The Epic Hero

Commentary by Amrin Madhani

Ln 1-3:

The first tercet of Inferno 26 launches the canto’s “theme of epic quest and journey, by framing Florentine imperial ambitions and expansionism with the metaphor of flying” (Digital Dante). Apostrophe of Florence as “a giant bird of prey that beats its wings relentlessly over all the world over both land and sea” (Barolini, Digital Dante). Durling in his commentary notes that other commentators have taken into account that this may be an allusion to an “inscription in hexameters, dated 1255, still visible on the Florentine Palazzo de Bargello, which describes Florence as ‘que mare, que terram, que totum possidet orbem’ (who possess the sea, the land, and the whole globe). Critical discourse of this line is divided between Dante’s assertion of Florence being celebratory or sarcastic.

The phrase (who possess the sea, the land, and the whole globe) is also found in Lucan’s Pharsalia, which was used to indicate the fall Rome. Dante is creating a direct parallel of Florence to Rome, first though his grandiose description of Florence and then by sabotaging it by the inevitably that like Rome it too shall fall.

The imagery of flight is seen again in the latter half of the Canto [Inf. 24.125] “de’ remi facemmo ali al folle volo” (of our oars we made wings for the mad flight) (Translation by Robert M. Durling). Ulysses’s “mad flight” is akin to adventure, for greatness, but it is insane to want to be greater than the Divine.

Ln 4-6:

Dante is referring to the previous canto where citizens of Florence are present. Dante feels shame and disgust by their dishonorable acts. By placing dishonored citizens of Florence in the tercet following the first, Dante juxtaposed Florence’s perceived greatness in front of the reality. That a city like Florence is not as divine as it believes given that the core of the city, the people, can be found in the pit of hell. This distaste can also be dually interpreted. If Dante is celebratory of Florence as a great city, than instead of disgust, he may be showing sorrow at the fact that citizens of this city that he revers so much, have a place in Hell. But, if Dante is being sarcastic towards Florence’s greatness, than no doubt he’s angered and disgusted by the “five citizens of yours” in this Hell.

Ln 7:

“But if near morning one dreams the truth” here Dante is utilizing the Medieval tradition of Dreams Visions, which takes advantage of the notion that some types of dreams were a mode of communication available to the dreamer. The source of the dream may be God, hence Divine visions. The insertion of dream in this canto serves to work as a prophetic truth of demise, the subject of the demise is not clear, but we can infer that he is speaking of Florence.

Ln 9-10:

Prato: There are two contested arguments about Dante’s allusion to Prato.

The first allusion may be to the city of Prato, a neighboring city that is under the control of Florence. Durling makes special note that this interpretation may be the direction Dante is going, in hopes to show how “the traditionally most faithful subject city years to see Florence punished.”

The second allusion may be to Cardinal Niccolo di Prato, bishop of Spoleto, cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri, papal legate in France, England, and Sicily (Princeton Dante Project). In 1304 Niccolo di Prato arrived on a mission to Florence sent by Benedict XI to draft a peace agreement between the rival factions. The factions did not trust Prato due to his upbringing with Ghibelline and accused him of unfairly siding with them. Enraged by the accusation and consequently his failed attempt at peace negotiation, he excommunicated Florence. (Toynbee "Nicholaus"; Ruggero Stefanini)

Ln 19-24

In these lines Dante shows the reader how grieved he is at the sight before him. In some way Dante sees his own sin reflected in the burning flames. These people, in specific Ulysses, mirrors Dante in intellectual pursuit. But the distinction here is that Ulysses was too arrogant in his ambition, Dante is more aware of the responsibility he bears in his “wit” or genius. He must “rein in my wit more than is my custom” (Inf.26.20-21) which means that he needs to control his genius so that he isn’t tempted to go beyond what is allowed to him. In his utilization of his geniusness, he needs to be in the boundary of virtue, with God being the moral compass by which he uses his special gift.

John S. Carrol phrases it as such, “nevertheless, in the presence of these lost minds to which he felt himself akin, he is so impressed with the possibility of a similar perdition that he reins in those high intellectual powers which some 'good star or better thing,' such as the grace of God, perchance had given him”

Ln. 25-33

The image portrayed by Dante with the use of fireflies in the dusk of summer highly contrasts that of the burning souls. But it is not accidental that Dante portrays the flames as if they were tiny fireflies in the summer night. Its to show how minute their suffering is in comparison to the sin they have committed. To the onlooker Dante, he sees them as inconsequential flames, something so minuscule it won’t have an effect on anything else. This makes sense considering that the bolgia they are in is one for fraudulent counselors. The souls condemned here have used their intellect to fuel a burning thirst for power, desire, and knowledge, and have committed great sins to attain it. Now, in the afterlife are minuscule flames, comparable to fireflies and mosquitos, burning only themselves.

Another aspect of comparing them to fireflies is in terms of quantitative measures. If we place ourselves in the imagery Dante creates, fireflies in a summer night, we will think to something like this:

One of the first things we notice is how many of them there are. This is Dante’s way of saying that false counselors are as numerous as these fireflies. It also gives the reader a moment to pause and think of the nature of these flies. Symbolically fireflies are seen as Light in the face of darkness. Light, as Dante mentions earlier, manifesting as intellectual gifts blessed upon people. But when the flame burns too hot, it consumes. Thus the fire that consumes these souls.

Ln 34-42

Dante begins his introduction of Ulysses through a simile of Elijah. Margherita Frankel in her article The Context of Dante’s Ulysses: The Similies in Inferno XXVI, 25-42 examines how the simile is meant to represent Elijah as a Christ figure, and Ulysses as Adam marking the fall of Humanity. Richard Lansing’s opinion on the simile attempts to explain that Dante saw Ulysses as another Elijah (and consequently may feel like that himself).

“He who avenged himself with the bears” (Inf.26.34) is referring to Elisha, one of Elijah’s disciples. Frankel has an interesting take on the dynamic of this simile. The four characters in this simile involve Elijah, Elisha, Ulysses and Dante. Frankel proposes that Dante’s counterpart in this simile may not be Elijah, but rather Elisha. Ascending Elijah serves as an opposite to the Fallen Ulysses. She argues that In Elisha’s gaze is Elijah in his flaming chariot, similar to how in Dante’s gaze we see the flaming Ulysses. But when Elisha looks upon the descent of Elijah, he does not see the prophet, just the blazing flame. In Dante’s case, he sees beyond the flame, and into Ulysses. Is this Dante claiming to have Divine sight blessed upon him? Veered to this path by God? Does this make him a saved man?

Understanding Elisha is more than accepting this figure as an observer. Frankel recounts Elisha’s deeds as presented in the Old and New Testament, specifically those that create an unfavorable image of Elijah. Specifically, Elijah asks to be given the same flaming chariot and ascend to Heaven with his Master, Elijah, however that request is denied. Elijah is in danger of abusing the intellect he is blessed with. If Dante truly sees himself as a counterpart to Elisha, then it is clear to see that both have a similar set of ambitions. Elisha aspires to be more than Elijah, whereas Dante “emulates Ulysses as he knew him from Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, or Seneca.

Ln. 47-48

The contrapasso here is that the souls damned have to burn in a fire that is externalized by the fire within them. This fire within them is the thirst for intellect, coupled with the malice that motivated the soul to give false counseling. They were gifted with intelligence, but they abused that gift to harm others and gain something.

Ln 52-57

Dante’s question to Virgil about the dual flames he sees is metaphorized by Eteocles and Polynices. Immediately the reader is primed to interpret the subject of the dual flames through the perspective of these brothers. The story of Eteocles and Polynices is that of deep hatred. These two brothers fought over the succession of the throne of Thebes and killed each other in the war of Seven against Thebes. Even death could not dampen the hate these brothers held for each other, so much so that on their funeral pyre the fire divided and refused to mingle. (Durling; Carroll; Singleton; Hollander)

The implication of the story is that Ulysses and Diomedes, who were allies against the Trojan War, now suffer the same punishment in Hell and hate each other. “Thus together they go to punishment as they went to anger” (Inf.26.56-57) shows that their punishment is not only shared but intensified.

Ln. 58-63

“The deceit of the horse” is a reference to the Trojan horse which concealed the Greeks from the gates of Troy. Upon bringing the wooden horse into the city, the Greeks (of which Ulysses was a part) laid siege on the city, compelling Aeneas and his followers to leave the city and eventually found Rome.

Deidamia was the daughter of Lycomedes, king of Scyros, at whose court Thetis had left her son Achilles (in a female disguise) to prevent a premonition death. But Deidamia fell in love with Achilles and bore him a son. Ulysses discovered Achilles' secret and convinced him to sail for Troy, causing him to break his promise to Deidamia and she ended up dying of grief. (Hermann Oelsner; Darthmout Dante)

The Palladium -in ancient Greek mythology- was a statue of the goddess Athena and was kept in the city of Troy. The city believed that as long as the statue was safe no harm would befall Troy. When Ulysses and Diomedes steal the statue they ultimately push Troy in harm's way, thus allowing the Greeks to attack. (Mcbeth & Gheorghe)

Ln. 91-93

Dante is alluding to Ovid’s Metamorphoses in particular the encounter Ulysses has in the island with Circe.

Circe is the daughter of the sun, a sorceress who turns men into beasts -as recounted in the Aeneid; and Ulysses-when staying with her- convinces her to restore her victims back into human form -as recounted in Metamorphoses. (C. H. Grandgent)

Ln 112-120

Ulysses’ oration of the events leading up to his death is fictional and made up by Dante. This passage exemplified Ulysses’ quest and thirst to go beyond human limitations of exploration. Durling and Martinez note that critics are divided by the characterizations of Ulysses. Some critics accept Ulysses’ characterization of the voyage ‘that it is a pursuit of the noble goals of virtue and knowledge” and then there are critics who claim Ulysses as” fraudulent, arguing that no wisdom, no knowledge of men is to be had in the ‘world without people’ citing Seneca’s Epistle 88, in terms of which Dante’s Ulysses would have been seen as abandoning his duties.

Ln. 125

The Metaphor of Flight: Desire is often metaphorized as flight and this theme is repeated throughout the cantos in Inferno. Ulysses' oration of his adventure “of our oars we made wings for the mad flight” (Barolini). But think back to all the failed flight metaphors Dante utilizes throughout Inferno (ex: Icarus). The Model of Ulysses: the juxtaposition of Dante’s epic poet hero and his recreation of Ulysses as epic hero poet, demonstrates how Ulysses functions as a prefigure antithesis of Dante and how Vergil continues to function as a prefiguration of Dante in the status of poeta (Barolini; Kelly)