Characters
Characters of the Divine Comedy
Explore the protagonists and figures Dante meets on his journey.
| Personaggio | Tipologia | Menzioni | Versi collegati | Descrizione |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lano | Historical | 1 | 1 | Lano is mentioned by a damned soul in the wood of the suicides (Inf. XIII), as he runs pursued by black dogs. |
| la Pia | Historical | 1 | 1 | A spirit in Purgatory who addresses Dante to ask to be remembered, introducing herself with only the name "la Pia". |
| Lapo Salterello | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Character named by Cacciaguida in Canto XV of Paradiso among examples of contemporary Florentine corruption, alongside Cianghella. |
| Latona | Mythological | 1 | 4 | A figure from classical mythology recalled by Dante as the mother of Apollo and Diana, the sun and the moon, and linked to the island of Delos. |
| Lavinia | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Daughter of King Latinus, promised bride of Turnus and then wife of Aeneas. In the Aeneid she is recalled alongside her father; Dante cites her as the cause of Amata's death. |
| Leander | Mythological | 1 | 1 | A young lover from Greek myth, recalled by Dante in Purgatory as a point of comparison: he swam across the Hellespont to reach his beloved Hero, until a stormy sea prevented him from doing so. |
| Learco | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Son of Athamas and Ino, cited by Dante in Inferno XXX within the mythological simile that opens the canto, where the two falsifiers of persons are compared to two pigs. |
| Lia | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | A woman who presents herself to Dante in Purgatory as Lia, a historical figure who moves about and gathers flowers to make garlands, contrasted with her sister Rachel. |
| Libicocco | Mythological | 2 | 2 | Libicocco is one of the devils of the Malebranche squad who escort Dante and Virgil along the fifth bolgia of the Inferno, among the barrators immersed in boiling pitch. |
| Linus | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 1 | Mythical poet of ancient Greece, recalled by Dante among the great spirits of Limbo alongside Tullus and Seneca the moralist. |
| Lioncel dal nido bianco | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Heraldic lion cub which in the similes of Inferno XXVII leads the exiled Florentine Whites just as the green lion of the Ordelaffi leads the Ghibellines. |
| the Persians | Historical | 1 | 1 | A generic people of infidels mentioned as a rhetorical example in the political discourse of the Heaven of the Sun, contrasted with the Christian kings of Europe. |
| Lizio | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | Lord of Valbona on the Tuscan-Romagnol Apennines, a Guelph, recalled by Guido del Duca in Purgatorio as an example of the liberality and courtesy of the past. |
| Lombards | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | People mentioned in Justinian's narration (Paradiso VI) as aggressors of the Church, stopped by Charlemagne under the sign of the Roman eagle. |
| Lucan | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 2 | Latin poet, author of the Pharsalia, recalled by Dante as one of the great masters of Limbo, where he appears together with Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Virgil. |
| Lucia | Popes and clergy | 4 | 4 | Saint and martyr of Syracuse, venerated as the patroness of sight, who in the Commedia intervenes twice in decisive help of Dante, as a figure of illuminating grace. |
| Lucifer | Deity | 4 | 9 | Lord of the infernal depths, designated in the verses with the names Dis, Lucifer, and Beelzebub, situated at the most remote point of Dante's Hell. |
| Lucretia | Unclassified | 2 | 2 | A woman of Roman republican history recalled by Dante in Limbo as an example of virtue, and mentioned by Cacciaguida among the seven kings who paid for the pain of her violation. |
| Macabeo | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Figure recalled by Cacciaguida in the Heaven of Mars (Paradise XVIII) as an example of military glory, alongside Charlemagne, Orlando, and others. The name is celebrated as one of those who had great renown and provided ample material for poetry. |
| Macarius | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | An Eastern monk named by Cacciaguida in the Heaven of Mars as a representative of the Eastern branch of monasticism, alongside Romualdo. |
| Maestro Adamo | Historical | 1 | 1 | Counterfeiter placed in the eighth ditch of Hell (canto XXX); a master with an academic title, burned at the stake during Dante's adolescence. |
| Maia | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Maia is recalled by Dante among the figures found near a point of the starry sky in Paradise, next to Dïone. |
| Malacoda | Mythological | 1 | 2 | Chief of the devils of the fifth bolgia of the eighth circle (Malebolge), guardian of the Malebranche; his name is coined by Dante on the model of Malebolge and Malebranche. |
| Malebranche | Deity | 2 | 4 | The Malebranche are the devils of the fifth bolgia of the eighth circle of Hell, charged with guarding the barrators immersed in boiling pitch. The name, coined by Dante, evokes the clawed talons with which they seize the damned. |