List of Cultural References in Divine Comedy - C

C

• Caccia d'Asciano: See Spendthrift Club.
• Venedico and Ghisolabella Caccianemico: Venedico (c. 1228–c. 1302) was head of the Guelph faction in Bologna, he was exiled three times for his relationship with the marquess of Ferrara, Obizzo II d'Este.
  • Found among the panders, he confesses that he prostituted his sister Ghisolabella to Obizzo. Inf. XVIII, 40–66.
• Cacus: A mythological monster son of Hephaestus, he was killed by Heracles for stealing part of the cattle the hero had taken from Geryon. Dante, like other medieval writers, erroneously believes him to be a Centaur. According to Virgil he lived on the Aventine.
  • As guardian of the thieves he punishes Vanni Fucci. Inf. XXV, 17–33.

• Cadmus: Mythical son of the Phoenician king Agenor and brother of Europa, and legendary founder of Thebes. Cadmus and his wife Harmonia are ultimately transformed into serpents. (See also Hera.)
  • His transformation in Ovid's Metamophoses (IV, 562–603) is compared to the fate of the thieves. Inf. XXV, 97–99.
• Caecilius: Roman poet of the 2nd cent. B.C.E.
  • Resident of Limbo. Purg. XXII, 97.
• Cahors: Town in France that was notorious for the high level of usury that took place there and became a synonym for that sin.
  • Mentioned as being punished in the last circle. Inf. XI, 50.
• Cain: The son of Adam and brother of Abel. He murdered his brother out of envy.
  • A popular tradition identified the Moon's dark spots as the marks on Cain's face mentioned in Genesis 4:15. Inf. XX, 126, Par. II, 49–51.
  • The outermost ring of Cocytus, where the treacherous to kin are punished, is named Caïna. Inf. XXXII, 58.
  • He is an example of envy. His voice is heard on the terrace of the envious saying, "Everyone who finds me will slay me." (Gen 4:14) Purg. XIV, 133.
• Caiaphas: The Jewish High Priest during the governorship of Pontius Pilate of the Roman province of Judea, who according to the Gospels had an important role in the crucifixion of Jesus.
  • Among the hypocrites, his punishment is to be crucified to the ground while the full rank of the sinners tramples him. Inf. XXIII, 110–20.
• Calchas: Mythical Greek seer at the time of the Trojan war, who as augur at Aulis, determined the most propitious time for the Greek fleet to depart for Troy.
  • With Eurypylus, he "set the time to cut the cables". Inf. XX, 110–111.
• Calliope: The Muse of epic poetry.
  • Invoked by Dante at the beginning of the Purgatorio. Purg. I, 9.
• Camilla: Figure from Roman mythology and Virgil's Aeneid (VII, 803; XI), was the warrior-daughter of King Metabus of the Volsci, and ally of Turnus, king of the Rutuli, against Aeneas and the Trojans, and was killed in that war.
  • One of those who "died for Italy". Inf. I, 106–108.
  • Seen in Limbo. Inf. IV, 124.
• Cangrande della Scala (1290–1329): Ghibelline ruler of Verona and most probable figure behind the image of the "hound" ("il Veltro"). Inf. I, 101–111.
• Capaneus: In Greek mythology, in the story of the Seven Against Thebes he defied Zeus who then killed him with a thunderbolt in punishment.
  • Found amongst the violent against God. Inf. XIV, 46–72.
  • His pride is compared with that of Vanni Fucci. Inf. XXV, 15.
• Capocchio: Burned at the stake for alchemy in 1293.
  • Among the "falsifiers" of metal (alchemists), sitting with Griffolino of Arezzo, propping each other up, as they frantically scratch at the scabs covering their bodies. Inf. XXIX, 73–99.
  • Agrees with Dante about the vanity of the Sienese, giving as examples four of the members of the Sienese Spendthrift Club, then identifies himself. Inf. XXIX, 124–139.
  • He is dragged, with his belly scraped along the ground, by the tusks of Schicchi. Inf. XXX, 28–30.
• Caprona: Fortress on the Arno near Pisa, in 1289, it was besieged by a Tuscan Guelph army. The Ghibellines surrendered, and were allowed, under truce, to leave the castle, passing through (with trepidation) the enemy ranks. Caprona's fall along with the Guelph victory in the same year at Campaldino represented the final defeat of the Ghibellines. Dante's reference to Caprona in the Inferno, is used to infer that he took part in the siege.
  • Dante's fear for his safe passage through threatening devils, is compared to the fear of the surrendering solidiers at Caprona. Inf. XXI, 88–96.
• Cardinal Virtues: The foundations of a moral life, attainable by all, regardless of religion. They include Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude.
  • They appear symbolically as four stars visible from Purgatory. Purg. I, 37; VIII, 91.
  • Virgil defines Prudence as "the power that counsels and keeps the thresh-hold of assent." Purg. XVIII, 62–63.
• Cassius: The most senior of Julius Caesar's assassins, Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman politician and soldier.
  • Along with Brutus and Judas, he was one of the three betrayer/suicides who, for those sins, were eternally chewed by one of the three mouths of Satan. Inf. XXXIV, 53–67.
• Castel Sant'Angelo: A Papal castle in Rome with bridge attached. Inf. XVIII, 28–33.
• Catalano dei Malavolti (c. 1210–1285): From a powerful Guelph family of Bologna, he was podestà in several towns, including Florence, and governor of his city. He was commander of the infantry in the Battle of Fossalta in 1249, when the Ghibellines suffered a crushing defeat. He later became a member of the Knights of St. Mary, founded by Loderingo degli Andalò.
  • Among the hypocrites. Inf. XXIII, 76–144.
• Catiline: a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the "Catiline conspiracy", an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.
  • Probably Pistoia's "seed", which Pistoia surpasses in "wickedness". Inf. XXV, 12.
• Cato the Younger (95 BCE–46 BCE) : Politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a Stoic.
  • His crossing of the Libyan desert in 47 BCE provides a simile for the hot sands of the seventh circle. Inf. XIV, 14–15.
  • The "patriarch" who resides at the base of Mount Purgatory and functions as gate-keeper for Purgatory. Purg. I, 31.
• Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti: (died c. 1280) Father of Guido Cavalcanti, his shade appears to Dante, alongside the shade of Farinata degli Uberti. Inf. X 52–72.
• Guido Cavalcanti (c. 1255–1300): First Florentine poet of Dolce Stil Novo, close friend of Dante and son of Cavalcante de' Cavalcanti. Inf. X, 56–63, Purg. XI, 97–98.
• Francesco de' Cavalcanti: Nicknamed Guercio ("one-eyed" or "squinter"), he was murdered for unknown reasons by the inhabitants of the village of Gaville, near Florence. Reportedly his death started a bloody feud between his family and the villagers, leaving most of the inhabitants of Galville dead.
  • Among the thieves, as a "blazing little serpent", he attacks the soul of Buoso Donati, causing it to transform into a serpent, and himself to transform back into human form. Inf. XXV, 82–151.
• Cecina: See Maremma.
• Pope Celestine V: A hermit named Pietro da Morrone, he abdicated the Papacy in 1294 after only five months. His successor, Boniface VIII, immediately jailed him and two years later apparently murdered him.
  • Is perhaps the person whose shade Dante meets in the Ante-Inferno, where those who lived "sanza 'nfamia e sanza lodo" (without praise and blame) dwelt, and referred to as the one, "Che fece per viltate il gran rifiuto" (who made, through cowardice, the great refusal). Inf. III, 60.
  • Of whom Boniface says, "I possess the power to lock and unlock Heaven; for the keys my predecessor did not prise are two". 'Inf. XXVII, 105.
• Centaurs: In Greek mythology, a race part Man and part horse, with a horse's body and a human head and torso.
  • Supervising the punishment of the violent. Their leader Chiron appoints one of their number, Nessus, to guide the poets. Inf. XII, 55–139.
  • The only one not with the violent is Cacus, who supervises the thieves. Inf. XXV, 28–30.
  • Cited as examples of gluttony in Purgatory by a voice hidden in a tree of temptation, because of their drunken behavior at the marriage feast of Hippodamia. Purg. XXIV, 121–123.
• Ceperano: See Apulia.

• Cerberus: In Greek mythology, he was the three-headed dog who guarded the gate to Hades. In the Aeneid, Virgil has the Sibyl throw a drugged honey cake into Cerberus' mouths; in the Inferno, Dante has Virgil throw dirt instead.
  • Encountered In the third circle. Inf. VI, 13–33.
  • Example of divine punishment. Inf. IX, 98.
• Cesena: City on the Savio River during Dante's time, though free, its politics were controlled by Guido da Montefeltro's cousin Galasso da Montefeltro. Inf. XXVII, 52–54.
• Charles the Lame: Son of Charles of Anjou and King of Naples (1285–1309)
  • Forced to marry off his daughters "like slaves" for political alliances. Purg. XX, 79–81.
• Charles of Anjou (also Charles I of Sicily) (1227–1285): Son of Louis VIII of France, he was one of the most powerful rulers of his age and the undisputed head of the Guelph faction in Italy. His dream of building a Mediterranean Empire was wrecked by the Sicilian Vespers.
  • Dante probably alludes to the Byzantine money that it was believed Nicholas III had taken with the promise to hinder Charles' plans against Constantinople. Inf. XIX, 98–9.
  • Defeated Conradin at Tagliacozzo in 1268 and became King of Sicily. Purg. XX, 68.
  • According to Dante, responsible for the death of Thomas Aquinas. Purg. XX, 69.
• Charles of Valois: (1270–1325) Second son of Philip III of France. Invaded Italy and took Florence in 1301, placing the Black Guelphs in power. Subsequently Dante was exiled from Florence.
  • Compared to Judas. Purg. XX, 70–78.
• Charybdis: In Greek mythology, a sea monster who swallows huge amounts of water three times a day and then spouts it back out again, forming an enormous whirlpool. Mentioned frequently by classical writers.
  • Used in a simile to describe the punishment of the greedy and prodigal in the fourth circle. Inf. VII, 22.
• Charon: The mythological Greek figure who ferried souls of the newly dead into Hades over the underworld river Acheron. Inf. III, 82–129.
• Chiron: Leader of the centaurs, legendary tutor of Achilles. Inf. XII, 65.
• Ciacco ("pig"): Nickname, for a Florentine contemporary of Dante, perhaps well known as a glutton, and probably the same who appears in Boccaccio's Decameron (IX, 8).
  • Central figure of canto VI, he voices the first of many prophecies concerning Florence. Inf. VI, 37–99.
• Ciampolo di Navarra: Utterly unknown to sources other than Dante, this Ciampolo (i.e. Jean Paul) appears to have been in the service of Theobald II, king of Navarre.
  • Among the barrators. Inf. XXII, 31–129.
• Cicero, Marcus Tullius (c. 106 BCE–c. 43 BCE): Roman statesman and author.
  • Encountered by Dante in Limbo. Inf. IV, 141.
• Cimabue: Florentine painter (c. 1240–1302)
  • Mentioned in Purgatory as a famous painter. Purg. XI, 94.
• Circe: Mythical daughter of Helios, god of the Sun, and sister of Aeetis, king of Colchis. She was an enchantress who lived near the Gulf of Gaeta, who turned the crew of Odysseus into pigs on their journey home from the Trojan war. But Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, forced her to release his men from her spell (Ovid, Met. XIV, 435–440). She fell in love with Odysseus and he stayed with her for another year and in some accounts, she had a son Telegonus with Odysseus, who was to accidentally kill him.
  • It is said, by Ulysses (Odysseus), that she "beguiled" him. Inf. XXVI, 90–92.
  • The people of Tuscany fall into vice, as if under her spell. Purg. XIV, 42.
• Cirra: Town in ancient Greece near Parnassus. Par. I, 36.
• Pope Clement V (1264–1314): Born in France as Bertran de Goth, he was made archbishop of Bordeaux by Pope Boniface VIII. He was elected pope in 1305 and was remarkable for his dissolution of the Templars and his de facto move of the Papal See from Rome to Avignon (See Avignon Papacy). He was thought to have negotiated with Philip IV of France for his papacy, becoming a puppet of the French monarchy.
  • "One uglier in deeds … a lawless shepherd from the west", whose damnation among the Simoniacs is foretold by Pope Nicholas III. Inf. XIX, 79–87.

• Cleopatra (69–30 BCE): Queen of Egypt, lover of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Like Dido, she "killed herself for love".
  • Found amongst the sexual sinners. Inf. V, 63.
• Clio: The Muse of History.
  • Mentioned by Virgil as Statius' inspiration in writing the Thebaid. Purg. XXII, 58.
• Clotho: The Fate who determines the lifespan of each mortal by measuring out thread and then cutting it.
  • Virgil cites her as the reason Dante is yet alive. Purg. XXI, 25–27.
• Cluny: A Benedictine monastery founded in 909, in Burgundy. The elegant robes of the Cluniacs are described with irony in a letter of Saint Bernard, a Cistercian, to his nephew Robert, who had left the Cistercians to join the Cluniacs.
  • The "cloaks and cowls" of the hypocrites are compared to the Cluniac robes. Inf. XXIII, 61–3.
• Cocytus: "The river of lamentation", in Greek mythology, it was the river on whose banks the dead who could not pay Charon wandered. It flowed into the river Acheron, across which lay Hades. In the Inferno it is a frozen lake forming the ninth circle and the bottom of Hell.
  • Formed from the tears of the statue of the Old Man of Crete. Inf. XIV, 94–120.
  • Is shut in by cold. Inf. XXXI, 121–122.
  • Described. Inf. XXXII, 22–39.
  • Frozen by flapping of the wings of Dis. Inf. XXXIV, 46–52.
• Colchis: Ancient kingdom at the eastern end of the Black Sea. According to ancient Greek legend, Jason and the Argonauts sailed there in search of the Golden Fleece.
  • Dante compares the voyage to his journey through the heavens. Par. II, 16–18.
• Conradin: (1252–1258) King of Sicily until 1258, when he was defeated and deposed by Charles of Anjou. Purg. XX, 68.

• Constance (Constanza): Queen of Sicily in the 12th century and mother of Emperor Frederick II.
  • Dante accepts a story that Constance had taken monastic vows and was later forced to renounce them. She appears among the inconstant in the Heaven of the Moon. Par. III, 109–120.
• Constantine the Great (272–337): The famous Roman Emperor who passed the Edict of Milan in 313 and converted to Christianity. According to medieval legend, Constantine was inflicted with leprosy because of his persecution of Christians, and in a dream was told to seek out Pope Silvester on Mount Soracte, who baptised and cured him. According to the forged document, the Donation of Constantine, Constantine gave to the Pope the power to rule over Rome and the Western Roman Empire, which Dante sees as the source of the corruption of the Papacy.
  • Blamed for "the dower that you bestowed upon the first rich father!", Inf. XIX, 115–117.
  • Guido da Montefeltro compares Silvester being sought by Constantine to cure his leprosy, with himself being sought by Boniface to "ease the fever of his arrogance". Inf. XXVII, 94–95.
  • In converting to Christianity, Constantine reversed the flight of the Roman eagle. Par. VI, 1.
• Cornelia Africana (c. 190 BCE –100 BCE): daughter of Scipio Africanus Major, and mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus.
  • Encountered by Dante in Limbo. Inf. IV, 128.
• Corneto: See Maremma.
• Cronus: In Greek mythology, King of Crete during the Golden Age. He had several children by Rhea, but swallowed them at birth because he had learned from his parents Gaia and Uranus, that he was destined to be overthrown by a son. However, Rhea managed to save Zeus who eventually fulfilled that prophecy.
  • Under his rule, the world lived chastely". Inf. XIV, 96.
  • Rhea protects Zeus from him. Inf. XIV, 100–102
• Crassus: Roman general who amassed the largest fortune in Roman history. He died in a battle with the Parthians. A story later circulated that the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth.
  • Cited on the terrace of the greedy as an example of greed. "Tell us, Crassus, because you know: How does gold taste?" Purg. XX, 116–117.
• Cunizza da Romano (1198–c. 1279): sister of Ezzelino III da Romano. Par. IX, 13–66.
• Gaius Scribonius Curio: A distinguished orator, and supporter of Pompey the Great, he switched his support to Julius Caesar after Caesar paid his debts. Lucan (Phars I 270–290) has Curio urge Caesar persuasively, to quickly cross the Rubicon and invade Rome.
  • Among the sowers of discord, he is pointed out by Pier da Medincina, his tongue having been slit, "who once was so audacious in his talk!". Inf. XXVIII, 91–111.
• Cyclops: Children of Uranus and Gaia, they were giants with a single eye in the middle of their forehead. In Roman mythology, they helped Vulcan make thunderbolts for Zeus.
  • The "others" who Zeus "may tire" making thunderbolts. Inf. XIV, 55.
• Cytherea: Alternative name for Aphrodite or Venus, the goddess of love. Also, the planet Venus.
  • In his last night in Purgatory, Dante dreams as the planet is rising. Purg. XXVII, 94–96.