Basics of the After Lives in the Divine Comedy
Dec 4, 2024
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In the story of the Divine Comedy the structure of Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory are the most interesting parts. So, I want to talk about them. Hell is where the story starts so I'm going to start there.
Hell is the punishment for sinners but, in the Divine Comedy, God is not the one punishing the sinners. Sinners are the one's making the punishments. They are making a cesspool of sin. That is their eternal punishment but, don't get me wrong, the punishments are still horrible torture such as constantly chasing a flag while being chased by hornets, having your feet being bit at by maggots, and there is the standard being burned alive. Also Hell is also located inside Earth's core.
Purgatory is the actual place that God punishes people but only so they can go to heaven. Purgatory is the middle point. It represents Earth, especially because it is located on Earth. Purgatory is a mountain in the middle of the ocean. Purgatory is literally just earth. The souls in Purgatory are actually happy to be there because they know that they will go to Heaven eventually. The punishments in Purgatory are on average much more gruesome than the punishments in Hell such as having your eyes sewn shut or being constantly starved while food is just out of reach.
Heaven is the last place that we visit in the Divine comedy. As we discussed, hell is below the Earth's surface and Purgatory is on the Earth, so it makes sense that Heaven is the solar system. In Heaven, the souls there are in a state of eternal bliss. All of our goals, aspirations, dreams are fulfilled in Heaven. Every planet contains different types of people. Mercury is full of ambitious people. Venus is where lovers go. Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention is that HEAVEN IS SUPER BRIGHT like burn your eyeballs out bright.
That was the basics of the afterlife in the Divine Comedy.
Works Cited
Meister, Michael F. "Introduction to the Purgatorio." Dante’s Divine Comedy, 7 Feb. 2024, dantecomedy.com/welcome/purgatorio/introduction-to-the-purgatorio/.
