Use Of Mythology In Dante's Inferno

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Dante appropriately and effectively uses mythical figures in his Inferno. The figures he uses were from ancient times and were still very popular at that time, as they are today as well. He used the figures to create an new image of Hell and accentuate his ideas. He discusses the Old Man of Crete in Canto 14. Gerione is a supporting role to Canto 17. He uses Tiresias in Canto 20 to explain the soothsayers. Finally Dante uses Minos as a beastly guard and judge in the 5th Canto. The use of the mythical figures in his story is appropriate because it illuminates his ideas as well as shows respect to the creators of the mythology who have fully developed the characters. The Old Man of Crete was a mythical statue on the ancient Greek island. The statue demonstrates the decline of humanity. “"A devastated land lies in midsea, a land that is called Crete," he answered me. "Under its king the world once lived chastely."” (Canto 14 Lines 94-96) When humanity was at its prime, we were closest to the gods. The statue shows this with the northern most point of his body, his head which is closest to the gods. As one travels south on the statue the materials he is made of become less valuable illustrating the digression of humankind. The next components of his body are silver, bronze, iron and clay respectively. His left foot is the clay element which he leans on. The weight on only the clay foot symbolizes how when the clay crumbles, so will the human race. It will not last long and must try to get back to when humanity was good. The statue cries because of this decline and the tears roll down his body into Hell. The tears create the rivers Acheron, Styx, Phlegethon and Cocytus. Since readers know about this statue, it saves Dante time explaining and allows the readers to have a very clear image of Dante’s Hell. Gerione is a mythical figure from Canto 17. He is an insane,

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