Linus

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Linus is mentioned by Dante in Limbo, among the great spirits of the first circle of Hell, in the passage where the poet enumerates a series of illustrious figures of antiquity. The authorized note to the passage describes him as a mythical poet of ancient Greece, remembered together with Orpheus, in a tradition that unites the legendary origins of Greek poetry. His placement in Limbo, in the company of Tullus Hostilius (here in the form «Tulïo») and of Seneca, confirms for Dante his belonging to the host of ancient sages and poets who, lacking baptism, cannot attain blessedness but are exempt from the pains of Hell. The note of the commentary explicitly associates him with Orpheus as an example of a mythical poet, indicating that such a remembrance is mediated by the classical culture to which Dante draws.