Questions tagged [dante]
Commonly known by his pen name Dante Alighieri or simply as Dante. Author of the divine comedy (Comedìa).
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Why is Dante’s Odysseus different from Homer’s?
In Canto XXVI of the Inferno, Dante encounters Odysseus and Diomedes. Odysseus account of his exploits after Troy differ from the more familiar story in Homer’s Odyssey. Notably, Dante’s Odysseus does ...
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Who are the Diogenes and Zeno Dante encounters in Limbo?
In Limbo Dante encounters a group of philosophers:
When I had raised my eyes a little higher,
I saw the master of the men who know
seated in philosophic family.
There all look up to him, ...
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Why is Dante using Geryon as a symbol of fraud?
In Greek mythology, Geryon was a three-headed (or three-bodied) giant Hercules slew during one of his labors. Dante places him in the seventh circle of hell and presents him as a manifestation of ...
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Why are Dido and Cleopatra in the second circle of Hell?
Dante places Cleopatra and Dido in the second circle of Hell, on account of their lust.
However, both queens took their own lives. Shouldn't they be placed in the seventh circle, with the other ...
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What is the inspiration behind the dark forest in Dante?
The entrance to Dante's underworld is situated somewhere in a dark forest:
Midway in the journey of our life
I came to myself in a dark wood,
for the straight way was lost.
Ah, how hard ...
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Why does Dante spend so much time in Malebolge?
Dante spends thirteen cantos in Malebolge, the eighth circle of Hell. This is a lot longer than he spends with any other circle.
Why do the sinners in this circle get so much of his attention?
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Why is Lucifer three-faced?
In Canto XXXIV Lucifer is presented as a winged giant with three faces:
Oh, what a wonder it appeared to me
when I perceived three faces on his head.
The first, in front, was red in color.
...
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