Brutus

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In the Divina Commedia the name Brutus refers to two different historical figures. In Inferno IV 127, among the great souls of Limbo in the noble castle, Lucius Junius Brutus is recalled, the first Roman consul, who drove out Tarquin the Proud and sentenced to death his own sons when they conspired, defending the liberty of the fatherland. The authorized note points out that the pronoun quel serves to distinguish him from the other famous Brutus, the slayer of Caesar. The latter is placed by Dante in the lowest point of Hell: in Inferno XXXIV 64-67, gripped in the mouth of Lucifer, where Dante sees him hanging from the black maw without speaking, while Cassius appears twisted and motionless. The commentary specifies that both, defeated by Augustus at Philippi, are punished as traitors and that their silence is dictated by proud disdain of their punishment. The figure is also recalled in the Purgatorio, where Cassius and Brutus are remembered among the vanquished at Philippi.