Pygmalion

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Pygmalion is named by Hugh Capet in the speech of Purgatorio XX as an example of a traitor greedy for gold. Verse 103 introduces the name in the expression «Noi repetiam Pigmalïon allotta», where the authorized note specifies that allotta means «then, that is, at night». In verse 104 Pygmalion is called a traitor, and the note specifies that «the greedy craving for gold made him a traitor», making him the one who ordered the killing of Sychaeus. The note to verse 105 clarifies that paricida means «killer of close relatives» and that «Sychaeus was Pygmalion's uncle and brother-in-law», thus highlighting the gravity of the crime. The passage is part of the survey of examples of punished avarice that Hugh Capet unfolds during his invective, punctuated by incisive verbs such as morda, in a tone that the critical note judges less figuratively powerful compared to other scenes of the poem.