Holofernes

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Holofernes is mentioned by Dante in Purgatorio XII, v. 59, within the list of examples of punished pride carved on the floor of the first terrace of Purgatory: «li Assiri, poi che fu morto Oloferne». The name appears as a historical summary of the Assyrian defeat and the death of the general, cited in a series with other cases of overthrown pride, without further specifications in the verse. The authorized notes to Canto XII deal extensively with the subsequent examples in the series (Harmonia's necklace, Sennacherib, the slaughter of the Persians, the body of Cyrus, Thamyris), but do not add direct elements on the figure of Holofernes beyond the implicit reference to the biblical context of his killing. The entry therefore limits itself to recording the Dantesque mention and the function as an example of punished pride, without adding data not supported by the provided sources.