Mythological

Eurypylus

Character from classical antiquity cited by Dante among the diviners and augurs of the fourth bolgia of the eighth circle, remembered as the one who «gave the starting point» to the Greeks for their departure toward Troy.

Profile

In the Divina Commedia, Eurypylus is numbered among the diviners and augurs punished in the fourth bolgia of the eighth circle of Hell, alongside Amphiaraus, Tiresias, Aruns, Manto, and the modern figures of Michael Scot, Guido Bonatti, and Asdente. The verse concerning him names him and adds that his fame is such as to be sung by poetic tradition, according to what Virgil reports to Dante in the conversation with the pair of bellows. The critical note specifies that Eurypylus is a character from the Aeneid and that, according to Sinon’s false tale, he was sent by the Greeks to consult Apollo in order to learn how to overcome the resistance of the winds on their return from Troy. The note also points out that, from Virgil’s verses, it does not in fact emerge that he was an augur or that he had «given the starting point» for the Greeks’ departure.

In the text

Linked verses

1 verses
CanticaCantoVersoTestoOpen verse
InfernoCanto XX112Euripilo ebbe nome, e così ’l cantaOpen verse