Saturday, October 18, 2014

Geryon - Enough Said

Alright, so I know we weren't supposed to read Canto XVII (17) but I felt that a certain figure needs to be mentioned. Its/His name is Geryon and he is the embodiment of Fraud in Dante's Inferno. In order to represent Fraud, Dante mixed three natures -human, reptilian, and bestial (like a lion or a cow)- into one being...well he sorta did. Geryon actually has three bodies and three heads, one for each nature. Once again we see Dante's use of the number three to represent a sinful being, so Geryon's three natures may be another parody on the Trinity. You might assume that a creature like this would be wild and aggressive to Dante on his journey, but it is actually the opposite. Geryon carries them on (heh - Geryon carry on) its/his back to get to the eighth circle of Hell.

1 comment:

Sri Korrapati said...

I find it interesting how Garyon responded to Virgil's call. It shows how God has power over monsters in hell.
Here is Dore's picture of Him:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/31/Geryon.jpg