Octavian

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In Purgatorio VII Sordello da Goito, responding to Virgil, identifies in Octavian the authority that arranged the burial of the Mantuan poet's body. The verse-anchor in fact states: "fur l'ossa mie per Ottavian sepolte" (Purg. VII 6), where the authorized note clarifies that the burial took place "per ordine di lui," comparing the passage with Inf. III 27. The note to the same canto also explains that Sordello's words are spoken at a solemn moment: the Latin poet lived before Christ and, by virtue of redemption, only after the death of the Redeemer can souls suited to heaven be directed to this mountain; hence the dignity and at the same time the painful awareness with which Virgil presents himself. The reference to Octavian is thus linked only to this fact of burial, without further details on role or chronology derivable from the verses provided.