Isifile

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In the ditch of the seducers and panderers (eighth ditch of the eighth circle) Dante pairs, according to the scheme of parallels between contemporaries and figures of the ancient world, a known sinner with a character from mythology. The authorized commentary on Canto XVIII clarifies that Jason is the ancient damned soul who is paired, as a modern counterpart, with Venedico Caccianimico; the same commentary recalls that the heroic exploit of the Argonauts and the conquest of the golden fleece «is not worth the deception committed against a defenseless young woman», referring precisely to Isifile, the young woman whom Jason deceived, as attested by verse 92 of the canto. This textual connection is also confirmed by the introduction to the canto, which explains that in the two ditches of Canto XVIII Dante systematically presents a pair composed of a contemporary and an ancient figure, here Jason and Venedico, both united by the guilt of seduction and betrayal. Isifile is therefore recalled solely as the young woman deceived by Jason, without further biographical details derivable from the verses or from the notes provided.