Dante's Purgatorio (Inferno Part 2) | A Summary of the Divine Comedy Pt. 2

Previously, on the Divine Comedy, Dante entered the gates of hell accompanied by his guide Virgil. Together they passed through the nine circles of hell and escaped eternal damnation. Dante's hell was divided into nine circles, each one representing a specific sin. As you descend deeper the crimes and punishments in theory worsen. Purgatory is divided into nine or ten levels depending on your interpretation. The first two are known as Anti-Purgatory. The next seven are known as the Terraces, each terrace representing one of the seven deadly sins or vices, which can only be cleansed with the seven holy virtues. The last level is known as the Earthly Paradise. On the morning of Easter Sunday, Dante and Virgil stand at the very bottom of the Mountain of Purgatory. If you thought Dante's descent through hell was a crazy journey, it's now time to begin our ascent of Mount Purgatory. As you patiently wait for part three of the Divine Comedy to be released, you can watch the Divine Comedy lecture on The Great Courses Plus, which gives you over twelve hours of information and valuable context. If you'd like to try The Great Courses Plus for yourself then visit thegreatcoursesplus.com slash mythology, that's thegreatcoursesplus.com slash mythology, or you can click on the link in the description to start your free trial today. Before we begin, a brief explanation into the idea of Purgatory itself may provide some context. The bible doesn't really mention Purgatory, at least not by name, but it does mention that one's punishment after death may not always be eternal, in some cases it may only be temporary. Once your debt has been repaid there is hope of one day joining others in paradise. To explain as simply as possible, both hell and paradise are what Dante considers eternal realms. Purgatory is different as it's the only realm that is not eternal. Those who come here may not be ready for hell or paradise, instead they are given the chance to cleanse their sins and grow as a person. When it's time for the last judgement, all the souls in Purgatory will be sent to either hell or paradise and the realm of Purgatory will cease to exist entirely. At the base of the mountain Dante and Virgil meet an old man named Cato who guards the entrance. Naturally he's hesitant to let them pass, not entirely sure how Dante and Virgil were able to escape from hell. Virgil explains the journey thus far and how it would only be possible for them to escape if God himself allowed them to. Cato is persuaded and allows them to pass, but only if Virgil wraps a reed around Dante and washes his face, a ritual many saw as representing a baptism. An interesting thing to note is that Cato is what we described before as a virtuous pagan who was placed in Purgatory by God himself, which is rather strange because not only could he be found in the first circle of hell but he also committed suicide. I've seen many discussing the significance of Cato in Purgatory, so why would Dante place Cato here in Purgatory and not in hell? It could be because Cato was as patriotic as Dante and would do anything to defend Rome's liberty or maybe Dante was just fond of Cato and decided he shouldn't suffer. In the first circle of hell souls are ferried across the river by the boatman Charon, some of them crying and others with looks of worry and anguish on their face. Here they are ferried to the foot of the mountain by an angel while singing songs of hope and joy. When they arrive at the shore the angel disappears and the crowd gathers around Dante realising he's not actually dead. Luckily Cato breaks up the crowd and orders them to disperse. The two stand at the base of the mountain deciding how they will begin their climb as a group of souls pass by. The first two sections of the mountain are known as Anti-Purgatory. The first slope is where they find the excommunicate, those who were excluded or exiled from the Christian church. The time they spent away from the church living in sin would be multiplied by 30 so if they spent even just one year excommunicated they would have to remain here for 30. The most noticeable figure they meet here is Manfred, the last king of Sicily who tells them the story of his death. During the battle of Benevento he suffered multiple fatal wounds. Whilst he lay on the battlefield dying he managed to repent for all of his sins. Unfortunately for Manfred his opposition Pope Clement IV had his body excommunicated after death which led to the belief that he was going to hell. Manfred then explains that the prayers of the living can help reduce the time one spends in purgatory. Naturally he asks Dante to find his daughter when he returns, to let her know her father is not in hell but in purgatory. If she prays for him he may reach paradise quicker. Before reaching the terraces there is still one more part of Anti-Purgatory for those who were too late or too lazy to repent. Many of these souls died before receiving the last rites because they suffered a violent or unpredictable death. Dante comes across a group of souls laying in the shadow of a boulder and decides to have a conversation. The first man tells him he was betrayed when fleeing his hometown. The second man was fleeing a battle when he fell down a riverbed and died. After repenting the man recalls an angel coming to collect him but there was also a demon. They argued whether he belonged in hell or paradise and that is why he now finds himself in purgatory. The last spirit was a woman named Pia de Ptolemy. She tells Dante of her murder at the hands of her husband who betrayed her and disregarded their wedding vows. She also attempts to convince Dante to pray for her once he returns to the living because none of her family do so and she would like to leave purgatory. Dante begins to notice how interested all the souls in purgatory are in himself or more so the fact that he is not dead, meaning he can pray for them and reduce the time they spend here. The next soul they meet is Sordello, a performer from the same town as Virgil who explains the rule of the mountain. Once the sun has set the souls of purgatory are no longer allowed to climb, they can go down if they wish to rest but never the other way. You can look at the sun as an allegory for god, meaning these souls can only progress in their penitent christian life through his divine grace. As it is getting late in the afternoon they move on and find a spot to rest. Sordello recommends they should stop for the night in the valley of princes. As darkness engulfs the valley, the spirits sing hymns you would hear during night prayer in christian churches. Sordello shows them the various kings and rulers who reside here, making note of Emperor Rudolf, the only soul who refuses to join in on the singing. He also regards him as the one ruler who could have restored Italy to its former glory but he failed and that is why he finds himself here. As the night goes on the spirits here do not tire as they do not possess a human body. Dante however does and so he must sleep. In his dream Dante sees a golden eagle soaring through the sky, it swoops down and grabs Dante and while they fly through the air they begin to burn. This was enough for Dante to wake from his dream. Virgil explains that they are now at the gate of purgatory. Whilst Dante dreamt he was carried to the gates by a woman named Lucia, this is referring to Saint Lucia or Saint Lucy. In front of them is the gate, the door to purgatory proper. Before the gate there are three steps, each one a different colour. One is a polished white marble, so bright Dante can see himself in the reflection, this represents the purity of one's soul. The next stone is cracked and much darker, either black or purple in the shape of a cross, which represents the act of mourning. The last stone is red which represents the blood of Christ, restoration and a new beginning. At the top of these steps there is an angel guarding the entrance wielding a large sword, an angel who shines so bright it's difficult for Dante to even look at him. Virgil explains they have been guided upon this patch by Saint Lucy and he urges Dante to step forward and ask the angel to let him pass. Dante opts for the more dramatic approach, as he climbs the steps he falls to his knees at the feet of the angel and begs for entry into purgatory. Looking down at Dante the angel takes the point of his sword and carves the letter P into Dante's forehead seven times, the P meaning peccatum, the Latin for sin. He tells Dante he may wash these wounds away. As he travels through the seven terraces, each time he has successfully washed away the sins of a terrace one letter will disappear. The last piece of advice they are given is to cleanse themselves of their sins and never look back or dwell on the past as they may struggle to move on to the next terrace. With the gates closing behind them the poets are left to climb the seven terraces, each one representing one of the seven deadly sins. Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony and Lust. The sins we saw in Inferno were based on physical actions, in Purgatory the focus is on self-improvement and so the sins are emotional and psychological. The first terrace represents the sin of pride. As they enter Dante notices beautiful sculptures surrounding him which represented humility, the virtue considered the opposite of pride. These images were of individuals who were considered classic examples of humility such as the Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel. Virgil pulls Dante away from the beautiful sculptures and paintings because in front of them are the prideful souls who can guide them to the next terrace. These souls are barely visible as they are hunched over and forced to carry enormous weights on their back. They ask the man before them if he can help them travel up the mountain. The man physically cannot look upwards but he tells them he will offer his assistance. His name is Umberto, a man who was so proud it led to his death. His arrogance caused himself and his family much pain but now he is slowly learning to be humble. Ahead of him is another man, Odirice, a once famous artist who was replaced by a much younger artist. He now understands that in the bigger picture human fame means nothing, success and fame are fleeting. As Dante talks to these souls he finds himself bending over to see their faces, in doing so he is imitating their suffering and starting his own cleansing process. As they continue on Dante realises that pride is a sin he has been guilty of, his self-awareness is another sign of self-improvement. When he looks down he sees several hideous statues and carvings, Lucifer falling from the heavens, Arachne who was turned into a spider and Briareus, a giant impaled on a thunderbolt. These figures all represent the acts of succumbing to pride or one's ego. As he witnesses more Dante remembers instances where his own pride has clouded his judgement. Agreeing to pray for the souls in this terrace they show him the path he must follow. When they arrive standing before them is the angel of humility, he takes them to the stairway that leads to the next terrace and acknowledges that Dante's prideful sins have been absolved. With his wing he brushes off one of the letter P's from Dante's forehead. As they leave this terrace they hear songs of joy and Dante points out the difference between this and the screams in hell whenever they entered a new circle. He also notices he feels lighter, making the ascent slightly easier than before. Virgil explains that this is because his sins of pride have been cleansed and as this process continues the journey will become easier. The second terrace is that of envy. Once there Dante and Virgil notice no one else around them and so Virgil uses the sun as a compass to guide them. When they eventually come across other souls Dante notices they are dressed in black and blue matching the colour of the stone in this terrace. As they approach they hear these souls singing and holding onto each other. It is now Dante sees their true punishment. The reason their hands rest on the shoulders of the soul in front of them is because they are blind, their eyelids have been sewn shut using iron wire. This sight is enough to bring Dante to tears as he is reminded of the blind begging on the streets. Despite Virgil's disapproval Dante feels a need to speak with them and so he asks if any are from Italy. A woman named Sapia responds telling him she often received more enjoyment from the misfortune of others than her own good fortune. She was extremely envious of those in power. When she questions Dante as to who he is and why he's still alive he tells her he will pass through this terrace and only be momentarily blinded because he felt he was more prideful than envious. Sapia agrees to guide them through the terrace in exchange for Dante's prayers back on earth. To Dante's amusement two souls in front of him argue amongst each other before they notice him observing, one of which tells him he was jealous of his neighbours happiness and his envy only grew as time went on. As they continue Dante hears the booming of several different voices. These are the envious who are punished, serving as examples for the rest of the souls to learn from. Some examples given were Cain who was jealous of his brother and Aglarus who was turned into stone because she was jealous Hermes loved her sister more than her. In order to pass through this terrace Dante and Virgil must walk where the sun shines bright and as they do they are blinded mimicking the punishment of those in this terrace. Virgil explains that Dante should not fear this light because it is merely an angel coming to welcome them to the next terrace. The angel of charity greets them and brushes away another sin from Dante's forehead inviting them to move on. As the poets enter the Terrace of Wrath the blinding sunlight is still apparent. Dante is then greeted by several visions, examples of meekness and wrath. The first vision is in a temple with a woman reprimanding a young boy. This is meant to represent a similar story featuring the Virgin Mary and a young Jesus Christ. The next vision is the wife of the King of Athens begging him to kill the man who loves their daughter. His response is no, if they condemn those around them for showing love then they will soon be their enemies. The last vision is of a boy who prays for his persecutors to be forgiven by God as they stone him to death. When Dante comes to he explains what he has seen to Virgil, hoping this will start the process of cleansing his own sins relating to wrath. The current time is 3pm. The poets continue to follow the light up the mountain until they are surrounded by black smoke which now blinds them. Dante compares himself to a blind man being guided by Virgil. Unable to see Dante hears more singing. One voice calls out to Dante recognising that he's alive and in response Dante and Virgil ask for directions. The spirit agrees and tells the poets to listen carefully because their voices are the only way to keep track of each other within the smoke. The spirit's name is Marco Lombardo. Dante asks him why he believes there is wickedness in the world. Marco explains he thinks it's because of the belief that humanity has no free will. When something terrible happens people look to the heavens as the cause, the action must have been preordained by God. But Marco believes we must have free will over some actions, otherwise the reward and punishment system of heaven and hell makes no sense. You can't punish or reward someone for an action they are not responsible for. That being said, Marco believes he came from a time where the morals of men were much greater than Dante's present day. Eventually the smoke begins to clear and this is Marco's cue to leave before the angel of this terrace arrives. Before leaving Dante has several more visions that represent the sin of wrath. He's woken by Virgil as the sun shines bright on them. From the light they hear a voice telling them it's time to ascend to the next terrace. As Dante approaches, intrigued as to the source of this beautiful voice, he is once again blinded. The voice they hear is the angel of this terrace who has come to guide them. As they climb the steps to the next terrace, the angel removes another sin from Dante and gives them a blessing. By the time they leave this terrace, night falls upon them. As they enter terrace number four, Dante asks Virgil which vice is to be cleansed in this terrace. The answer to that question is sloth. Now this doesn't necessarily mean physical laziness but more of a spiritual laziness or neglect that would lead to someone being sad and depressed. Virgil explains sloth by using love as an example. He states there are two types of love. We can choose what or who to love and whether we love them too little or too much. These are mistakes we can make. The second type of love is love towards God himself which can never be a mistake. If your love for God is your priority then you can never succumb to evil. However, this changes when your love for God takes a back seat. In Virgil's worldview, love is the driving force for all of our actions and decisions. All of our vices and virtues stem from love. Those guilty of sloth in this case have given up on the pursuit of love and have turned their backs on God and their own happiness. Most of the spirits in this terrace don't have much time to talk to Dante and so Virgil guides him through how to cleanse this vice. As the night goes on, Dante decides to get some rest and begins to dream about a beautiful woman. This woman is actually a siren. The siren here is a symbol of gluttony and lust. Dante is seduced by the siren song. He doesn't notice the arrival of a second woman who is dressed much more saintly. This woman doesn't seem too happy that Virgil allowed this situation to happen. Realizing his mistake, Virgil runs over to the siren and tears off her clothes. Rather than being in awe of the naked woman in front of him, Dante snaps out of his trance. He smells the siren's putrid stench and foul appearance. He now sees her true nature. When Dante wakes, they hurry to the entrance of the next terrace and there to greet them is the angel of zeal. Having proven himself in his dream, the angel brushes off another sin and shows them passage to the next terrace. The last three terraces are devoted to those who either misplaced their love or showed too much. They are the terraces of avarice, gluttony and lust. Terrace number five relates to the vice of avarice, meaning greed for physical goods and extravagance or the ambition to gain power and social standing. As they pass through this terrace they see the penitent souls lying face down on the ground in chains weeping. When they ask for directions they are told if they do not share a similar punishment then they should look to the path on the right. The first soul Dante speaks to is Pope Adrian V who is here because of his ambition for political power within the church. Eventually he began to lose interest in his mortal life and so he began to focus on the afterlife which is why he finds himself here and not in hell. They continue down the path when they hear a female voice calling out to them. She describes Mary giving birth to Jesus in a stable as an example of how poor she was. This becomes common with other souls discussing their stories of poverty. Soon the poets realise the way to cleanse the sin of greed is with generosity. Dante begins to hear more stories of generosity as opposed to avarice. Fabritius was a Roman politician who refused to take bribes that would have furthered his own position. He then hears several stories of someone who gave money to poor women so they could afford to get married. The next soul Dante comes across is Hugh Capet, a king of France who shares some of his stories. He also tells Dante the souls in this terrace discuss acts of generosity during the day and sins of avarice during the night. All of a sudden the earth begins to shake and only Dante and Virgil seem concerned so they take this as a sign to make haste. The last man they come across is compared to Jesus Christ shortly after his resurrection. Dante and Virgil here are the two disciples he meets on the road. When he questions who they Virgil explains that Dante was meant to reign with the righteous but he has fallen off his path and it is Virgil's job to guide him. The man is overjoyed hearing this, mostly because he's a big fan of Virgil's work. The man reveals himself as the Roman poet Statius. The tremor they felt earlier only happens when a soul is ready to ascend to paradise. On this occasion the tremor is because of Statius. Statius explains it was the work of Virgil that inspired him to change his ways. The three are then greeted by the angel of moderation who removes another of Dante's sins and ushers them to the next terrace. As Statius himself will be moving through the terraces he decides to join Dante and Virgil on their journey. Terrace number six is where those guilty of gluttony reside. As somebody who's covered the story of Tantalus within Greek mythology a few times what comes next is a very nice reference. The souls in this terrace experience a punishment very similar to Tantalus, eternal hunger and thirst. In front of them is a large tree ripe with fruit and below a pool of water. As they approach they begin to hear voices, telling stories of temperance, the virtue Dante will need to purge his gluttony. John the Baptist chose to eat locusts and honey when he was in the wilderness and the Virgin Mary cared more about her guests than herself. Dante is unable to place where the voices are coming from but it seems as if they may be coming from the tree itself. Before he can be tempted by the fruit, Virgil urges Dante to continue on the path ahead of them. Now they finally see the souls that reside in this terrace. Dante is horrified by how starved and skinny they are, their skeletons are almost completely visible. Again Dante begins to hear voices, warning him this tree represents the tree of knowledge that Eve ate from in the Garden of Eden. They also begin to tell stories of gluttony. The stories continue as they walk on, eventually they come to a halt when they see a red light. This is the angel of temperance who shows them the path they must not stray from. As Dante was able to avoid temptation, he had shown enough temperance or self-restraint for the angel to remove the sin of gluttony. Now we move on to terrace number 7, where the lustful reside. To enter this terrace one must pass through a giant wall of fire. Our poets tread carefully before reaching the wall, here they see other souls walking through the flames and giving examples of lust. One of them being the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, cities that were mentioned in the book of Genesis. Those repenting here do so for acts of inappropriate and misdirected sexual desire. To purge themselves of this sin they look towards the Virgin Mary and chastity. As the sun begins to set the poets are greeted by the angel of chastity who urges them to proceed through the fire, but Dante remains frozen to the spot. Virgil persuades him that there is nothing to fear, unlike hell there is no chance of death here. With this Dante shows his faith in God as well as in Virgil who has led him this far. He steps forward and passes through the wall of fire. On the other side they are greeted by another set of steps, which they choose to rest on until sunrise. When light breaks Dante and his two guides climb to the very top. Here Virgil congratulates him, Dante is now free, he no longer needs a guide. He urges Dante to go ahead and explore the earthly paradise on his own. We then have one final verse from Virgil. Wait no further word or sign from me, your will is free, erect and whole. To act against that will would be to err, therefore I crown and miter you over yourself. Dante is free from purgatory but he doesn't know these are the last words he will ever hear from the man he considers his guide, mentor and friend. At the very top of mount purgatory sits the earthly paradise, which is pretty much the garden of Eden. A vibrant forest full of greenery and lush surroundings that embody the peace of Eden before Adam and Eve fell from grace. The earthly paradise cantos are notoriously difficult to completely understand because much of it is symbolism. This is where Dante must confess all of his sins. The first person Dante comes across is a young woman holding flowers singing by a riverbed. When he gets closer he recognises a song similar to one sung by Demeter when her daughter Persephone leaves for the underworld during the winter. Dante is confused as to why all of a sudden he can feel the wind on his cheeks as Statias told him purgatory does not experience weather. The woman explains that as the garden of Eden is where humanity committed the original sin, things here work slightly differently. She also mentions the waters here have special properties, the power to make one forget all of their previous sins or remember all of the good deeds they have done. When Dante turns around both of his companions are there smiling. A bright flash of light passes through the forest and when Dante regains his sight he sees what appears to be 7 trees in the distance. As he gets closer he realises the trees form a candelabra and the flames from the candles light the sky. The lights are closely followed by a group of people all dressed in white. Dante describes 24 elders dressed in white with crowns made from lilies. Behind the elders are four animals wearing crowns made of green leaves, each with six wings, feathers full of eyes. Behind the animals is a chariot being pulled by a griffin. On the right side there are three dancing women, one dressed in red, one in emerald and the third in white. On the other side there are four more women dressed in dark red or purple. Behind the chariots there are seven men, two elderly men, four humble men and one man walking alone. Much of the Divine Comedy at times feels like a lucid dream and you'd be forgiven for reading this description and having no idea what is actually happening. It may not be entirely comparable but processions relating to the church were fairly common in the Roman Empire. Everything we see in this ritual is symbolic of something else, much of it borrowing from the new and old testament. As the chariot comes to a halt, angels rise and cast flowers into the air from which emerges a woman in a red dress and white veil with a crown of olive branches. Dante recognises this as Beatrice. When he turns to Virgil to tell him he was right, his friend is no longer there. Beatrice symbolises the path of God that Dante must follow. Virgil if you remember from Inferno resides in the circle of virtuous pagans. He wasn't necessarily a bad person, he just didn't believe in God. In hell and purgatory Virgil's guidance was needed but now Dante must ascend to heaven and for that he needs a true believer and so we see Virgil pass the torch to Beatrice. Dante sheds a tear for his friend who has taken him this far but Beatrice tells him to cry no more because of Virgil's disappearance. The earthly paradise is no place for tears or sorrow. Dante confesses to Beatrice that after her death he turned to material belongings to distract himself from his pain. She then admonishes him claiming her death should have had the opposite effect. She continues to push Dante to confess his sinful actions and he does so feeling more and more shame. Eventually Beatrice removes her veil and Dante is so taken back by everything he just faints. When he wakes he finds himself being placed in the river Lethe by a young woman who along with Statius takes him back to Beatrice. This is the process of forgetting one's memories of past sin. The next river he comes to is the river Juno which Dante must drink from in order to restore his memories of all the good deeds he has done. Dante is now ready to ascend to paradise and the final canto ends with these words. From that most holy wave I now return to Beatrice, remade. As new trees are renewed when they bring forth new boughs, I was pure and prepared to climb unto the stars. Now that you've heard Dante's journey through purgatory and hell there is only one place to visit but that's a story for another time and no I don't know when but I will make you a deal. If this video gets to 50,000 likes then I'll start working on part 3 so you know what to do. As always I've been your host Mythology and Fiction Explained.