Characters
Characters of the Divine Comedy
Explore the protagonists and figures Dante meets on his journey.
| Personaggio | Tipologia | Menzioni | Versi collegati | Descrizione |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Damian | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | A monk and Doctor of the Church, identified in Paradiso XXI as the soul who lived in the monastery of Fonte Avellana and who speaks to Dante in the Heaven of Saturn. |
| Peter the Eater | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | Pietro Mangiadore (Petrus Comestor), a theologian and dean of Troyes mentioned by Dante in Paradise among the blessed of the Heaven of the Sun. |
| Pietro Peccator | Historical | 1 | 1 | Pietro Peccatore, a historical figure mentioned in a verse of Paradiso (XXI, 122), distinguished from Pier Damiano according to a critical interpretation of Dante's text. |
| Pygmalion | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | King of Tyre and father of Dido, recalled by Hugh Capet as an example of a traitor whom the thirst for gold drove to parricide against Sychaeus, Pygmalion's uncle and brother-in-law. |
| Pinamonte | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | Pinamonte is recalled by Dante as the architect of the deceit laid for the Count of Casalodi, an episode connected to the loss of Guelph power in Mantua. |
| Pyramus | Mythological | 2 | 2 | Young Babylonian from Ovidian mythology, protagonist of a thwarted love and suicidal death near a mulberry tree, cited by Dante as a term of comparison in Purgatorio XXVII and XXXIII. |
| Pyrrhus | Rulers and nobles | 2 | 2 | King of Epirus (4th century B.C.) and an implacable enemy of the Romans, recalled by Dante in the seventh circle of the Inferno among the leaders of destructive armies and in the Paradiso among the enemies faced by the Roman eagle. |
| Pisistratus | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, is cited by Dante in Purgatorio as an example of clemency drawn from the pagan world, through the episode narrated by Valerius Maximus. |
| Plato | Unclassified | 2 | 3 | Ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, cited by Dante in Limbo among the great sages of antiquity lacking grace. |
| Pluto | Deity | 2 | 2 | God of riches placed by Dante as guardian of the circle of the avaricious and prodigal, distinct from the Pluton king of Avernus who is instead Lucifer (Dis). |
| Podestadi | Deity | 1 | 1 | Angelic order of Dante's Paradiso, cited as the third order in the Heaven of the Principalities. The name, attested in the plural form 'Podestadi', designates one of the celestial hierarchies. |
| Da Polenta | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | A noble family of Ravenna mentioned by Guido da Montefeltro in his survey of the Romagnol cities. They are referred to as «l'aguglia da Polenta» that «covers» Ravenna, in a heraldic image analogous to those of the other territorial coats of arms. |
| Polydorus | Mythological | 2 | 2 | Son of Priam, treacherously killed by Polymestor king of Thrace; mentioned by Dante in Canto XXX of the Inferno and Canto XX of the Purgatorio. |
| Polyhymnia | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Muse cited by Dante in the celestial Earthly Paradise alongside the other Muses, called upon as an inspiring source that could guide poets in the song of Beatrice. |
| Polymnestor | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | King of Thrace and son-in-law of Priam, remembered as an example of greed for having treacherously killed his brother-in-law Polydorus. |
| Polissena | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Daughter of Priam, the last victim of the ruin of Troy: sacrificed by the Greeks on the tomb of Achilles, she is recalled by Dante as the cause of Hecuba's grief. |
| Pompey | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | Roman commander of the late Republican era, remembered among the triumphs of the imperial eagle that marked the history of Rome down to the age of Caesar. |
| Principalities | Deity | 1 | 1 | Second order of the second angelic ternary; in the Crystalline Heaven they dance and sing in a choir with the other choirs, revolving around Beatrice and Dante. |
| Priscian | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 1 | Priscian of Caesarea, a sixth-century grammarian, cited by Brunetto Latin among the sodomites of the seventh circle. Dante includes him in the band of the damned alongside Francesco d'Accorso, grouping them together as litterati of great renown. |
| Proserpina | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Mythological figure evoked by Dante in the earthly Paradise as a term of comparison for the woman who gathers flowers in the Eden grove: she is the young daughter of Ceres, caught as she loses the flowers she has gathered, according to the Ovidian account. |
| Provenzali | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | The Provenzali appear in Paradiso VI in a passage of Justinian's discourse, recalled as the subjects of Count Raimondo Berlinghieri and beneficiaries of the work of his minister Romeo di Villanova. |
| Provenzan Salvani | Historical | 1 | 1 | A 13th-century Sienese Ghibelline, recalled by Dante in Ante-Purgatory as an example of humbled pride, who undertook a grand act of charity to ransom a friend from captivity. |
| Puccio Sciancato | Families and factions | 1 | 1 | Puccio Sciancato is named by Caccianimico among the Florentine counselors of his family, remembered in the list of the seven who crawl on all fours in the seventh bolgia. |
| Quirinus | Historical | 1 | 1 | Quirinus is recalled by Charlemagne in the Heaven of Venus as an example of a man born for political life, linked to the lineage of Jacob. |