Something I noticed throughout these cantos is the presence of the Greek/Roman gods/creatures. Dante was a Catholic who did not believe in polytheism, but these Greek/Roman creatures aren't necessarily in punishment (well, some are). Chiron, the Minotaur, etc. all guard or help inflict punishment on those in hell. I guess I thought that because Dante was a monotheist he'd either put all of the Greek/Roman gods and creatures in hell being punished and demons keeping order. I think this is how he justified Virgil being his guide. Dante doesn't ignore the importance of the gods to the ancients' cultures, but at the same time, he doesn't give them too much power.
I commented on Alex and Daniel's posts.
I really love how Dante made use of the Greco-Roman myths instead of discounting them all together. I think if he had simply put them into the same boat as the sinners of Hell, it would have been disrespectful to the culture they helped create. I'm glad Dante had the foresight for that.
ReplyDeleteThere are a plethora of factors that could play into why Dante used the gods in his story. I do find it interesting that Dante didn't show full wrath upon the Greek and Roman gods, since he is Catholic. I feel that Dante was using the different gods to represent different personalities he would consider ending up in Hell. Or maybe he just wanted to make use of the possibilities for more characters in his story. Probably a one dimensional analysis, but that's all good. You read it right??
ReplyDeletePerhaps he is "plundering Egypt", as Augustine might say in using already established, well-known characters/concepts and transferring their truth into his epic.
ReplyDeleteAlso, he is keeping the idea of being an epic poet in his mind, hence the mythical creatures/gods.
I agree with what you and Daniel said. Even if they're just made up, it's hard to deny the fact that they played a vital part in developing Ancient Greece's culture. I think it's admirable that Dante was able to respect the culture of different people even their beliefs clash with his.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was wondering that too. I didn't think that Dante believed in the gods, but I wasn't sure. I figured he didn't since he put them all in Hell. I did find it interesting though, that he put them all in like guardian roles. It seems to me that they are always in front, guarding wherever Virgil and Dante are trying to go.
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