How Is Satans Portrayed In Dante's Inferno

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Satan has been, and will be, perceived in many different ways based on culture, religion ,and ethnic groups. From a mythical creatures that rules the underworld, to a shapeshifter that manipulates in the living world, no exact representation can be seen worldwide. The most that one can say about Satan is that he is the ruler of hell. In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, Dante describes Satan as a three-faced beast that is frozen in place in the last circle of Inferno. Dante goes through all circles of hell with the help of his guidance, Virgil. Throughout their journey, Dante’s goal is to find God and get to him. He begins his journey through circle one and goes all the way to circle nine, with meeting some guards and sinners along the way. However,…show more content…
His wings did not stop flapping as his punishment for betraying God's rules. “And he kept flapping these wings up and down, So that three winds moved out from in around him”(Alighieri, 34, 50) states how his flapping kept the winds blowing around him to keep him frozen. God sent Satan down to hell as punishment for his actions and his wings are a punishment for himself. He cannot escape hell, nor will he ever. He gives himself his own punishment by not being able to stop flapping his wings and allow the ice to melt. Which in his case, is cruel on himself. God did the easy part by sending him down, now Satan has to “live” there forever. Which is why he is also crying. Not only from one face, but all three. To that, He has three faces to show the anger and sin he has towards God. From where Dante first noticed, “I saw that on his head he had three faces” (Alighieri, 34, 38) and describing each of them, to where he caught the glimpse of the sinners who he was chewing on, he notices that it is odd to have three faces. Each face demonstrates a feeling towards God. Whether it can be anger, pity, or hatred, it cannot be said for certain. As for the sinners he is chewing on, they are a representation of the good that Satan is capable of. God sent him down as punishment and Satan punishes other for doing bad, just as God did. In a way, Satan can be as a figure of God for hell, but not as the Supreme Leader

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