Sabellus

Profile

Sabellus is recalled by Dante in a passage of Inferno XXV. His name is mentioned alongside that of Nasidius among the soldiers of Cato's army who, during the crossing of the Libyan desert narrated by Lucan in the Pharsalia, are struck by poisonous snakes. The authorized note to verse 95 specifies that Sabellus dissolves into ash following the bite (Phars. IX 761 ff.), while Nasidius swells until losing all human semblance (ibid. 790 ff.). The same episode in Lucan, according to the note, provided the inspiration for the scene of the incineration of Vanni Fucci described in the same canto. No further historical or biographical information is provided about Sabellus beyond his role as a soldier participating in the Libyan expedition.