Characters
Characters of the Divine Comedy
Explore the protagonists and figures Dante meets on his journey.
| Personaggio | Tipologia | Menzioni | Versi collegati | Descrizione |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manlius Torquatus | Historical | 1 | 1 | Roman republican hero recalled by Dante among the illustrious citizens of the early period of the republic, celebrated for the exploits accomplished by Rome against neighboring peoples. |
| Manto | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Manto is recalled by Virgil in Canto XX of the Inferno as the figure who «cercò per terre molte» (wandered through many lands). The verse names her among the diviners, in a passage of Virgil's discourse on the founding of his city. |
| Muhammad | Popes and clergy | 2 | 2 | Founder of Islam, damned in the ninth bolgia of the eighth circle among the schismatics; he appears to Dante split in two by a devil's sword. |
| Marco | Unclassified | 1 | 2 | Lombard spirit encountered by Dante on the cornice of the wrathful, known in the Trecento as a wise man of the court. He presents himself in person, denounces the corruption of the world, and recalls the value of free will. |
| Mordecai | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | God-fearing Jew, uncle of Queen Esther, remembered as righteous in the biblical example of the second crucified figure in Purgatory. |
| Mary | Biblical figures | 13 | 23 | Mary, the mother of Jesus, is invoked and remembered in the cantos of Purgatorio and Paradiso as a name of piety and a model of humility; her mention accompanies prayers, examples of faith, and descriptions of the blessed. |
| Mars | Deity | 2 | 9 | Mars is the planet cited by Dante in both the Inferno and the Purgatorio. In Inferno XXIV, the vapors of Val di Magra originate from Mars; in Purgatorio XII, he appears on the frieze of the triumphal chariot alongside Pallas and Thymbraean (Apollo). |
| Marcia | Unclassified | 2 | 2 | Wife of Cato of Utica, recalled by Dante among the virtuous women of Limbo and addressed by him to entreat Cato in Purgatory. |
| Matelda | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | A woman who in Purgatory awaits Dante in the earthly paradise; her name is spoken only once, in the last canto, where she is charged with speaking. |
| Medea | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Mythological figure cited by Dante in the Inferno as a victim of Jason's deception, alongside figures of fraudulent seducers in the first ditch of the eighth circle. |
| Medusa | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Greek mythological figure, the most terrifying of the three Gorgons, daughters of the sea god Phorcys, whose face turned to stone anyone who looked upon it; Perseus, with the help of Minerva, cut off her head, which preserved its power. |
| Megaera | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Fury cited by Dante among the three who appear before the city of Dis, recognized by Virgil for her sinister chant. |
| Melanesi | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | People mentioned in Purgatorio VIII, v. 80, in the simile of the viper that makes the Melanesi encamp, with reference to the custom of the jurisdiction of the Visconti coat of arms. |
| Melchizedek | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | Figure recalled in the Heaven of the Fixed Stars as a term of comparison with the king-priest who led Abraham into the promised land. |
| Mele | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | In Purgatorio XXII the name Mele appears alongside locuste to designate the wild honey which, according to the Gospel, was part of the food of John the Baptist in the desert. |
| Meleager | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Mythological figure cited by Virgil in Purgatorio as an example to explain to Dante how a body can become thin without the need for nourishment. |
| Melissus | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 1 | Philosopher of antiquity, recalled by Dante in the Heaven of the Sun among those who used reason without possessing the art of discerning the truth. |
| Menalippo | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Mythological figure mentioned by Dante in Inferno XXXII as part of the simile of the two damned who bite each other; the name is used as a term of comparison to designate an illustrious victim. |
| Michael | Deity | 2 | 4 | Archangel Michael, invoked by the souls of the envious in Purgatory together with Peter and all the saints, according to the order of the Catholic litanies. |
| Michele Scotto | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 2 | An astrologer of Scottish origin cited by Dante in Canto XX of the Inferno, where he is numbered among the famous soothsayers and astrologers, his contemporaries, punished for their frauds. |
| Michele Zanche | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 2 | Lord of Logudoro in Sardinia, father-in-law of Branca Doria. Remembered among the barrators and killed by treachery by his son-in-law during a banquet. |
| Michol | Biblical figures | 1 | 2 | Daughter of Saul and wife of David, depicted in marble as she gazes astonished from the window of the palace at King David's dance before the ark; she despises in her heart the humiliation of the sovereign. |
| Minerva | Deity | 3 | 3 | Pagan deity invoked by Dante as an allegory of the wisdom that assists and guides the enterprise of the sacred poem. |
| Minos | Mythological | 1 | 7 | King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa, imagined by the ancient poets as judge of the souls in Hell; Dante places him at the entrance of Hell as the guardian who assigns the damned to their circles. |