Mythological

Paris

Paris, the hero of the Trojan War, is mentioned by Dante in Canto V of the Inferno among the shades of the lustful, alongside Tristan and other historical and literary figures.

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In Canto V of the Inferno Dante places Paris among the souls of the lustful, citing his name immediately after that of Achilles and paired with Tristan. The note to verse 65 specifies that, according to the tradition followed by Dante, Achilles was killed by treachery at the hands of Paris, brother of Polyxena, after falling in love with her. The commentary on verse 66 explains that love was the ultimate cause of the Greek hero's death and that the killing by Paris recalls the name that immediately follows in the text. Dante, according to the notes on the canto, brings together historical figures and heroes of great poetry without distinction, treating the Virgilian and Homeric texts as historical sources. The entry limits itself to recording this presence and the internal connections within the passage, without adding biographical data not supported by the verses or the authorized notes.

In the text

Linked verses

1 verses
CanticaCantoVersoTestoOpen verse
InfernoCanto V67Vedi Parìs, Tristano»; e più di milleOpen verse