The same way, disorder means damnation. In both of the masterpieces we find the same way in conceiving coordinates and juxtaposing politics and religion, empire and church. Analogous is the way to express certain forces of nature, intimate qualities of the spirit, sublimation or degeneration of senses through animals. Dante’s Comedy and the mosaic of Otranto teem with animals and monsters: dogs, wolves, dragons, lions, sphinxes, griffins, centaurs, etc. We find all of these representations in both of the works and with the same meaning, same analogies, and same functions. This debate could go on forever because the more we observe, the more analogies we could encounter. The thing that strikes people the most is the overall idea of the two works. …show more content…
In the mosaic, the three fairs are represented by a rampant bear, a lion and a she-wolf, while in the Comedy, they are represented by a lynx, a lion and a she-wolf. The lynx is agile, wriggling, with skin mottled of various colors; the bear is still, fierce, relentless, and menacing. Both of the creatures are frightening, scary, terrifying, for which humanity several times has been tempted to go back. Soon after that, a lion, head-on and with a rabid hunger, presents in front of Dante. The Dantescan lion seems alive, real, as if you could see it. We cannot say the same about the lion in the mosaic, as the second fair was ruined by man. In fact, we can only identify the hind limb, tail and thigh, which seem like remains of a lion. The third and last fair, the she-wolf, is eager and ferocious. Again, the she-wolf in the mosaic cannot be recognized as it is ruined, but, similarly to the lion, the hind limb is visible, which helped scholars identify it as that of a she-wolf. In both of the works, as historians say, the fairs represent lust, pride, and avarice. It is good to note that Pantaleone and Dante treat the same scenes in the same way and in the same