Labyrinthine Connections between Dante and Raphael: Dante’s First Circle of Hell and the “School of Athens”
The first circle of hell is described in Canto IV of Inferno in Dante’s Divine Comedy, written in 1320 A.D. Christians consider the first circle as Limbo, where the unbaptized innocents go, but Dante also alludes to Virgil’s account of the pagan Elysian Fields in his epic poem, The Aeneid, 19 B.C. In Canto IV, Virgil introduces Dante to the ancient poets, Homer, Lucan, Ovid, and Horace. Homer leads them through seven gates to gaze upon the shades of the ancient philosophers still engaged in intellectual dialogue. This is reminiscent of Raphael’s frescos commissioned in 1508 by Pope Julius the II to decorate the walls of his private library. The most famous is the “School of Athens” where ancient philosophers gather together surrounded by an architectural setting. Another fresco comprises portraits of ancient poets including Dante and Virgil along with those specifically mentioned in Inferno. There seems to be a hidden reference to Inferno in these frescos. Drawing a classical labyrinth on a digital copy of Raphael’s Fresco, “School of Athens” reveals a labyrinthine connection. The philosophers seem to move and interact in the pattern of a labyrinth. The architecture forms the seven gates. This PowerPoint presentation shares this discovery.