Inferno: Canto VIII

I have to make a correction to the last posting. In my haste to read ahead I may have confused a scene from Canto VII with one from number VIII. Indeed, Virgil and Dante are ferried across the river Styx by a soul with the name of Phlegyas, where they are attacked by a wrathful soul. However this scene takes place in the first half of Canto VIII rather than the one previous. I will probably go back and add a proper illustration for the Seventh at a later date, but for now we will move on with the Eighth as if nothing is out of the ordinary. If you guys are OK with it, then I'm OK with it. =)

In any case, Canto VIII begins with Phlegyas ferrying the two adventurers across the river Styx, where reside the souls of the wrathful. One tries to pull himself into the boat but is rebuked by Virgil the Awesome. When they arrive to the opposite shore, the ordained duo behold the City of Dis - the infernal capital of Hell. Its walls stand tall with iron and the vermilion glow in the sky above betray the hellfire which burns eternal beyond the gates.

And I: "Its mosques already, Master, clearly
  Within there in the valley I discern
  Vermilion, as if issuing from the fire


They were." And he to me: "The fire eternal
  That kindles them within makes them look red,
  As thou beholdest in this nether Hell."


Then we arrived within the moats profound,
  That circumvallate that disconsolate city;
  The walls appeared to me to be of iron.

The highlight for me in this passage are the throngs of fallen angels who guard the gates of Dis. They are hostile to Virgil and Dante and, even after Virgil explains his task, they refuse the two entry to the city. Virgil is forced to wait for Heavenly intervention before they may proceed further.

What I find most interesting are the angels who have fallen from grace and now reside in Hell for their crimes. Undoubtedly many of them fought alongside Lucifer in his vain attempt to usurp God's throne. In following with the general theme in Hell of punishment befitting of the sin, I wondered what would be an appropriate fate for a perfect being whose sole purpose in life is to serve and bring glory to its God? I rather dislike simply illustrating scenes directly from the Epic, preferring instead to attempt to shed even more light on the nature of the Divine Comedy.

The Fallen Angel

The Fallen Angel as depicted in my illustration was once a beautiful and noble creature. His face and body are scarred and blemished from wounds of battle that would never heal in the festering pits into which he was cast. His eyes have been burned and blackened by the intensity of God's wrath, stricken blind so that even in forgiveness he may never again witness the light of His glory.

For raising his hands in treason against God, they now burn with an intense, lightless heat. To raise one's hand against The Creator is to raise one's hand against all of Creation. Therefore anything the Fallen Angel touches henceforth will be destroyed. His wings and rank have been stripped to the bone. He is nothing in the eyes of God, yet, as an Angel, he has no choice but to yearn for the love and forgiveness which will never be granted. He cries tears of blood from his lifeless eyes for the Father that is forever gone.