Characters
Characters of the Divine Comedy
Explore the protagonists and figures Dante meets on his journey.
| Personaggio | Tipologia | Menzioni | Versi collegati | Descrizione |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | Saint Thomas Aquinas is recalled by Cacciaguida in the Heaven of Mars as the feast that comforts the Pilgrims, and is celebrated by Bonaventure as a champion of the Dominican faith set against Saint Francis. |
| Sant'Urbano | Popes and clergy | 1 | 1 | Pope of the early centuries, mentioned by Peter in Paradiso among the pontiffs who shed their own blood for the Church of its origins. |
| Sapia | Historical | 1 | 1 | A Sienese spirit encountered by Dante on the terrace of the envious (Purgatorio XIII). She calls herself Sapìa, acknowledging that she was not truly wise; she recounts her delight at the defeat of the Sienese at Colle. |
| Sardanapalus | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | Assyrian king of the 7th century B.C., remembered among the ancients as a symbol of moral depravity and effeminate lust. In the Poem he is evoked by Cacciaguida in the Heaven of Mars as a term of comparison for measuring the corruption of the Florence of his own time. |
| Sarah | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | Biblical patriarch named by Bernard in the celestial Earthly Paradise as a component of the rose of the blessed alongside Eve and Mary. |
| Sassol Mascheroni | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | A Florentine remembered by Dante in Canto XXXII of the Inferno, where he is named among the traitors to their homeland submerged in the frozen lake. |
| Saul | Biblical figures | 1 | 1 | King of Israel mentioned by Dante in Purgatory in relation to his death by his own hand and the curse upon the mountains of Gilboa, an example of punished pride. |
| Scarmiglione | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Devil of the squad led by Malacoda in the eighth circle (the infernal ditch), called out by his captain while the devils display their weapons. |
| Scipio | Rulers and nobles | 2 | 2 | Roman commander recalled by Justinian in the Heaven of Mercury alongside Pompey among the military glories of Italy, and invoked by Peter as a defender of Rome against Hannibal. |
| Semele | Mythological | 2 | 2 | Daughter of Cadmus, beloved by Jupiter, recalled by Dante as an example of one who was incinerated for having wished to contemplate the celestial majesty of the god. |
| Semiramis | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Semiramis is named by Virgil in Canto V of the Inferno as the first of the band of carnal sinners, presented in the verse «Ell' è Semiramìs, di cui si legge». |
| Seneca | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Roman moral philosopher of the 1st century B.C. and A.D., remembered by Dante in Limbo among the great spirits, distinguished with the appellation «moral» for his Stoically inspired works. |
| Sennacherib | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | King of Assyria remembered as an example of punished pride, sculpted on the second terrace of Purgatory among the examples of arrogance. |
| ser Martino | Unclassified | 1 | 1 | Proper name cited by Dante in Paradiso as an example of a common person, used together with donna Berta to indicate anyone whatsoever, often with a disparaging value. |
| Xerxes | Rulers and nobles | 2 | 2 | Persian king recalled by Dante as a historical example: he crossed the Hellespont with a bridge of ships to invade Greece, but was defeated and barely escaped with his life. |
| Sextus | Rulers and nobles | 1 | 1 | Son of Pompey the Great, recalled by Dante among the violent who infested Italy, together with Attila and Pyrrhus, in Canto XII of the Inferno. |
| Seven Kings of Thebes | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Group of seven kings who assailed Thebes, recalled by Dante through the figure of Capaneus, defined in Canto XIV of the Inferno as «l'un d'i sette regi». |
| Sphinx | Mythological | 1 | 1 | In Purgatorio XXXIII the Sphinx is mentioned together with Themis as an example of one who darkens the intellect, in a simile concerning the way of posing obscure riddles. |
| Sibyl | Mythological | 1 | 1 | The Sibyl is recalled in a simile in Paradise: her leaves, on which the oracle was written, were scattered by the wind. |
| Sicheus | Mythological | 2 | 2 | Sicheus is the husband of Dido, remembered as the spouse to whom she kept a promise of fidelity, which she then broke for love of Aeneas. |
| Silvestro | Popes and clergy | 2 | 2 | San Silvestro, one of the earliest followers of San Francesco who went barefoot to follow him, remembered together with Egidio among the companions of the first hour. |
| Silvio (parente) | Mythological | 1 | 1 | Silvio, kinsman of Aeneas, is recalled by Dante in Canto II of the Inferno as an example of an otherworldly journey linked to the Aeneid, compared to that of Saint Paul. |
| Simonides | Poets and thinkers | 1 | 1 | Greek poet mentioned in Purgatorio among the ancient authors recalled by Statius together with Agathon and others, in a list that continues the survey of the poets of Limbo. |
| Simon Magus | Biblical figures | 2 | 2 | Simon, the magician of Samaria, recalled by Dante as responsible for the sin that takes its name from him, simony, condemned as the progenitor of the simonists. |