Guarding Hell Dante’s experience through fictitious hell ultimately functions as a psychological repair of one’s mind. Souls are assigned to their proper region to endure martyrdom for punishment of evils perpetrated. Ironically, according to region, beasty creatures guard these souls to maintain structure. For instance, the arrangement of Dante’s hell contains regions of souls that are punished by means of fit to their sin. In the Third Circle the sin of desire is excessive eating, Gluttons, are punished. The guardian of this region is “Cerberus, a ruthless and fantastic beast” (6.12). Cerberus is a reference from Greek mythology; the three headed beast guards the gates of Hades. Similarly, the beast’s appearance is portrayed, “with all …show more content…
Three Furies ironically appear before entering the region of violent sinners. Considering violence as a bestiality act the furies are half-beast, half-woman. Three hellish guardians are described, “stained with blood, their bodies/ of females; their waists were bound in cords of wild green hydras, horned snakes and little serpents grew as hair” (9.38-41). Greek mythology is used again, as Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto function to avenge crime. The “handmaid” Furies serves as antitheses of Dante’s chain of grace Heavenly Ladies: Beatrice, Lucia, and Mary. In another way similar to the guardian listed above the Furies are Greek myths and deformation of the Trinity. In addition, the Minotaur is guardian and overseer of the Seventh Circle of the Violent. The mythological creature is half-man, half-bull a literal product of bestiality. He is a symbol of Violence against Nature and tormented by “fever of his rage” (12.21). The beast is described as the “infamy of Crete” (12.12). Much like the Minotaur, the guardians Centaurs half-man, half-horse and function to guard the murderers. They are “equipped with arrows” used to hunt and torture murders that are not submerged in their appropriate level of