Canto VI

Line 13-18 “Cerberus, cruel, montorous beast…submerged there.”

Dante and Virgil encounter Cerberus, a three-headed dog, in the third circle. In Greek Mythology, Cerberus is again, a three-headed dog whose sole job is to guard the entrance to Hades. The Greeks are said to have had a great fear and respect for wild dogs and Cerberus is supposed to represent the epitome of these fears. Typhon, a fire-breathing dragon, is Cerberus’ father and Echidna, a half snake and half human, was his mother. His job in Dante’s Inferno is very similar to that of his in mythology. The minor difference is that in canto 6 he is guarding the third circle of hell and in mythology he is typically depicted as walking the banks of the river or guarding Hades. (MB)

"And he to me: 'Return to your philosophy, which teaches that the more perfect a thing is, the more it feels what is good, and the same for pain'" (6.106-108, 105).

As Martinez and Durling note in their commentary, Virgil here refers to "the current Aristotelianism," and this particular axiom is from Aristotle's Ethics (111). Simultaneously, though, he captures the organizing principle of punishment and reward in the afterlife. Souls condemned to Hell receive punishment in equal measure to their imperfection, whereas souls in Heaven receive God's light in proportion to their perfection. (MC)