Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Comedy, is an inherently philosophical, theological, and poetic masterpiece representing decades of influences upon Dante’s life. Characters across history and literature populate his Inferno and directly affect the complex structure of the underworld. This essay aims to examine a single yet vital influence upon his writing, specifically the ancient greek philosopher Aristotle and his concept of the “Golden Mean”. This text utilizes evidence from Dante’s Inferno as well as Aristotle’s “The Nicomachean Ethics” to highlight the significant magnitude of influence the ancient philosopher had upon Dante Alighieri’s writing 1500 years later.

This essay gives a brief overview of Aristotle’s concept of the “Golden Mean” from the second book of “The Nicomachean Ethics”. Additionally, analysis of references to Aristotle’s works found directly within the text of the Inferno is applied as well as examination of the influences of greek philosophy amongst a selection of Dante’s work outside of the Commedia.

The aspects of Aristotle’s writings supply a structural backbone to the distribution of sinners within Dante’s Inferno. Aristotle’s teaching that the most virtuous attributes are the ones which are neither overly abundant or deficient, perfectly in the middle, lays the foundation for the placement of sinners, which are exemplified in this essay from Canto V and Canto XII. The sinners found here are not “measured” as Dante states and are either deficient or overly-abundant in one aspect of their lives or another. Dante’s The Divine Comedy is inherently defined by Aristotelian ethics.

Joe would like to thank his faculty sponsor Claudia Karagoz for their support of this project.