Alecto

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In Canto IX of the Inferno Dante places Alecto among the three Furies who appear atop the tower of Dis, alongside Megaera and Tisiphone. The poet indicates her position by saying that «she who weeps on the right is Alecto». The identification is confirmed by Virgil, who recognizes her immediately. The Furies are described with serpents girding their waists and with cerastae on their foreheads, according to a traditional depiction of evil corroding the soul. The note to verse 40 points out that the term «hydra» is already used for Alecto in the Aeneid, confirming the continuity of the classical tradition.