of hell. Despite the fact that this literary work art is almost 700 years old, it still delights, and even horrifies, people around the world. What was so interesting that Dante described in his brainchild?
The main character of the work is the author himself. He talks about how he got lost in the forest. Virgil, the great Roman poet, came to Dante's aid. Virgil is not only ready to lead Dante out of the forest, but also wants to show him the afterlife. Dante agrees when he learns that the Roman poet was sent by Beatrice, Dante's beloved.
Before entering the first circle, Dante and Virgil must pass through, as it were, the hallway of hell. There languish the souls of people who have done nothing bad in their lives, but nothing good either. Also locked there are angels who did not side with either God or the Devil during their battle. Dante calls the souls of these people worthless.
All 9 circles of hell by Dante Alighieri
1 circle of hell according to Dante
There are souls of people who were not baptized. They didn't do bad things. Virgil himself, Dante's companion, is locked there. Besides him, the souls of Socrates, Aristotle, Caesar, and many others live here. famous people. Also here were the souls of Noah and Moses. But they were transferred to Paradise when Jesus Christ resurrected. Prisoners in this circle are not subject to torture. Their punishment is sorrow. The guardian there is Charon, the carrier of the souls of dead people.
2nd circle of hell according to Dante
The souls of people who indulged in lust and passion are locked there. According to Dante, the souls of Cleopatra and Helen the Beautiful are locked there, because of which the war between Greece and Troy began. The punishment for lustful souls is an eternal hurricane. Souls swirl in a continuous and strong flow winds and often hit the rocks. The guardian of that circle is Minos, the ancient judge. In addition to his duties in the 2nd circle, he also sends souls to other circles of hell, according to their sins.
3 circle of hell according to Dante
In that circle, the souls of people whose main sin was gluttony are tortured. Punishment for gluttons is constant rain and hail. In addition to the rain, the souls of sinners are gnawed by an ancient demon. His name is Cerberus, and he appears as a huge three-headed dog. He is also the guardian of the 3rd circle.
4 circle of hell according to Dante
The souls of people who committed two different sins are locked in that circle. Half of these souls spent a lot during their lifetime, and the other half was greedy. In their eternal confrontation, these souls push huge stones up the mountain. Having met at the top, they collide and slide down to the very foot of the mountain to begin their own torture all over again. The guardian of the 4th circle is the demon Plutos.
5 circle of hell according to Dante
There is the last refuge for the angry and lazy. The souls of people whose main sin was anger are doomed to endlessly fight each other in the swamp. At the bottom of the swamp lie people whose main sin was laziness. The guardian of the 5th circle is Phlegius.
6 circle of hell according to Dante
The souls of heretics and false teachers are locked in the 6th circle. Their punishment is graves with flames inside. Souls are constantly burning in their graves. The guards of the 6th circle are three furies - Tisiphone, Megaera and Alecto. These creatures have snakes instead of hair.
7 circle of hell according to Dante
All souls who have harmed themselves or others are tortured there. Tyrants and robbers are forced to boil in hot blood. Those who try to emerge will be immediately shot by the centaurs. Suicides are turned into trees. They are forced to silently watch as they are tortured by harpies, half-women, half-birds. Those who squandered and lost their fortune are forced to forever run from the hounds. Blasphemers, perverts and the souls of people who harmed or interfered with art are doomed to eternal torment in the desert and languish under the fiery rain. In addition to harpies and centaurs, the guardian of that circle is the Minotaur, half-man, half-bull.
8 circle of hell according to Dante
In that circle, the most varieties of sinners are tormented. Pimps and seducers, beaten by demons, swim towards each other through fetid feces. The sycophants are doomed to be buried in feces forever. Members of the clergy who traded church positions are chained to rocks, with flames streaming down their heels. Sorcerers and fortune tellers have their heads turned 180 degrees and their tongues removed. Bribe takers are boiling in the tar, if someone tries to emerge from the tar, then the devils will stick hooks into him, weapons resembling a half-spear, half-poker. Hypocrites are shackled in lead robes. Thieves are tormented by snakes, as well as leprosy and lichen. The souls of crafty advisers are doomed to eternal burning. Those who like to cause discord are gutted by demons. Those who counterfeit anything are doomed to suffer from various diseases forever. The guardian of the 8th circle is Geryon, the great liar and deceiver.
9 circle of hell according to Dante
That circle is a huge ice lake. The souls of traitors, those who betrayed their relatives and their homeland, their friends, kings and their God are locked here. The 9th circle also serves as a prison for the most important traitor, the one who betrayed his father the Lord God. Lucifer himself is locked in the 9th circle. All the other traitors, including Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius, are tormented in the three jaws of Lucifer or frozen up to their necks in ice. The guardians of that circle are the giants Briareus, Antaeus and Ephialtes.
A colorful guide to the circles of hell from Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy.Now you will see that not everything is so bad in this world. We hope that this torment does not threaten anyone. Because getting into at least one circle is extremely easy.
1st circle - Limbo
The first circle of hell is Limbo, where the souls of those who were not convicted of unrighteous deeds reside, but died unbaptized. Limbo is home to ancient philosophers and poets (including Virgil): Noah, Moses and Abraham were also here - all the righteous men mentioned in the Old Testament, but then they were allowed to ascend to Paradise.
Guardian: Charon.
Punishment: painless grief.
2nd circle - Voluptuousness
At the entrance, travelers are met by King Minos (a fair judge and father of the Minotaur), who distributes souls in circles. Here everything is covered in darkness and a storm is constantly raging - gusts of wind throw the souls of those who were pushed onto the path of sin by love. If you coveted someone else’s wife or husband, lived in debauchery, your soul will float restless over the abyss forever and ever.
Guardian: Minos.
Punishment: torn and tormented by the storm.
3rd circle - Gluttony
Gluttons are imprisoned in this circle: icy rain always pours here, souls get stuck in dirty slurry, and the demon Cerberus gnaws the prisoners who fall under the clawed paw.
Guardian: Cerberus.
Punishment: rotting under the sun and rain.
4th circle - Greed
The abode of those who “spent and hoarded unworthily,” a gigantic plain on which stand two crowds. Pushing loads with their chests, they walk towards each other, collide and then separate to start all over again.
Guardian: Plutos.
Punishment: Eternal dispute.
5 circle - Anger and Laziness
A giant river, or rather the Stygian swamp, where people are exiled for laziness and anger. All circles up to the fifth are a haven for the intemperate, and intemperance is considered a lesser sin than “malice or violent bestiality,” and therefore the suffering of souls there is alleviated compared to those who live in the outer circles.
Guardian: Phlegy.
Punishment: An eternal fight up to the neck in the swamp.
6th circle - For heretics and false teachers
The flaming city of Dit (the Romans called Hades, the god of the underworld, Dit), which is guarded by sister Furies with balls of snakes instead of hair. Inescapable sorrow reigns here, and in the open tombs, as if in eternal ovens, heretics and false teachers are laid to rest. The transition to the seventh circle is fenced off by a fetid abyss.
Guardians: Furies.
Punishment: to be a ghost in a hot grave.
7th circle - For rapists and murderers of all stripes
The steppes, where it always rains fire, and the same thing appears to the eye: the terrible torment of souls stained with violence. This includes tyrants, murderers, suicides, blasphemers, and even gamblers (who senselessly destroyed their own property). Sinners are torn apart by dogs, hunted by harpies, boiled in scarlet boiling water, turned into trees and forced to run under streams of flame.
Guardian: Minotaur.
Punishment: boil in a bloody river, languish in a sultry desert by a burning stream, be tormented by harpies and hounds.
8th circle - For those who deceived those who did not trust
The haven of pimps and seducers, consists of 10 ditches (Zlopazuchi, Evil Crevices), in the center of which lies the most terrible ninth circle of Hell. Soothsayers, fortune-tellers, witches, bribe-takers, hypocrites, flatterers, thieves, alchemists, false witnesses and counterfeiters are tormented nearby. Priests who traded in church positions fall into this same circle.
Guardian: Geryon.
Punishment: sinners walk in two oncoming streams, scourged by demons, stuck in fetid feces, some of their bodies are chained in rocks, fire flows down their feet. Someone is boiling in the tar, and if he sticks out, the devils will stick the hooks. Those clad in lead robes are placed on a red-hot brazier, sinners are gutted and tormented by vermin, leprosy and lichen.
9th circle - For apostates and traitors of all kinds
In the very center of the underworld is the icy Lake Cocytus. It's like Viking hell, it's incredibly cold here. Here lie the apostates frozen in the ice, and the main one is Lucifer, the fallen angel. Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Christ), Brutus (who betrayed the trust of Julius Caesar) and Cassius (also a participant in the conspiracy against Caesar) are tormented in the three jaws of Lucifer.
Guardians: giants Briareus, Ephialtes, Antaeus.
Punishment: eternal torment in an icy lake.
In the bowels of the earth it forms something like a funnel or an overturned cone, the end point of which is at the same time the center of the earth and the universe. The Funnel of Hell is divided into nine concentric, horizontally lying circles, containing different types of condemned people. Each of the circles of Hell, counting from top to bottom, in Dante is smaller than the one before it and is separated from the next by a rocky slope. The more excusable sins, which arise rather from the weakness of human nature, are punished in higher circles, and the sins most contrary to human nature are punished in lower circles. But since the circles become increasingly narrower, this proves that the most inhuman, repulsive sins are committed least often.
The structure of Hell in Dante's description
Let us now delve into the principle that Dante adhered to in his categories of sinners. Ordinary descriptions hell rely almost entirely on the church theory of the seven main sins and their uniform punishment, without going into much internal differences. The scholastics, on the contrary, did not limit themselves to this and established a deeper difference. For example, Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between sins arising from passion or malice, and declares the latter worthy of a heavier punishment than the former. Dante's principle does not exclude this scholastic principle, but on the contrary embraces it, but it is broader and does not have a Christian source - Aristotle. His ethics were adopted in many particulars by the scholastics, and Dante directly calls it his own. Following the theory of his moral teacher, he establishes three categories of basic sins: sins due to intemperance, sensual passion, which Thomas Aquinas also distinguishes; sins of malice, which for him, like for Aristotle, are twofold: sins of open violence and deception. The goal of every evil action, says Dante, is injustice, and this goal is achieved in two ways, both through violence and through deception. Deception is most unpleasant to God and is punished most severely in Hell, since it is the evil most characteristic of man, and the abuse of the gifts that constitute his exclusive property, distinguishing him from an animal - while the sins of violence, and everything that likens between humans and animals, they directly distract him from any use of these gifts. The sins of intemperance, rooted in the weakness of human nature, are threefold: carnal crimes, revelry, poverty and extravagance, anger and discontent. Between the immoderate and the violent are placed heretics of all kinds, Epicureans, etc., since they contain a particle of both. Those who live by violence are divided into three divisions: those who sin against God and nature, blasphemers, sodomites and usurers. Deception can be twofold: it is committed either against those who do not have confidence in the person deceiving, or against those who have trusted him. In the first case, only general philanthropy is violated, in the second, personal philanthropy; in the first case it is a simple deception, in the second this sin becomes treason, the most disgusting, inhuman form of sin. Dante lists ten types of criminals as simple deceivers: pimps and seducers, flatterers and harlots, Simonists (persons who traded in church positions), soothsayers, people living by bribery, hypocrites, thieves, bad advisers, peace breakers, deceivers. Treason can be of four kinds: against blood relatives, fatherland, guests, against the eternal world order of God, that is, against God and the empire.
Sandro Botticelli . Map of Hell (Circles of Hell - La mappa dell inferno). Illustration for Dante's "Divine Comedy". 1480s
All these sinners are distributed in Dante's description into the eight circles of Hell; The ninth circle, or rather the first, counting from top to bottom, constitutes Limbo, something like the threshold of hell, where all unbaptized pious people take shelter, whose only crime is their ignorance of Christianity. Along with all these sinners or people deprived of hope of salvation, Dante established another category of convicts from those who were neither ardent nor indifferent on earth, “among the average people, whose residence is on the other side of the border line of hell, between front door And Acheron; they are too bad for heaven, too good for hell, and therefore are rejected both here and there. Among them are those neutral angels who, during the rebellion of Lucifer, did not take the side of either God or the rebel.
This group of sinners challenges us to consider it even more thoroughly. At first glance, it is true that it agrees with the ethics of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, and Dante himself refers to them as authorities. But the rest of the division, and in particular the establishment of the characteristic differences of Aristotelian categories, has so much originality in itself that it will not be useless to analyze it. To highlight people of average temperament, Dante found instructions in the Apocalypse. The distinction that befalls the devout pagans in the first circle of hell does not in itself have anything that would deviate from the general belief; exactly the same can be said about the four circles of intemperate people. In the description of all these hellish circles, one can recognize the five deadly sins: sensuality, gluttony, stinginess, anger and laziness, just as they were understood by the church and Christian morality. The original and independent side of the criminal theories that dominate in hell begins with the sixth circle. This circle contains heretics, the seventh circle of rapists, the eighth and ninth two types of deceivers. Here in Dante, indeed, one can still see traces of his views canonical And Roman law, but they are reduced to a minimum thanks to the third principle - the principle of German criminal law. Canon law and Christian ethics would undoubtedly recognize heresy as a more serious sin than murder, hypocrisy and treason against relatives or the emperor. In the same way, Roman law does not know of an offense more serious than that committed in relation to the common good and the state, and almost entirely has no other measure for the crime other than the interest of the state. A crime against an individual is of secondary importance to him; it does not recognize betrayal; violence is punished by it only when it violates public peace and security. In short, Roman criminal law is not based on the basis of an ethical legal outlook; the Germanic, on the contrary, finds complete support in it. The latter hardly cares about the state and punishes only the crimes of individuals, mostly on the basis of the moral standard of their punishability. The motive of the crime, the method of its execution, are in the foreground for him, and the more outrageous they seem according to national concepts, the more severely they are punished. Therefore, here the most serious crime is treason, since it violates the most sacred bonds, the bonds of fidelity. Thus, the most insidious and most hidden crimes were punished the most severely by the Germans. Any obvious violence, which did not always even seem worthy of punishment, was punished less severely. We encounter this German view in Dante's description of hell. Violence is punished less severely than deception, and among the crimes based on lies, treason is punished most severely. Therefore, among rapists we find all kinds of thieves and deceivers, if only their crime was accompanied by open violence: on the contrary, murderers, who were also thieves, are not among the first, but among the last.
These brief explanations will be enough to prove the identity of the views of the Germans and Dante. Perhaps the question will arise: was this identity accidental or is it based on a deeper connection? As you know, thanks to Lombards, German legal views dominated at one time in a large part of Italy and did not disappear everywhere even in the thirteenth century. Therefore, Dante could easily get to know them. But we do not attach such an explanation of great importance; here we are talking about an internal sense of justice, which is not cognized, not studied externally and can only be the result general organization, the spiritual essence of man himself. It is therefore necessary to point out the affinity of Dante’s nature with the German character, as it is found in the very legal consciousness of this people, and to recall at the same time how much these legal views of the poet diverged from those that prevailed in contemporary Italy, especially in the environment surrounding the poet. It is not known whether the prevailing view was a product of the struggle of parties, but it is quite certain that treason was one of the most disgusting and widespread ulcers Italian life of that time and that it occurs in all forms and under all circumstances, not accompanied anywhere by a moral consciousness of law. Based on this fact, one would like to call Dante more Germanic than Romanesque in nature.
When specializing the sins of the second and third categories, Dante in his description again approaches Roman and canonical views, as, for example, when analyzing deceivers and usurers, although regarding the latter, the definition of the essence of sin is entirely based on an independent ethical basis.
Dante's Inferno. Illustration by Gustave Doré
It is interesting to consider the different types of hellish punishments. They are a continuation internal state sinners on earth and proceed from the position: “For what you have sinned, you must be punished.” This provision was accepted by almost everyone as a guiding norm. German "scourges" ( flagellants), who appeared a little later than Dante, and who wanted to suffer for their sins while still on earth, made this the principle of their self-flagellation. People of average temperament in hell suffer most of all from the consciousness of their own insignificance and their distance from people good and evil; the punishment of the unbaptized consists only of hopeless impulses, without any other torments. With unchaste people, on the contrary, that type of torture begins, distinctive feature which constitutes its eternity. They are tormented by sensual lusts and never achieve peace. The gluttons in Dante's Inferno are mired in a swamp, which, due to rain, snow and hail, constantly remains cold and sticky. Misers and spendthrifts, forming two choirs, in their constant movement bump into each other, reproach each other for stinginess and wastefulness, and then part to come together again. The angry and dissatisfied are with Dante in the hot swamp of the Styx, fighting with all their members and tearing each other to pieces. Heretics lie in hell in open flaming coffins, which after the Last Judgment will be closed forever. Those who have sinned with violence against their neighbors are immersed in a hot stream of blood and are boiled in it; According to the severity of their crime, they are placed at greater or lesser depth. Suicides and players in Dante's description are forever deprived of their bodily shell and inhabit a forest full of thorny plants in hell with their souls; after the resurrection of the dead they will bring their bodies and hang them on branches. Violent people who have sinned against God are struck by an eternal rain of fire; blasphemers continue to blaspheme God and resist him. Dante's sodomites constantly flee from the flames falling on them; The moneylenders can hardly hold their bags in their hands, deflecting the fire from themselves. Deceivers, pimps and seducers go in the opposite direction, driven with unceasing speed by the blows of the whip that the horned demons give them. Flatterers and courtesans sit in Dante's pit filled with all kinds of uncleanness. The Simonists plunged, heads down, into the rocks, while their feet burned in the fire blazing from without. The soothsayers walk in Dante's hell, with their faces turned backwards; people who can be bribed and those who bribed them are mired in a lake of black tar. The pretenders can hardly drag their feet - they are dressed in heavy monastic robes, which appear to be gold on the outside, but lead on the inside. Thieves steal from each other their only asset - their human appearance. Evil, secret advisers are invisible and hidden by the devouring flame. The perpetrators of strife, sects, etc. walk around with cloven bodies and disjointed members. Counterfeit coiners, perverters of words, etc., slanderers and liars are completely arbitrarily tormented in hell by devils, since they themselves did not respect the law during their lifetime. Traitors, people who have sinned against the rules of general and personal love, are in an icy lake, and those who hated each other most during life are pressed closest to each other. Below all of them is in Dante's description the embodied principle of evil, Lucifer, with three faces. In one of these images he crushes Judas, who betrayed Christ, and in the other two, he crushes the traitor to the cause of the empire. Lucifer is the ruler of hell; all evil came from him and returns to him. That's why he has three faces: one dark, the other red, the third half yellow, half white. In this circumstance, they rightly saw a contrast with the Trinity or even a connection with the three main types of punishable sins.
Among other particulars of hell, we should especially dwell on the use of mythological ideas of the Greeks and Romans. Dante, in his description of hell, almost entirely used them and was guided in in this case a well-known rule of medieval Christianity, which saw in them not only the creation of fantasy, but a false understanding of real truths. That is why, in Dante's hell, pagan deities and heroes rise again in the form of demons and have the same meaning as the fallen angels who turned into devils. The poet, without hesitation, portrays Charon as a carrier, Minos as a hellish judge. In the same way, Dante gives mythological images as representatives to all other circles, which also already have a corresponding allegorical meaning. The dog Cerberus is a representative of the circle of gluttons in hell; Pluto (in ancient times was a god not only underworld, but also wealth) - the circle of the stingy and wasteful, Phlegias - the angry. The three furies are, along with the fallen angels, the guardians of a real hellish city, where people who have sinned with violence and deception are located. The Minotaur leads, in particular, people who have sinned with violence. Centaurs punish in hell those who oppressed their neighbors; harpies, as symbols of reproaches of conscience, torment suicides. Geryon has become the leader of a circle of deceivers and remains hidden while the others are always visible. The difference we notice in the use that Dante makes of the originally pagan and biblical demons is that to punish the most serious sinners, deceivers, he uses only the latter and presents them in a much worse form than the former. But even apart from this special example, Dante, in his description of hell, everywhere and always refers to mythology as something real, living, and uses it with the same freedom with which he uses others historical facts and personalities. The best and most convincing example of such an attitude to the matter is the ninth canto, where Dante puts into the mouth an angel who descended from heaven to tame demons: the myth of the descent