Judas Iscariot

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In Canto XXXIV of the Inferno, during the visit to Giudecca, Virgil points out to Dante one of the three figures whom Lucifer rends with his sharp claws: "it is Judas Iscariot" (If XXXIV, 62), the betrayer of Christ, whose punishment is aggravated by the fact of being at the center of the demon's mouth. Of him Dante adds no personal comment, as if to the guilt and to the name nothing further could be added. The identification of the character is confirmed by the summary of the authorized note, which references Matthew 26, 14-16 and recalls how Judas, like the simonists, is fixed upside down with his legs sticking out, for having sold for thirty pieces of silver what belonged to God, the very person of Christ. Compared to Brutus and Cassius, who hang from the other two mouths with their heads protruding, Judas stands out for being the only figure to suffer the punishment of being internally torn apart by Lucifer.