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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 60 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Dante
Italy, 1300. Come on, he's Italian. That's not too hard.
his mother. He gets a blissful and transcedental moment with God, Beatrice meets him in Purgatory and takes him almost all the way to God, Minos is the judge of the condemned souls in the second circle of Hell.
a man sitting on the moon. The idea of God as the center AND that which surrounds a sphere is one of the coolest paradoxes of Paradiso. In Dante's rendition, God is the most distant shell that surrounds the geocentric universe. But once Dante travels almost to that point, he converges from an outside sphere to God at the very center of that sphere. For anyone mathematically inclined, check out Riemann's idea of a hypersphere.
4. In order as Dante sees them: 1. Acheron (root word {'ache');} all souls cross it on the way into Hell. 2. {Styx;} the wrathful souls are submerged in it and are beating eachother up. 3. {Phlegethon;} the river of blood in which those violent against others are boiling. 4. Cocytus: the iced lake of the treacherous with Lucifer frozen in the middle. There is also a boiling tar swamp in which the barrators are punished, but it just doesn't cut it as a river.
9. Number nine pops up again! In order of least offense to greatest: 1. Limbo- virtuous Pagans. 2. Lascivious. 3. Gluttons. 4. Avaricious and Spendthrifts. 5. Wrathful. 6. Heretics. 7. Violent. 8. Fraudulent. 9. Treacherous.
Pit, Mountain, Universe. First Dante descends into the pit of Hell, then he climbs the mountain of Purgatory, then he travels away from the earth into the universe.
9. Yes, at the tender age of nine Dante saw Beatrice, also nine, on the street. She was was wearing a red coat, and he was instantly enamoured. They never talked, although when Dante was eighteen (nine times two!) she passed him on the street and said 'excuse me.' That was enough that he needed to go home and lie down for awhile. Sadly, Beatrice and Dante each married someone else, and Beatrice died at twenty five. Dante was crushed.
Virgil. Virgil does not bring Dante all the way to Paradise because he was a Pagan and a permanent resident of Limbo.
| What is the name of the woman who is in Dante's mind throughout most of the book? | Dante By Me
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Beatrice. As a child Dante saw Beatrice and held her fancy ever since.
| Dante's Journey takes place during what days? | Dante By Me
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Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. During holy week when Christ journeyed through hell and back to heaven it took him three days.
Virgil. Virgil first appeared to Dante in the woods before they began their journey.
| There are __________ circles of hell and _________ rivers? | Dante By Me
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9 and 4. There are 13 levels to the inferno but four come in the form of rivers.
| Dante begins his journey through the inferno at what circle of hell? | Dante By Me
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Limbo. The levels of hell follow a pattern ranging from the least sinful to the most.
| When the book first starts Dante meets his guide where? | Dante By Me
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Alighieri. Many authors in Dante's time were known solely by their first name and their place of residence.
| The circle of Hell represented by Wrath is bound by Phlegyas. What dire deed earned him the title of the most wrathful person in history? | Dante's Inferno pt. 2
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burned down the Oracle of Delphi's temple.
| We not only see that Plutus, the God of Wealth, but also Charybdis and Scylla reside in which circle of Hell? | Dante's Inferno pt. 2
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| Minos was a judge of souls found in the second circle of Hell. His verdict was made - in what unusual manner? | Dante's Inferno pt. 2
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| Acheron was the first of four rivers in Hell. Who was the person who helped Dante across? | Dante's Inferno pt. 2
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| What did the 3 beasts encountered by Dante represent: leopard, she-wolf and the lion ? | Dante's Inferno pt. 2
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political factions. Modern scholars agree that although these beasts are similar to the 7 deadly sins, Dante was really referring to his political enemies: Florentine enemies, the royal house of France and the Papacy.
| The opening lines of Canto 1 reflect the similar feelings expressed of another Biblical figure. Who was he? | Dante's Inferno pt. 2
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Hezekial. "In dimidio dierum meorum vadam ad portas inferi"..."In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of the nether region".
Nessus. Nessus was the person who dropped a poison arrow, made by Heracles, on his toe and accidentally killed himself.
Minotaur. The 7th Zone and the river Phlegethon are also associated with violence to oneself, to nature and neighbor.
| "We climb'd, he first, I following his steps. Till on our view the
beautiful lights of heaven, dawn'd through a circular opening in the
cave: Thence issuing we again beheld the...". What's the missing word?
| "La Divina Commedia" by Dante Alighieri
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stars. In 1321, while in Venice, he was stricken with fever. On September 13th
Dante Alighieri died at the age of 56 and was buried in Ravenna. In 1829, with regret over his exile, a tomb was built in Florence at the Basilica of Santa Croce. It remains empty to this day.
strength. While in exile, Dante wrote "The Divine Comedy", a vernacular poem in
100 cantos (more than 14,000 lines). With it Dante established Tuscan as
the literary language of Italy.
vengeance. In 1302, Dante was accused of barratry. He was fined and banished for two years, never to hold any public office. He failed to appear in court, and was condemned to death in absentia.
| "We from the bridge's head descended, where to the eighth mound it joins; and then the chasm opening to view. I saw a crowd within of serpents terrible, so strange of...". What's the missing word? | "La Divina Commedia" by Dante Alighieri
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shape. In a move to further his career in Florentine politics, Dante became a doctor and a pharmacist, two professions he did not intend on. He later held many positions and titles. In 1300, he was named Prior, one of the six highest magistrates in Florence.
hues. Like most Florentines of his day, Dante was part of the Guelf-Ghibelline
conflict, and fought in the battle of Campaldino in June of 1289. He
later went on to support the imperial party.
| "They each one eyed us, as at eventide. One eyes another under a new
moon; and towards us sharpen'd their sight, as keen as an old tailor
at his needle's...". What's the missing word? | "La Divina Commedia" by Dante Alighieri
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eye. At 18, Dante became friends with Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino de
Pistoia, and later Brunetto Latini. They soon became leaders of "Dolce Stil Novo" (The New Sweet Style). Brunetto gained mention in "Inferno",(XV,82) for the things he taught Dante.
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