Characters
Characters of the Divine Comedy
Explore the protagonists and figures Dante meets on his journey.
| Personaggio | Tipologia | Menzioni | Versi collegati | Descrizione |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achan | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | Historical figure mentioned in Purgatorio XX as an example of a sin connected to the greed for wealth. |
| Achilles | Mythological | 6 | 6 | Achilles is the invincible Greek hero of the Iliad, recalled by Dante as a paradigm of warlike valor and as a classical exemplum alongside historical figures. |
| Ahithophel | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | Counselor of King David mentioned by Bertran de Born, who compares him to Absalom because of their broken father-son bond and for having instigated the rebellion. |
| Adam | Popes and clergy | 2 | 7 | Adam is the first man, recalled by Dante on the terrace of the proud in Purgatory as the progenitor from whom human flesh comes, and invoked collectively in Limbo by the souls of the patriarchs. |
| Agathon | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 1 | Greek poet mentioned by Statius in Purgatorio among the ancient authors who join Homer and the five Latin poets. |
| Aglauros | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Mythological figure who appears in Purgatory among the envious, declaring that she was turned to stone because of her own envy. |
| Augustine | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | Saint Augustine is recalled by Dante in the Paradiso among the principal representatives of Christian wisdom, alongside Francis and Benedict. |
| Alagia | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Mentioned by Adrian V in Purgatorio as his niece who remained on earth, called by name but not present in the scene. |
| Alberigo | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | Fra Alberigo, a figure who presents himself to Dante by declaring his own identity; he is indicated as «frate» in the opening verse of Canto XXXIII of the Inferno. |
| Albero da Siena | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | A noble and wealthy Sienese recalled in documents from 1288 to 1294, mentioned by Griffolino d'Arezzo in Canto XXIX of the Inferno as the victim of a deception. |
| Alberto | Rulers and nobles | 2 | 4 | Alberto degli Alberti, son of Alessandro, count of Mangona, remembered by Dante in the Caina for a chain of family vendettas. |
| Alberto da Casalodi | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | A Guelph lord of Mantua remembered by Dante for the foolishness with which he allowed himself to be deceived by Pinamonte dei Bonacolsi, ending up exiled from his own city. |
| Alcide | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Alcide is the name by which the verses of Paradiso designate Hercules, so called from the name of his grandfather Alceus. He is remembered as one of the three celebrated lovers of antiquity, together with Dido and Phyllis. |
| Alecto | Mythological | 1 | 1 | One of the Furies whom Dante encounters before the gate of Dis, recognized by Virgil as she weeps on the right side. |
| Alexander the Great | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | Ancient tyrant placed by Dante in the seventh circle, in the round of the violent against their neighbors immersed in the river of boiling blood, cited as an example of an insatiable thirst for human blood. |
| Alpha and O | Deity | 1 | 1 | In the verses of the Paradiso it is invoked as the beginning and end of all that is written, identified with God himself, the ultimate mover of creation and prophecy. |
| Alì | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | In the twenty-eighth of the Inferno Dante meets and names Alì as he advances weeping before the poet, in a scene of sorrow among the sowers of discord. |
| Alichino | Mythological | 1 | 2 | Alichino is a devil of the decuria assigned to the fifth bolgia of Hell, called by name in the roll call of the ten who escort the poets along the embankment above the boiling pitch. |
| Almeone | Mythological | 2 | 2 | Almeone is a mythological figure mentioned by Beatrice in Paradiso as an emblematic example of an action performed to avoid a greater harm, according to the theory of the lesser evil. |
| Amiclates | Historical | 1 | 1 | Poor fisherman of Boeotia cited by Dante in Paradiso XI among the examples of those who lived secure in poverty. |
| Anaxagoras | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, cited by Dante in Limbo among the sages of antiquity, remembered alongside Diogenes and Thales. |
| Anastagi | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | Romagnol family mentioned by Guido del Duca among the houses of the Bidente-Arno valley recalled with nostalgia. |
| Anastasius pope | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | Pope recalled by Dante in Inferno XI among the souls of the heretics. The verse indicates him as the one the poet says he observes from the edge of the new circle. |
| Anchises | Mythological | 3 | 4 | Father of Aeneas, recalled by Dante in the wood (Inf. I) and in the Heaven of Mars (Par. XV and XIX) as a Virgilian figure of a pious and long-lived progenitor. |