8th Circle-8th Level

-Thievery

By: Jack Howman, Mike Konicek, Nick

Schmidlkofer, Carly Lex

Summary • Thieves in the 8th level of

the 8th circle of hell are tormented by serpents. Dante and Virgil enter the circle, see thieves and others convicted of fraud being chased by a centaur named Cacus. People are bit and turn to ash. Snakes wrap themselves around sinners and melt together.

Punishment• Serpents constantly bite sinners and the venom from them turns them into dust, and then they are reborn. Others are fused with serpents and other sinners to make hideous creatures, with no identifiable features. As in life, these sinners constantly transformed ownership of property they stole; their punishment is to never have any permanent ownership of their own bodies.

Quotation 1 • “Pistoia, ah Poistoia! Why not resolve.” Pistoia

was apparently found by the remains of the deafeated Cataline army, (cf. XV; 61-78) composed mostly of evil men and Dante asks for Pistoia to destroy itself.

Quotation 2• “Where did Cianfa go

off to?” Cianfa, a member of the Florentine Donati family. He appears in the story at line 50 in the form of the 6-legged serpent.

Fair?• We believe that Dante’s punishment is fair

and makes sense. The thieves here get their identities stolen in death, just as they stole others possessions, objects, or whatever they took from others in life.

Dante’s Reaction• In the past levels of hell Dante felt pity or

remorse for the souls trapped here. He had a change of heart after he conversed with Filippo Argenti-he remembered why the souls are here that are; they are sinners in God’s eye and all have committed crimes against him. Evil people dwell here.

Cacus (Centaur)• Was a giant fire breathing monster when alive

and killed by Hercules after stealing pillaging his livestock. In hell he has a dragon on his back and snakes all over him.

Vanni Fucci• Vanni Fucci, the thief who is incinerated

(after receiving a snakebite) and then regains his human form (like the Phoenix rising from the ashes [Inf. 24.97-111])

• He admits--grudgingly--to having stolen holy objects (possibly silver tablets with images of the Virgin Mary and the apostles) from a chapel in the Pistoian cathedral

• He committed numerous acts of violence, including murder). He first gets back at his interlocutor by announcing future political events--for example, exiled Pistoian black guelphs joining with exiled Florentines. Immediately after this symbolic "screw you!" to Dante, the thief actually gives God the proverbial finger (he makes "figs"--signifying copulation--by placing his thumb between the forefinger and middle finger of each hand) (Inf. 25.1-3).

Pope Boniface VIII• Boniface, for Dante, is personal

and public enemy number one. Benedetto Caetani, a talented and ambitious scholar of canon law, rose quickly through the ranks of the church and was elected pope, as Boniface VIII, soon after the addication of Pope Celestine V in 1294. (Rumors that Boniface intimidated Celestine into resigning so he could become the pope.

Dante’s Allegory• Allegory: Dante whole divine comedy is one

big allegory. The larger theme outside of the story is justice, and is portrayed as the precise dispersion of souls. Every soul is assigned to its proper hell and with no pity and Dante is also saying everything relies on a perfect balance.

Allusion 1• The Harrowing of Hell was

previously described in Inferno 4. Virgil now alludes to a specific effect of the harrowing; damage to the gate of hell. In noting the arrogance of the demons at the entrance to Dis when they deny both Dante and Virgil admission. (Inf. 8.124-7).

Allusion 2• These cantos include two notable references to creatures of

classical mythology. Dante incorporates these creatures into a “Christian Hell.” Virgil describes “Fortune” as a minister of God and yet, gives her all of the pagan traits that normally accompany her in myth. The Furies and the legend of Medusa’s head come from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, one of a favorite source of mythology for writers and thinkers of the past. The Furies are out of place here, as they do nothing for the plot. Dante uses this passage to declare that anything worthwhile in the poetry of the ancients falls within his territory as well. From this, Dante creates his own style of writing.