My Inferno

[dantes-social]

Lessons?

I know I’m going to look back on this journey as the most pivotal time of my life. I have seen God’s power at work in Hell, the unspeakable evils, the suffering souls, and Satan himself. I suppose you want me to pass on a pearl of wisdom as to how you should live your life based on my journey. I wish I could, but truth to be told, all I can say is that we are useless without God. Like the Old Man of Crete, we are destined for Hell unless we repent and surrender ourselves to Him. 

There’s your quote for the day, I guess. 

[dantes-social]

Rest

I feel exhausted. I can’t imagine how Virgil must feel right now. 

I wasn’t aware of the toll that Hell took on me until I left it. My heart feels lighter now, hopeful. To be surrounded by the natural earth rather than the evil walls of Hell is such a comfort that I cannot express in words.

[dantes-social]

Escape!

I’ll admit, I didn’t do much work when it came to escaping Hell.

Virgil, on the other hand, was incredible. He used Satan’s beastly legs as leverage to literally crawl out of Hell, crossing over the center of the earth and exiting into an earthy little cave. For a moment, I felt as though I were being crushed by God’s fist, the earth’s force was pushing on every fiber of my being. We made it out, though. 

My phone still has half its battery left, so that’s another bonus. 

[dantes-social]

God’s fallen angel

I don’t know what I was expecting of Satan. But it wasn’t this. 

It’s so cold in Cocytus that Satan feels like the sun. Everything revolves around him, and he is the only creature down here that is able to move - and move he does. He’s as large as the Titans and has three awful, gnashing faces: one red, one white, one black. The colors are marred by dried blood, pus, flesh, all the things that can come out of a human are found on Lucifer. I find it difficult to believe that this was once the brightest angel in Heaven. 

Lucifer’s faces punish the three worst traitors in Cocytus, yet his eyes leak tears that stream down his to his legs, which are partly encased in ice. The tears, small as they are, contribute to the ice that will eventually consume Satan himself. Fascinating contrapasso, isn’t it? It brings me peace that such a terrifying creature is punished in this manner. 

[dantes-social]

*cannibalism*

Ugolino and Ruggieri. Ugolino is the one committing cannibalism.

I’m a little ashamed to admit that yes, I did spend quite a bit of time staring at that horrific scene, The two souls are frozen together so that neither can escape the other’s grasp. According to Ugolino, the two of them had committed treason together, but Ruggieri betrayed Ugolino, sending him to jail, where Ugolino ended up eating his sons. And now ... this was their punishment. For Ugolino to gnaw endlessly at his now-enemy’s neck for eternity.

If I made a list of the worst punishments I’ve seen in Hell, this would probably top the list. 

[dantes-social]

More catching up

Something I forgot to cover was the Titans, the living mountains that line the pit to Cocytus. Their bottom halves dangle into Cocytus, but that didn’t detract from how insanely BIG they were. I myself was probably half as tall as one of their noses. They were chained down, thank God. 

Virgil guided me through them, naming particular ones that had tried to rise up against the Greek gods. He did not mention were the gods were (for if the Titans are here, the gods must be somewhere too, right?), so I plan to either ask him later or to do my own research when I finally get back home.

Home seems so far away right now.

[dantes-social]

Catching up

Okay, I’m ready to type now. 

My fingers are adjusting to the cold (I’m shocked by phone is still functioning). My last post was done in the heat (funnily enough) of the moment. I just really wanted to tell you guys how it was while I was feeling it. 

Cocytus’s layout is different from eight in that there are no giant ditches separating the sins. The ice sheets are angled down toward Satan, but it’s not that steep. The souls here look like masterful ice sculptures from far away, but as you get closer, you notice that there are real people in ice. Ice has frozen over their mouths and noses so to suffocate them for eternity, others have ice frozen their eyes so that they cannot blink. In descending order, the levels are Caina, Antenora, Ptolomea, and Judecca. As you progress toward Satan the higher the ice is, until the souls are completely encased. 

[dantes-social]

can barrreely typeep

I’ll keep this short. It’s so cold down here - I’m huddling against Virgil right now. There are four levels here with Satan himself in the center (as pictured). The levels are differentiated by how much of the soul is in ice. There are no screams here. My footsteps seem to echo but the sound is muffled much quicker than it would be on earth. Strange. 

[dantes-social]

Seeking out adventure

Ulysses, the evil counselor himself. For the sake of fulfilling his selfish desire, he led his crew to the mountain of Purgatory - the most unnatural way of reaching God. Ulysses sought what he could not have. 

I think it’s fitting that he’s here. Those men on his ship had families and lives to go back to. Ulysses stole them away from that, and instead doomed them to drown in a whirpool. 

I’d really like to see what you guys think. Of course, God’s judgement is always true, but I’d like to see your interpretations of Ulysses. 

[dantes-social]

Prophecy

It’s weird how the souls in Hell have this strange ability to forsee the future. Virgil and I encountered a criminal from Florence (Vanni Fucci) in bolgia eight who, in taking offense to my criticism of him, divulged a rather dark prophecy about Florence.

It is no secret to those of you who know me that I associate myself with the Whites in Florence, but according to Fucci, we were to be expelled by the Black party. I have no reason to think the souls here are lying, but I see no reason for why the Whites would be overtaken by the Blacks. I will stand by my party, nonetheless. I shouldn’t concern myself with vague prophecies.

[dantes-social]

How far we have fallen

Circle eight is crazy. There are ten consecutive ... ditches, I guess (Virgil calls them bolgias) in this circle, and each one is dedicated to punishing a certain sin. The one that we are currently leaving is the third bolgia, where those have corrupted the things of God. 

I hate the people here. Really. They were in the right place to make a difference and instead they threw it away to make an extra buck. Pathetic. I find it fitting that they are doused in flames in a baptism font, for as they made a mockery of God, so they are mocked in return. 

Though I’m only three bolgias in, I’m starting to see behind circle eight. These sinners abuse the power of creation to further their selfish goals. We wouldn’t have the ability to create without Him, and yet these souls took the gift and corrupted it. Similar to the suicide forest, but worse. I used to pity the souls in Hell, but now I am starting to see it the way Virgil does: righteous justice. 

[dantes-social]

Learning w/ Virgil

Me: *shows compassion for a tortured soul*

Virgil: No.

Me: *tries to explain myself*

Virgil: you are questioning the wisdom of God?

Me: *learns from my mistakes and realizes there is a logical reason behind everything I see*

Also me: *realizes that Virgil is still kinda hardcore but that's the way it should be*

[dantes-social]

Breakdown of circle seven

Round 1: the violent against neighbors, the great tyrants and warmakers. As they covered themselves with blood during their lives, so they boiled in blood while centaurs patrol the banks, shooting them down with arrows if they try to crawl out of the blood. The severity of their violence is measured by how far deep they are in the blood. 

Round 2: the violent against themselves, those who took the gift God gave them and threw it back in their face. Their souls are bound into trees that can only speak when harmed. 

Round 3: the violent against God, nature, and art, those who abused the gift of creation that God bestowed upon them.

[dantes-social]

Geryon

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the prototype of fraud, the creature of dozen beasts, Geryon!

I am on his back as I type this (hopefully he can’t see my screen (or read) ... I am closest to his head and Virgil is behind me). Virgil says this abomination is our ride to circle eight. The dropoff between circle seven and eight is impossibly steep, so I think I’ll be able to get another post out before we land. 

Also, repitilian scales and fur should never mix. Ever. It’s the most awkward senstaion I’ve ever felt, I don’t know how Geryon stands it. 

[dantes-social]

An old friend

If you follow my Twitter, you’ll know who Brunetto Latini is. In the midst of Florence’s political turmoil, Brunetto was a rock in my life. I learned many things at his feet, but never imagined that I might encounter him in the seventh of circle of Hell (of all places). 

We spent a good while catching up with each other (Virgil did not leave my side, but I think he was okay with me talking to this particular sinner). I’m not going to recount our entire conversation (it’s a little personal, you know?) but I left feeling both satisfied, melancholy, and fearful. Brunetto spoke of my alienation from “both sides” - I assume he was talking about the political situation back home - and I don’t think he’s lying. 

Bit of a heavy post, but we can’t go through life without a couple downers. 

[dantes-social]

Strange statue

At the time of writing this, Virgil and I have passed through all of circle seven, but there were some things I’d like to post before breaking down the punishments of this circle.

Like the strange statue that the title alludes to, I did indeed encounter an odd figure in the depths of Hell. It was a patchwork of materials, with the most value shaping the head and shoulders of the figure and terra cotta forming the feet of it. There was an ugly fissure splitting the torso of the figure, in which the Acheron, Phlegethon, and Styx merge into one stream. The stream then flows down Hell to circle eight. (I got all this from Virgil). 

The longer I looked at the statue, the more desperate it seemed. It was the only manmade thing here, yet unlike mankind’s beautiful creations on earth, this one reeks desperation and suffering. It’s just a feeling, I guess. I would ask you guys what you think it means but you’ve never been to Hell. 

[dantes-social]

An abbreviation of an important convo w/ Virgil

Me: Why is it that the sins in Upper Hell are ordered the way they are?

Virgil: They are in accordance with perversions of what is right.

Me: So if God is love ... then the further down a sin is, the further it is from God.

Virgil: Precisely.

Me: Lust and gluttony, the hoarders, wasters, wrathful, and sullen ... these are all things that good people experience, but the soul in Hell did not have the self-control nor reason nor faith to put them in their places.

Virgil: Very good. Shall we continue to circle seven?