Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno, Part A

 Dante's Inferno: Background Research

I recognize many of the names in this unit from my Latin class in high school, but the details are a little fuzzy so I wanted to do some more research. The characters that most interested me and that I might want to focus on in my retelling are Paolo and Francesco, Achilles, and Cleopatra from the lust circle of hell, as well as Vergil, Fortune, and the Furies.

Vergil: Vergil lived in first century B.C.E. and wrote three epic poems, the most famous of which is the Aeneid about the history of Rome. Vergil lived in northern Italy and may have been descended from Roman colonists. He was educated and likely came from a landowning family. Vergil died of illness after visiting Greece, and he wished his poems to be burned rather than published.

Paolo and Francesca: I was surprised to learn that Francesca and Paolo lived at the same time as Dante, so they are different from other historical allusions in the story. Her marriage to a man named Giovanni was political to preserve peace, and her husband had been crippled in the war. She fell in love with his younger brother Paolo, who already had a wife. Paolo was known for being physically attractive. They had a ten-year affair that ended when Giovanni killed them both.

Achilles: Featured in the Iliad, Achilles is a great Greek warrior of the Trojan war. Legend says he died when Paris shot him in the heel, which was the only vulnerable part of his body after his mother dipped him in the Styx as an infant. Both Zeus and Poseidon wanted to marry Thetis, his mother, until they learned her son would become greater than his father. In the Trojan war, Achilles is remembered as a hero for killing Hector.

Cleopatra: Cleopatra ruled over Egypt until it became part of the Roman Empire. She had an affair with Julius Caesar and married Mark Antony. She had her husband committed suicide after Octavian's armies defeated Egypt. 

Fortuna: Fortuna is the Roman goddess of luck. She carries a wheel and has the ability to bring everyone either good or bad fortune that can change at an instant, like the positioning of a wheel. In ancient Rome, various cults and many temples to Fortuna existed. She remained popular throughout the Middle Ages, and Pars Fortuna appears in astrology calculations for individuals' most beneficial times.

Erinyes: The Furies are Greek and personify vengeance. They are very ancient, both in terms of mythological origin and oral tradition. Some legends say they are sisters.

Image information: Paolo and Francesca, Achilles Pottery

Story Source: Poetry in Translation by Tony Kline