Canto 18 Dante's Inferno

Canto 18 Dante and Virgil are outside the eighth Circle of Hell, known as Malebolge. The circle has a wall along the outside, and has a circular pit in the center. The ridges create ten separate pits. This is where the people receive their punishment for fraud. This is where Virgil and Dante see souls from one side to another. The demons with great whips cause pain to the souls when they come to the demon’s reach, which then force the souls to the other ridge. There is an Italian that Dante recognize and he speaks to him. The Italian tells Dante that he lived in Bologna, and now is there to sell his sister. The pit is for the Seducers and the Panders, and then Dante saw the Jason of mythology who abandoned Medea. When Virgil and Dante had …show more content…
The Simoniacs are people who bought or sold pardons or offices. He ignored the evil of the third pit before him and Virgil had even arrived at the pit. When they looked into the pit, they saw sinners headfirst in the pits. They were stuck and you could only see their feet. While the souls are stuck, they are constantly hit with fire at their feet. Dante notices one of the flames redder than the others. This made him curious, so he went and spoke with this soul. The soul was Pope Nicholas the third. At first the soul mistakes him for someone else, Dante quickly corrects him and the souls tells him what he has done. He then adds that worse sinners stay on earth and are waiting on a greater punishment. Dante doesn’t show the sinner any mercy and tells him that he deserved what he got. He than says that all the corrupt churchmen should suffer the same fate. Virgil approves of Dante's action and helps Dante go on to the fourth …show more content…
They look to see a punishment other than the endless walking, but doesn’t see one. After looking for a little longer, Dante notices that the souls heads are pointing the wrong way. The souls necks are twisted, so that it causes endless pain. Dante feels bad for the souls, but Virgil quickly reprimands him for the compassion he is showing. While passing the fourth pit, Virgil tells Dante the names of the sinners that are there. He explains what the punishment for one and tells him why. He tells him that the sinner wanted to use unholy powers to see the future, and now has been forced to look backwards for all of eternity. After seeing the sorceress Mantua. Virgil tells a tale on the finding of Mantua. After Virgil completes the story, they move on to the fifth