List of Cultural References in Divine Comedy - T

T

  • Tagliacozzo: Site of a defeat by Manfred's nephew Conradin, by Charles of Anjou, who, following the advice of his general Erard ("Alardo") de Valery, surprised Conradin, with the use of reserve troops.
    • "Where old Alardo conquered without weapons". Inf. XXVIII, 17–8.
  • Tarpeian Rock: cliff on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, where an ancient temple to Saturn was located.
    • Compared to the gate of Purgatory. Purg. IX, 135.
  • Tarquin: Last king of Rome, he was overthrown by Lucius Junius Brutus, considered the founder of the Republic.
    • Seen in Limbo. Inf. IV, 121–8.
  • Taurus: Zodiac constellation in the form of a bull.
    • When Dante enters the terrace of the lustful in Purgatory, Taurus is on the meridian line. Hence it is 2 P.M. in Purgatory. Purg. XXV, 3.
  • Te Deum laudamus: "We praise Thee, O God." Ancient Latin hymn sung in the morning monastic offices. Also sung in special occasions of celebration.
    • Heard by Dante as he enters Purgatory. Purg. IX, 141.
  • Te lucis ante: "To Thee before the close of day." Latin hymn sung at Compline, the final monastic prayer office of the day.
    • Souls in the "Valley of the Princes" sing the hymn at the end of the day. Purg. VIII, 13–17.
  • Telemachus: Son of Odysseus (Ulysses) and Penelope, he plays an important role in the Odyssey. In the lost Telegony he appears to have married Circe and been granted immortality.
    • Not even Ulysses' love for his son (and wife and father) was enough to overrule his desire "to gain experience of the world and of the vices and the worth of men". Inf. XXVI, 94–9.
  • Temple: reference to the Templars, a military order founded during the Crusades.
    • Forcibly dissolved in 1307 by Philip IV of France to obtain their vast wealth. Purg. XX, 91–93.
  • Terence: Publius Terentius Afer. Roman playwright of the 2nd cent. B.C.E.
    • Resident of Limbo. Purg. XXII, 97.
  • Terrestrial Paradise: According to the Comedy, Terrestrial Paradise is the Garden of Eden where the original man and woman first lived. (Gen 2 & 3) It is located at the top of the mountain of Purgatory. The events of Cantos XXVIII through XXXIII in the Purgatorio take place there.
  • Thebes: City of Ancient Greece.
    • Statius tells Dante and Virgil that he composed the Thebaid, an epic poem on the history of Thebes. "I sang of Thebes." Purg. XXI, 92.
  • Thaïs: A courtesan in Terence's Eunuchus. Perhaps misled by Cicero's commentary (De amicitia XXVI, 98), he places her among the flatterers.
    • Virgil contemptuously calls her "puttana" ("whore"). Inf. XVIII, 127–135.
  • Thales (c. 635 BCE–543 BCE): Greek philosopher.
    • Encountered by Dante in Limbo. Inf. IV, 137.
  • Thaumas: Greek sea god, whose daughter is Iris, the goddess of rainbows.
    • Statius comments that rainbows do not occur in Purgatory. Purg. XXI, 50–51.
  • Themis: Greek goddess of divine justice and one of the Oracles of Delphi.
    • Beatrice compares her own obscure oracles about the future to those of Themis or the Sphinx. Purg. XXXIII, 47.
  • Theobald V of Champagne (c. 1238–1270): The eldest son of Theobald IV of Champagne, on his death in 1253 he succeeded him as Count of Champagne and, as Theobald II, king of Navarre. He died childless in 1270.
    • The "good king Theobald" ("buon re Tebaldo"). Inf. XXII, 52.
  • Theological Virtues: Virtues granted to believers by God's grace. They include Faith, Hope and Love.
    • Symbolized by three stars visible from Purgatory. Purg. VIII, 93.
    • Symbolized by three women dancing at the right wheel of the chariot in the Pageant of the Church Triumphant. Purg. XXIX, 121–129.
  • Theseus: Legendary king of Athens who visited the underworld and, in the version used by Dante, was rescued by Herakles.
    • His name invoked by the Erinyes. Inf. XI, 54.
    • The "Duke of Athens" who killed the Minatour. Inf. XII, 17.
    • Helped to defeat drunken Centaurs at Hippodamia's wedding feast. Purg. XXIV, 23.
  • Thetis: Noble ancient Greek woman. Wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles.
    • Resident of Limbo. Purg. XXII, 113.
  • Thisbe: In a tale by Ovid (Metamorphoses IV,55-166), Thisbe and Pyramus are lovers in ancient Babylon separated by a wall.
    • Dante alludes to them when a wall of fire separates him from Beatrice. Purg. XXVII, 37–39.
  • Thymbraeus: An epithet of Apollo derived from the town Thymbra, where there was a temple dedicated to him.
    • In Purgatory, Thymbreaus (Apollo) is depicted on the pavement casting Briareus from Olympus. Purg. XII, 31.
  • Tiber: River which runs through Rome and empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
    • Souls bound for Purgatory wait on the seashore for the angelic ferry. Purg. II, 101.
  • Tigris and Euphrates: Rivers in the Middle East. According to Genesis 2, they had their origins in the Garden of Eden.
    • Dante compares these two rivers to the two rivers he sees in Terrestrial Paradise. Purg. XXXIII, 112.
  • Timaeus: A dialogue of Plato where the celestial source and destiny of the human soul are discussed.
    • Beatrice corrects Dante of mistaken ideas he drew from this dialogue. Par. IV, 22–63.
  • Tiresias: A mythical blind soothsayer who was transformed into a woman and then back into a man, seven years later. He has an important role in classical literature, including the Odyssey.
    • His double transformation is told. Inf. XX, 40–5.
    • Father of Manto. Inf. XX, 58, Purg. XXII, 113.
  • Tisiphone: see Erinyes.
  • Tithonus: Trojan lover of Eos, Titan of the Dawn.
    • Mentioned in reference to dawn in Purgatory. Purg. IX, 1.
  • Titus: Roman Emperor (79–81). As a general, he completed the campaign to put down a Jewish revolt and recapture Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Par. VI, 92–93.
    • Statius tells Dante and Virgil that he was from the age of Titus. Purg. XXI, 82.
  • Tityas: Son of Gaia. Tityus was a giant killed by Zeus for attacking Leto.
    • Seen chained in the "Well of the Giants". Inf. XXXI, 124.
  • Tobit: Protagonist of the ancient Jewish book of the same name. Tobit is conducted on a journey by the Archangel Raphael.
    • Beatrice tells Dante that Raphael may have appeared in human form, but that this form is an accommodation to the limits of the human imagination. Par. IV, 48.
  • Tomyris: Queen of the Massagetae in the 6th cent. BCE. According to Herodotus, Cyrus the Great led a failed invasion of her lands. After his defeat and death in battle, Tomyris plunged his severed head into a wineskin filled with blood.
    • Cyrus' death is depicted on the pavement in Purgatory as an example of arrogance. Purg. XII, 56.
  • Torquatus: Titus Manlius Torquatus, Consul and Dictator in Rome during the 4th century, B.C.E.
    • Cited as an example of the noble Roman. Par. VI, 46.
  • Tours: City in France. Pope Martin IV was treasurer of the church there when he was elected pope in 1281.
  • Trajan: Roman Emperor (98–117) at the height of the Empire. According to Medieval legend, he was posthumously converted to Christianity by Pope Gregory the Great.
    • Appears depicted in a wall carving as an exemplar of humility, granting justice to a widow. Purg. X, 73–93.
  • Troy: Also called Ilium, the site of the Trojan War, described in Homer's Iliad, and the home of Aeneas. The Greeks were victorious by means of the wooden Trojan Horse, which the Greeks left as a "gift" for the Trojans. The Trojans brought the horse through the gates into their walled city, and the Greek soldiers who had hid inside the horse were able to open the gates and let in the rest of the Greek army.
    • Aeneas' escape. Inf. I, 73.
    • "That horse's fraud that caused a breach". Inf. XXVI, 58–60.
    • Trojan (meaning perhaps, through Aeneas, their Samnite descendants) wars in Apulia. Inf. XXVIII, 7–9.
    • The "pride of Troy … dared all" but "was destroyed". Inf. XXX, 13–15.
    • Destruction of Troy depicted on the pavement in Purgatory as an example of arrogance. Purg. XII, 61.
  • Tullio/Tully: See Cicero.
  • Turnus: A chieftain of the Rutuli whose conflict with Aeneas is the subject of the second half of the Aeneid, at the end of which he was killed by Aeneas in single combat (Aeneid II, 919) — one of those who "died for Italy". Inf. I, 106–108.
  • Tristan: Hero of medieval French romance, he was a Cornish Knight of the Round Table, and adulterous lover of Isolde.
    • Found amongst the sexual sinners. Inf. V, 67.
  • Tuscany: region of Italy where Florence is located.
  • Typhon: Son of Tartarus and Gaia. Typhon was a giant with a hundred serpent heads.
    • Seen chained in the "Well of the Giants". Inf. XXXI, 124.

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