Paradise and hell exist in the mindset of people, and many minds over the centuries have taken up the question: how does the place where souls move look like? The writers and artists try to give answers, but people look at the world with their eyes. Nobody knows for sure what the Underworld looks like, but many know what the circles of hell are about Dante Alighieri.
What are the circles of hell?
The concept of hell first appeared in the biblical New Testament. Christians were convinced that sinners after death fall into the afterlife, where they suffer and suffer. After passing through 7 circles of hell, they are cleansed from filth and can be taken to paradise. A certain sin is clearly tied to each section, the punishment for it is determined in advance. No one calls exactly how many circles of hell must the offender cross, but the hierarchy of the underworld changes in Catholicism. The number of circles increased to nine Aristotle, and then his idea was picked up by the Italian thinker Dante Alighieri.
9 circles of hell by Dante
In his famous work "Divine Comedy" Alighieri is building a clear scheme for building the afterlife. In it every newcomer, more precisely his soul, falls to his level - the so-called circle of hell. Dante did not become the first who gave the underground world such a structure, but his nine circles of hell received a colorful and detailed description. As a rule, "Divine Comedy" is often remembered when it comes to the underworld and its appearance. Circles of hell of Dante are located in the form of a huge funnel, the narrow end of which rests against the very center of the universe.
The number 9 is not accidental. You can divide the nine by 3 to 3, and this number is of symbolic significance for Dante:
- his main work consists of three parts;
- each person has three powers of the soul (animal, natural, life);
- Three reminds us of the Christian Trinity and the years of Jesus' life - 33.
The first circle of hell in Dante
If you believe an authoritative source on the structure of the afterlife - "Divine Comedy" - you can get into it if you go through a dense forest covered in dusk. Alighieri began to "place" sinners even before entering the hell. In front of the gate, according to his plan, they crowded:
- the so-called pathetic souls who, in life, create nothing bad or good;
- angels (they could not be either with God or with the devil).
The gates swung open and the first circle of hell opened. All arrivals were met by the old man Charon, the hero of ancient Greek mythology. At this point in the never-ending sorrow there were souls of those who did not deserve eternal torment, but for reasons beyond their control they did not have the right to go to heaven. Limb is the first circle of hell, in which unbaptized, virtuous non-Christians, ancient philosophers and poets were languishing.
The Second Circle of Hell by Dante
The second circle of hell according to the "Divine Comedy" was called "Lust". Here were gathered sensualists, adulterers, all those whom love pushed on the path of sin. The order was followed by the just king Minos. On this part of the sinful path the gloom reigned and a strong wind blew, twisting and hurling souls on the rocks. The arrivals were forced to endure the torture of the storm for ever and ever for not being able to subdue their flesh during life.
The Third Round of Dante's Hell
On the third circle gluttons are hung over - gluttons and gourmets. All those who were not restrained in food during their lifetime, are forced to rot under the incessant rain and hail. The troubles of the weather are their main punishment. 3 circle of hell according to Dante is guarded by Cerberus - a huge three-headed dog with a snake's tail, from the mouth of which a poisonous mixture flows. Particularly guilty of souls he gnaws. Whoever ate without measure, will be eaten.
The fourth circle of hell by Dante
For the greed and waste of people punished the 4th circle of hell by Dante. Those who did not know how to combine reasonable expenditure were forced to fight each other daily and carry weights. The guilty dragged around the field and rolled huge boulders onto the mountain, collided on top and began their complicated business anew. Like the previous circles of hell in Dante, this purgatory was guarded by a reliable guardian. The Greek god of wealth Plutos followed the order.
Fifth circle of hell by Dante
The fifth circle of hell is the last refuge of lazy and angry souls. They are destined to fight on a huge dirty swamp (another option is the Styx River), the bottom of which is lined with the bodies of the most important lazy people, who are bored even in the Underworld. To monitor the execution of punishments Flegiy, the son of God Ares and the ancestor of the mythical tribe of the Phlegians, is stationed. Infernal swamp - a gloomy and unpleasant place, so as not to get there, one should not be lazy in life, not get angry and do not mourn for trifles.
The Sixth Round of Hell by Dante
The worse the offense, the more punishment awaits for him. And 6 circle of hell according to Dante is a place where heretics languish in the fire graves, preaching during the life of other gods. The souls of false teachers are constantly burning in open pits, as in ovens. The guards of this terrible place are three spiteful and quarrelsome sisters, the furies of Tishifon, Alecto and Megera. Instead of a head of hair on their heads - snake's nests. The following circles of hell in Dante's opinion separate the fetid ditch, because they are tormented for the most terrible mortal sins .
The seventh circle of hell by Dante
In the steppes, where the fiery rain pours, the Minotaur protects souls that have stained themselves with violence. Starting from the seventh, the circles of hell in Dante are divided into separate segments. The seventh is divided into belts:
- Abusers, tyrants, robbers are boiling in a ditch that is filled with red-hot blood. Those who emerge from scarlet boiling water, shoot three centaurs from the bow.
- Suicides, turned into hell in trees, torment harpy, and players (that is, those who raped themselves and their property) chase hounds.
- Blasphemers and sodomites are forced to vegetate in the fiery desert under the incessant rain from the fire.
The eighth circle of hell by Dante
Just like the previous one, the eighth circle of hell is divided into sections - ditches. Under the supervision of the six-armed giant Geryon, frauds of all kinds are punished. And each has its own "gap":
- seducers and pimps scour the demons;
- flatterers are forever mired in stool;
- the holy ones are hung upside down to the rocks, and on their feet there is a fire;
- fortune-tellers and diviners are struck dumb, and their heads are thrown back;
- bribetakers are boiling in resin, and devils are scarlet dared to poke themselves out;
- The hypocrites are chained in a mantle of lead;
- thieves vex all kinds of snakes - snakes, spiders, etc. - copulate with them;
- the souls of the crafty advisers are burning in an eternal flame;
- those who became the instigator of discord, the century is gutted;
- false witnesses, counterfeiters, counterfeiters suffer from diseases (dropsy, rabies).
The ninth circle of hell by Dante
The most terrible, the ninth circle of hell is Alighieri's last. It is a huge ice lake called Kocit with five belts. Sinners have frozen in the ice around the neck and are forced to experience eternal torment by cold. Three giants Antey, Briaray, Ephialt do not allow anyone to escape. The three-headed devil Lucifer , brought down by God from heaven, is serving a life sentence here. Frozen in the ice, he tortures the traitors who came to him: Judas, Cassius and Brutus. In addition, the ninth circle gathers apostates and traitors of all stripes. Here fall the betrayers:
- relatives and friends;
- friends;
- homeland;
- God.
Circles of hell in the Bible
The most qualitative, detailed description of the structure of the Underworld in secular literature belongs to Alighieri. His work of the late Middle Ages describes the afterlife from the point of view of the Catholic concept, but circles of hell according to Dante differ from those presented in the Bible. The understanding of hell is interpreted in Orthodoxy as a "conscious non-being," and every believer does his own homeland forever. After the death of the body, the souls fall into hell fire.
The seven purifying circles are the inevitable destiny of everyone. But after going through all the trials the soul has a chance to ascend to God. That is, people themselves pull themselves out of the Underworld, when they are freed from all sinful thoughts, they are themselves the soul. Circles of hell in Orthodoxy are comparable to the number of known mortal sins - the main vices, which you need to get rid of during your lifetime:
- pride;
- envy;
- anger;
- laziness (dejection);
- greed, greed;
- gluttony;
- fornication and lust.
Both the Catholic and the Orthodox view of hell are inextricably linked with the notion of immortality and soul, but no one can know in advance what awaits in the afterlife, even the Bible does not speak of the place of sinners, so for centuries people had to figure out what constitutes The underworld. Dante managed to do this best. Before the Italian poet, no one had previously described hell in such detail, in colors and faces. The "divine comedy" with its clear concept can not be called true or wrong, since no one can confirm Dante's words and refute them.