A brief description of the nine levels of hell as described by Dante in the Divine Comedy.

1. DANTE’S INFERNO
Welcome to
Hell!
Part I of The Divine Comedy
By Dante Alighieri

2. THE GATES OF HELL
ABANDON ALL HOPE
YE WHO ENTER HERE…

3. *YOU ARE HERE, beyond the GATES OF HELL
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
* a depiction of hell based on the Divine Comedy

4. Circle I – Limbo
-Unbaptized and virtuous pagans who did not accept Christ.
-Limbo is a somewhat pleasant place, with fields and a castle.
-Denied God's presence for eternity

5. Circle II – The Carnal
-The lustful are sentenced to their punishment by
Minos (pictured here).

6. The Suffering of the Carnal
- The Lustful…indulged their
passions beyond reason.
- trapped forever in a violent storm,
never to touch anything again.
- Features the lovers Francesca
and Paolo (pictured below).

7. Circle III – The Gluttonous
CERBERUS
-Those trapped in Circle 3 are constantly maimed by Cerberus
-Symbolic of their excessive drinking and eating

8. The Suffering of the Gluttonous
-They lie in putrid slush (symbolic of the garbage they produced)
-It is continuously raining and hailing
-They provide quite a hefty snack for Cerberus…

9. Circle IV – The Hoarders and Wasters
-The Greedy vs. the Wasteful
- They are divided into two groups, each pushing boulders
against each other (symbolic of their mundane existence on
earth, with sin punishing its opposite sin).

10. Circle V - The River Styx
-The Wrathful are forever
attacking one another while
stuck in the marsh of the
Styx…
- Crossing the river on your own is
too dangerous…who will be your
guide?

11. Crossing the River Styx
Phlegyas, your guide
-The Slothful are eternally trapped beneath the swampy
water of the River
-They reach out and try to pull you into the swamp…

12. You have reached the City of Dis!
The Shores of Dis…
Now, your true nightmare beings…for within the Walls of Dis
are the worst sins of Hell...
…THE SINS OF MALICE

13. Circle VI
The Heretics
-The heretics denied
immortality, and
therefore denied God.
- They are entombed in
flaming graves for
eternity (since they
believed the soul dies
with the body, they will
suffer that fate in Hell).

14. Circle VII
The Violent and the Bestial

15. Circle VII - Outer Ring
The Violent Against Neighbors
-Murderers and
Warmakers are immersed
in boiling blood (symbolic
of the blood of those they
killed).
-Centaurs (pictured here)
guard the banks and
shoot arrows at anyone
who tries to escape

16. Circle VII – Middle Ring
The Violent Against Self
-The Wood of the Suicides
-Their souls are encased
in thorny trees.
- The harpies feed upon
their leaves.

17. Circle VII – Middle Ring
The Violent Against God
-The blasphemers, sodomites, and
usurers all committed a profane act
against God
-They are lain over burning sand
or forced to ceaselessly run around
in circles
-The sky rains fire symbolic of
God’s wrath

18. Circle VIII - Malebolge
-Malebolge contains the “fraudulent” sinners
-They are guilty of committing deliberate evil
-Each type of sinner is placed in their own
ditch
Seducers
Evil
Counselors
ThievesHypocrites
GraftersSorcerersSimoniacsFlatterers
Sowers of
Discord
Falsifiers

19. Circle VIII – Inside Malebolge…
Seducers – Run forever in opposite directions and are whipped by demons
Flatterers – Lie up to their necks in human feces
Simoniacs – Those who mocked the church are placed head-first in flaming holes
Sorcerers – Their heads are put on their bodies backward
Grafters – Trapped in a lake of burning pitch
Hypocrites – Made to wear brightly painted lead cloaks
Thieves – Chased by venomous snakes and who, after being bitten by the
venomous snakes, turn into snakes themselves and chase the other thieves in turn
Evil Counselors – Eternally trapped in flames
Sowers of discord – Their bodies are ripped apart, healed, and destroyed again
Falsifiers – Alchemists, counterfeiters, and perjurers are cursed with disease

20. The Path to the Ninth Circle...
You must be lowered into the pit by the
Giants Antaeus and Nimrod…

21. Circle IX – Bottom of the Well
(Traitors)

22. Circle IX - Caina
You travel across
the frozen lake of
the 9th circle of
Hell…
Caina features
those who
betrayed their
family…
They are frozen
up to their necks
in ice…
They cry eternally
for those they
betrayed…

23. Circle IX - Antenora
Antenora holds
those who
betrayed their
country…
Your fear rises
as you travel
closer to the lair
of the Devil…

24. Circle IX - Ptolomea
Ptolomea holds
those who
betryaed their
guests…
Their tears
freeze instantly
and pierce
their eyes…

25. Circle IX - Judecca
The Lair of Lucifer
Traitors to their Lords…
Lucifer’s three faces eternally consume the bodies of Brutus
and Cassius for betraying Caesar, and Judas Iscariot for
betraying Christ…
There is only one path for you to take now…
ESCAPE!!!

26. Escape from Hell
You climb Lucifer’s ragged fur towards an exit…you
have almost escaped!

27. Congratulations!
You have survived your journey through
Dante’s Inferno!
Hopefully you have a better understanding of
the imaginative Hell Dante created…