The Inferno of Dante Alighieri is one of the most recognizable classics of Western literature and theology. It tells of a poet’s journey into the depths of Hell, guided by the imperial laureate of human reason, Vergil. A worthy escort: he did confirm messianic prophecy in his Fourth Eclogue, nay? But’s that’s not [the] reason, for too few know that Dante’s grand scheme of the afterlife was merely a rearrangement of Vergil’s own concept, detailed in Book Six of the Aeneid. Its namesake hero harrowed Hell long before any Christian could “borrow” the myth and frighten generations of schoolchildren.
Nine hundred and one Latin hexameters inspired a hundred cantos of Italian terza rima. My purpose is to reestablish this connection with an English translation of Aeneid VI into Dante’s own meter and rhyme. What modern ignorance of the classics has estranged shall be reunited through the power of poetry, and open people’s eyes to the unity and relativism of mythology, philosophy and religion, and what our present imaginations owe to antiquity’s tales.
If Hell exists then Jesus himself is definetly trapped in Hell. Hell is the place where souls suffer the most and are abondoned the most. We are told that Jesus exists where souls suffer the most and are abondoned by all else. Hence Jesus must be in hell..condemmed forever to comfort the souls that suffer the most..Jesus is condemmed to forever exist in eternal hell..but hey..he himself created this system of infinite suffering for finite ‘evil”.
Jesus is trapped in hell, like a rat trapped in a tread-mill cage forever trying to outrun it without success. No wonder Jesus never appeared in earth again..how the heck could he ? he is on a infinite treadmill in hell..
Understand what the trinity is would answer this perfectly.
Also. What’s inside of you? Body parts… What makes those body parts work together? How does your heart beat? How do you explain emotions? Where do you think the goodness in you comes from? A few questions going through my mind.
Dante had these questions going through his mind when he penned the Divine Comedy, and yes, the Trinity is the key to unlocking the mystery. Hell, Purgatory and Paradise are set up in a tripartite system (as are tons of things in the Comedy), which reminds me of the tripartite soul as described by Plato. Among other things Dante’s cosmology can be an allegory for the human body. Hell represents the lower desires and drives that can lead us astray (desires not to be suppressed, but to be understood and put in their proper place). Purgatory represents the heart, the will, though through suffering, that leads us closer to God. Paradise represents the mind, the pure contemplation of God and His mysteries through the intellect.
In reply to Dharma, the story of Jesus’ descent into Hell is not exclusively a one-time event in history. The Trinity operates independently of space and time. The harrowing of Hell can be an allegory for the eternal grace and salvation offered by Christ to us mortals who suffer in this “Hell on Earth.”
if hell would exist scientist will ever find some kind of explenation for it.
if god exists they will find something sientific about that.