Dante, 9 circles of hell. Guide to the circles of Hell from the "Divine Comedy" Dante Alighieri

In his amazing, frightening creation "Divine Comedy" Dante Alighieri paints pictures of the punishment of sinners in colors. The expression "9 circles of hell" received a vivid visualization, which undoubtedly strongly influenced the believers. And in our time, the work of Dante is studied and interpreted, because how many religions will exist, as much punishment will be relevant for the transgressions before God. Our article is devoted to the description of the circles of hell by a famous work. Imagine also a unique picture that stretches before the eyes of the heroes of the "Divine Comedy".

Generalized features of hell by Dante

Traveling through the terrible circles of hell, you can see the pattern. The first circles represent eternal punishments for intemperance during life. The further, the sins of the people are less material, that is, affect the moral aspects of life. Accordingly, with each round of torture over sinners is more terrible. The way Dante's readers presented 9 circles of hell causes a storm of emotions and, as we hope and what the author of antiquity counted, will warn people from bad deeds.

Dante's picturesque view of the geography of hell, of course, was not the original information. The poet expressed the experience and theories of philosophers and predecessor scientists, describing 9 circles of hell. According to the Bible, such a representation is expressed in seven souls who purify the souls of sinners.

So, Dante in his work relies on the centric structure of hell, where groups of circles are characterized by varying severity of sins. As we have already noticed, the closer to the center, the heavier is the sin.

Aristotle in his work "Ethics" classifies sins by categories: the first is intemperance, the second is violence over others and over oneself, the third category is deception and betrayal.

Now we will embark on a journey through the world where punishment reigns, and for every offense is paid in full - we begin to get acquainted with the circles of hell.

First circle. Limbo

On the first round of hell, the suffering of sinners is painless. Punishment here is eternal sorrow, but it fell to the lot of those who were not baptized.

So, among the grieving souls on Limba there are the righteous from the Old Testament (Noah, Abraham, Moses), ancient philosophers (including Virgil). Watching the circle of Charon - the same carrier of souls across the river Styx. Next - about the interesting, which contains the "Divine Comedy" of Dante, on other circles.

The second circle. Voluptuousness

On the second circle, created to punish intemperate in love, sinners are guarded by King Minos himself , the very father of the monster of the Minotaur. Here, he also acts as a just judge, distributing souls to the respective circles.

On this circle there is a constant darkness, in which a hurricane is rampant. The souls of those who betrayed their spouse are mercilessly thrown by the wind.

The third circle. Gluttony

On the third circle of infernal torment are those who during life was unrestrained in food. Glutton pours cold rain, under the feet of eternal mud.

The guardian of the hellhound with three heads is guarded by the gluttons-Cerberus. Those sinful souls that fall into his paw, he gnaws. And we will continue to delve into how Dante presented 9 circles of hell.

The fourth circle. Greed

On the next round of punishment, they become even tougher. Here are the souls of those who were greedy in various spheres of life. It looks like this: on a vast plain, two masses of souls push huge stones towards each other. When the lines collide, you have to diverge again and start the work anew.

Guarded by greedy sinners is Plutos - the Greek god of wealth, mentioned in the Homeric Odyssey.

The circle is the fifth. Anger and laziness

The fifth circle is a wide swamp. Wild and lazy souls constantly fight, swimming in the swamp water. To the circle of terrible punishments is guarded by Phlegy - the ancestor of the phlegmatic robbers, the son of Ares.

The circle of the sixth. False teachers and heretics

Everyone who preached other gods and deceived the people fell into the seventh (according to Dante) circle of hell. In the Flaming City are the souls of such sinners. There they are tormented in open, hot, like a furnace, graves. Watch their terrible monsters - mythical sisters-Furies with snakes instead of hair. Between the sixth and the next circle, the delineated moat separates. Beginning are distant areas, where they torture for even more serious sins.

The seventh circle. Assassins and rapists

Represented by Dante 9 circles of hell continue the seventh - the place where the souls of murderers of different planes, including suicides, tyrants, are tormented.

Assassins and sovrešivshie violence are in the middle of the steppe, over which pours a fiery rain. He scorches sinners, also here they are torn by dogs, caught and tormented by harpy. Even in trees, eternally standing helpless, turn murderers into the seventh circle of hell. Follows regularly tortured souls terrible mythical monster Minotaur.

The eighth circle. Deceived

Ahead we have the most impressive of 9 circles of hell. According to the Christian Bible, just like in other religions, deceivers are exposed to one of the cruelest punishments. So in Dante they got a place so destructive that only immortal souls can exist here.

The eighth circle is Zlopazuhi - 10 ditches, in which there are among the impurities the fortune-tellers and fortunetellers, the priests, hypocrites, sorcerers, perjurers, and alchemists. Sinners are boiled in pitch, beaten with hips, crocheted into the rocks and give feet to fire. They are tormented by various creeps and diseases. The guard is the giant Gerion.

The circle is the ninth, the center. Traitors and Traitors

In the center of hell, according to Dante's poem, lies Lucifer, frozen into the icy lake of Kocit. His face is turned down. He also tortures other well-known traitors: Judas, Brutus, Cassius.

Among the infernal cold, all the rest of the soul's soul suffer. The watchdog is their giant Antey, the traitor of the Spartans Ephialte and the son of Uranus and Gaia Briard.

Conclusion

Finally, we came out of the hellish world created by Dante Alighieri. "Divine Comedy," the content of which we thus embraced, is a work that has survived through the ages thanks to its ability to impress the minds of readers. The work is deservedly considered a classic, obligatory for reading.

Now we know, on the basis of what created the legendary Dante 9 circles of hell, and what they represent. Let us note once again that the pictures that appear before the readers are striking in scale and content: as if all the fear of man before death and the afterlife was embodied in a single thought, expressed by the poem "Divine Comedy." If you do not already have an open book in front of you, 9 circles of hell are quite ready to place your soul ...