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Violence Against Others in Canto XII: The River of Boiling Blood

In Canto XII of Dante's Inferno, Dante and Virgil encounter the Minotaur and navigate the first ring of Hell. They come across a river of boiling blood guarded by centaurs, where they witness notable sinners submerged according to their guilt. This canto showcases figures such as Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Ezzolino da Romano, and Pyrrhus. Dante's vivid imagery captures the pain and suffering of the sinners.

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Violence Against Others in Canto XII: The River of Boiling Blood

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  1. Canto XII "Violence Against Others"  Grant Birtman

  2. Background • Canto XII takes place in the Seventh circle, and 1st ring of hell. Dante and Virgil enter the circle and find the mythological beast, the Minotaur, guarding it. Virgil begins to mock the creature. Enraged, it charged at the pair. To avoid the beast, they danced to the side and managed to run into a pass as it was blind with rage. As they exit the pass, they come upon a river of boiling blood (The Phlegethon) guarded by three centaurs, Nessus, Chiron, and Pholus. The centaurs have their bows aimed at Dante and Virgil, but when they notice Dante is mortal, Virgil talks to them and convinces the centaurs to lead them to the river crossing. The Centaur, Nessus, takes charge, and leads them to the crossing. As they walk along the river bank, Dante sees tyrants and murderers submerged in the boiling blood. The souls are submerged according to their guilt, so the most guilty are nearly fully submerged while the least guilty are less submerged. As the sinners lived their life submerged in blood, and causing the bloodshed of many, they are cursed to live their afterlives submerged in blood, and being subjected to the centaurs hail of arrows. 

  3. Notable Sinners On the journey walking along the banks of the Phlegethon, Dante and Virgil many notable figures submerged in boiling blood.  • Alexander the Great: A king and tyrant of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon who conquered most of the known world at the time. Known to be very ingenuitive with his military strategy.  • Attila the Hun - A bloodthirsty leader of the Ancient Nomadic people called the "Huns." He perfected the use of cavalry and especially the use of mounted archery against the Romans. His campaigns would help contribute to the collapse Western Rome. He and his army would slaughter nearly 20,000 people.  • Ezzolino da Romano - The most notorious and cruel tyrant of the Ghibelline City States. He is especially known for his horrific treatment of the Paduan people. (A region of Italy)  • Pyrrhus – The King of Epirus who won many notable battles against Rome and Macedon. However in his battles, he would a large number of troops. He was and still is regarded as one of the best military commanders and minds. Victories that come with an exceptional cost, (life, cost,etc...) are now called "Pyrrhic victories."

  4. Alexander the Great Ezzolino Da Romana Pyrrhus Attila the Hun 

  5. Literary Devices • When Dante is descrbing the Minotaur, he uses a simile to compare its action to a bull breaking its chains.  • "As a bull that breaks its chains just when the knife has struck its death-blow, cannot stand nor run but leaps from side to side with its last life."  In using this metaphor, the reader can clearly visualize the Minotaur shaking with rage, and trying its best to kill Dante and Virgil.  Dante's use of intense imagery when describing the sinners in the river of blood also allows us to very clearly see the pain, toil, and suffering they're going though. • "So we moved beside our guide along the bank of the scalding purple river in which the shrieking wraiths were boiled and dyed."

  6. Works Cited    Alighieri, Dante. The Inferno. Signet Classics, 1320. • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. Alexander Mosaic . 100AD, Naples National Archaeological Mueseum, Naples, Italy. • Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Ezzelino III Da Romano.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Ezzelino-III-da-Romano. • Cartwright, Mark. “Pyrrhus.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 23 Sept. 2019, www.ancient.eu/pyrrhus/. • Delacroix, Eugene. A Painting of Attila Riding a Pale Horse. • Dore , Gustav. Canto XII . 1850. • Mark, Joshua J. “Alexander the Great.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 22 Sept. 2019, www.ancient.eu/Alexander_the_Great/. • Mark, Joshua J. “Attila the Hun.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 19 Sept. 2019, www.ancient.eu/Attila_the_Hun/.

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