The Board Game Verson of Inferno

Links: http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/en/boardgames/dantesinferno.html 
http://www.funagain.com/control/product?product_id=014283 
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6201/dantes-inferno 

Before I registered for this Dante class, I knew almost nothing about Dante and his Divine Comedy.  I only knew that is about Hell and that there are some very gruesome punishments for the sinners.  However, now that I have been studying The Divine Comedy for the last two months, I realize that Dante has had a lasting impact on just about every type of media, art, and even games.   I have always enjoyed playing board games.  So, I decided to see what I could find by googling Dante and games.  The first game that popped up was the Inferno video game, but I was not interested in a video game.  I wanted to see if there is some sort of board game based off of The Divine Comedy.  Sure enough, I discovered a relatively recent (2003) board game inspired by the Inferno.

The goal of the game is to successfully travel through each of the nine circles of Hell.  As the players travel through each of the circles, he earns resources, which actually are sinners, and fights demons.  If a player is not able to beat a demon, the player is forced to move to a lower circle and work his way back up to the higher circles.  In order to enter the next circle, a player must be on the appropriate tile of the board and buy his entry using his resources.  Once a player has arrived at the ninth circle of Hell, he has to fight Lucifer by rolling the die.  If the player rolls less than a 10, he has to return to the 8^th circle and try again when he gets back into the 9^th circle.  The playing pieces are supposed to be Dante and there are pieces designed as demons.  

I have never played this game, but it sounds interesting and fun.  However, I discovered that this board game does not deal with the political and religious themes that Dante addresses in Inferno.  The players of the game are not seeking truth about God and about how to get out of a crisis.  Rather, the players want work their way the 9^th circle and beat Lucifer.  Instead of using the journey idea of Inferno, the creators of the board game focused on Dante’s layout of Hell.  The creators included the nine circles of Hell and focuses on the sins of lust, violence, gluttony, and hypocrisy.  In the instruction manual, the creators of the game actually acknowledge that they focus on Dante’s structure rather than his message.

I looked at some of the reviews for this game.  The average rating for the game is a 5 out of 10.  The design of the game and the colors used are praised, but the game itself takes a long time.

Malebolgia

Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malebolgia;     http://spawn.wikia.com/wiki/Malebolgia

Malebolgia is a fictional character in the Spawn universe, a series of comic books, video games, and movies.  In Spawn, Malebolgia is a demon and one of the rulers of Hell, "a being from the Eighth Circle of Hell".  His name is taken from the term Dante himself invented for his Eight Circle of Hell: malebolge, plural- malebolgia.
In Dante's malebolgia, the sins of fraud are punished throughout ten different subdivisions of the circle. These circles include: flatterers, panderers, thieves, and hypocrites along with several others whose sins are based in fraud.

Though not expressly stated by it's creators, the Malebolgia is a representation of fraud in a similar way that the beast Geryon is a symbol of fraud: through its physical appearance and actions.  The Malebolgia is a hybrid creature mixing elements of reptilian tail and spikes with falcon-like talons and dinosaur-like horns scattered along its arms and protruding from the sides of its skull. This mismatching of animal parts is similar to Dante's beast of Fraud, Geryon, who possesses a serpent body, bear-like arms, and a spotted hide like a leopard that is leathery like a reptile.  Both creatures physically represent fraud in that they are not what they appear to be at first glance.

 The representation of fraud is even more evident in the powerful abilities that the Malebolgia possesses including the powers to manipulate matter, cause hallucinations, morph and revive.  These are all traits that could be considered fraudulent.  Manipulation of matter can be fraudulent because the act of changing something in this way masks its true identity and gives it a different appearance than that of its true self.   Hallucinations are a misinformed representation of reality that have the ability to appear real and trick the senses into believing falsehoods in the same way that the fraudulent may make convincing lies to cover the truth.  Both manipulation of matter and creation of hallucinations thus represent forms of lying and misrepresentation, which is central to the idea of fraud.  Morph ability is perhaps that which most closely resembles Dante's idea of fraud.  The ability to change one's features not only manipulates reality and truth like fraudulent lies, but also represents a form of metamorphosis, which is one of the ideas Dante uses in his Seventh Bolge.  The morph ability of Malebolgia brings to mind the thieves of Dante's Inferno who undergo morphing of their own from human to snake.  Thus, the ability of morph captures not only the sin of fraud, but the metaphorical message which Dante creates here about metamorphosis and the loss of identity through manipulation of the body. Finally, the ability to revive oneself evokes the image of phoenix-like sinners of thievery who when poisoned by the snakebites, burst into flames and then reform from the ashes.  The ability to revive here is not seen as a special power, but is part of the punishment of the bolge.  Thus, the revival ability of Malebolgia is representative of fraud in a more metaphorical way in its likeness to the punishment of thievery.

Dante the DC Comic

While in Italy on a family vacation, I decided to go to a local comic stand and see what they had to offer; I'm a bit of a comic geek and I was interested in seeing what the difference between American and Italian comics would look like. My best find was issue #3 of WildStorm comic Dante's Inferno, which is actually an American comic. The fact that this comic had shown up, translated, in a little Tuscan town, just goes to show the relevance that Dante's work still carries even in today's Italian culture.

As it turns out, the Dante comics are based on the video game Dante's Inferno, which was released in 2010 by EA games. Because video games tend to make story-lines more action-packed, the plot therefore differs greatly from that of Dante's actual work: Beatrice's soul has been captured by Lucifer, who wants to marry her and make her Queen of the Damned. Back in Italy, skimming over the pages of the comic, you can imagine why the image of Satan and Beatrice kissing was more confusing to me than the Italian translation.

To be more specific, the comic version of Inferno was confusing to me because Beatrice played such a heavy role in it in the first place. As you can see from this excerpt, the comic is initially narrated by Beatrice, whereas Dante's Inferno is told entirely from Dante's point of view, with Beatrice speaking only in other people's retold memories (such as Virgil's in Canto 2). Beatrice is not an active character in Inferno; she is an implied promise of blessedness that won't be encountered until Paradiso. The comic and the video game purposefully twist her blessedness by Transforming her into Queen of the Damned, but that pretty much ruins Dante's original character. Dante the poet used Beatrice as a way of personifying Dante's desire for blessedness, whereas the video game/comic devalued Dante's pilgrimage, making Dante's love of Beatrice more important than his own spiritual salvation.

Despite the major plot divergence, I am happy that somebody made a comic of Dante's Inferno. The book is rich with imagery, and artist Diego Latorre used some gorgeous art in bringing Hell to life. I'm just hoping that someone else will create a comic that isn't linked to a video game, so the story can be accurately depicted and thus speak for itself.

Dante’s Sandferno

Link: http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/07/welcome-to-hell-wicked-sand-demons-from-dantes-inferno-46-pics/

A modern art form that has gained increasing popularity within recent years is sand art, the extravagant extension of the classic sand castle.  In this art form, sand artists have taken sculpture to a new level and developed techniques to produce enormous sculptures.  The series linked to above shows a collection of different pieces that all depict various scenes for Dante’s Inferno.  It is interesting to see how this medium has come to be one that has been inspired so significantly by the Comedy.  To me, sand is the perfect medium to depict the Inferno, as it represents the fluidity Earth, at its foundation.  As the Inferno is a journey beneath the Earth, this connection is crucial.

There were two of the sculptures that particularly stood out to me.  The first is the depiction of the gates of Dis.  The periphery of the piece features the flowing swirl of bodies in the River Styx.  Seated above the actual gates are the snake-headed Furies and the devils barring the doors.  There are also faces representing the souls of the dead strewn throughout the piece.  The artist truly captured the fluidity of the river and the suffering of the dead that it brings as they are buffeted by the Styx.  The piece altogether is incredibly intimidating, but also gives the observer the desire to pass through the gate.  By leaving the gates slightly open, it is as if the observer is being invited inside the secrets of Dis, but are met with the intimidating figures of the Furies and other demons that reside there.  Though the whole scene in the Inferno seems a lot larger to me, this depiction really captures some of the true imagery that Dante likely intended to evoke.

The other sculpture of interest was the depiction of Canto XIII, the forest of those who were violent against themselves.  It features the winged Harpies clawing and eating the flesh of the trees.  The trees themselves have faces or facial features, but their arms are bound above their heads, taking the form of a tree.  This is particularly interesting because in Dante’s poem, the trees themselves didn’t really have faces.  It was not until the pilgrim himself plucked a twig off the tree that the latent souls made themselves largely known.  Further, this sculpture gives a sense of the extreme agony associated with the state of existing as a tree, as the faces of the trees are twisted in pain.  This suffering is contrasted slightly by the demeanor of the Harpies, who seem solemn, almost to the point of serenity.  Altogether, this image was an extremely powerful depiction of the canto.

A few of the later sculptures are very interesting to look at and depict scenes farther along in the Comedy than our current position, particularly to sculpture of Lucifer.  But these sculptures all have a lot of fascinating features and the artists works extremely hard on every single detail in the piece.  Altogether, it is an extraordinary way to view the Inferno.

Iced Earth, Dante's Inferno

Link: Dante's Inferno by Iced Earth 

So this is a song by the heavy metal band Iced Earth. Because it's heavy metal, it gets pretty intense, but the lyrics are what drew me to this song. It's also about eighteen minutes long, as it summarizes the Inferno.


Through the fiery caverns we sail
Virgil at my side my guide and master
Questing through the nine plains of hell
Infernal wisdom shall fill my soul
Slowly now the days departing
The darkened air releases me
Frightening visions of my journey
Entrance me to limbo I'm not
Free

The first stanza starts of gently sung, kind of flowing until the last line when the singer says "free" very darkly. It is like a preface of the journey: Virgil will guide him through the nine levels of hell, and this journey will help give Dante knowledge so he will be able to move on and eventually reunite with his love, Beatrice.


Abandon all hope who enter here
Enter the gates, Charon awaits

Abandon all hope who enter here
For this is where all things are left behind
Every doubt and every cowardice must die
Souls of rage and anger whipping in despair

This part is more dark and angry, sustained through the rest of the song, the tone paralleling the words "Abandon all hope who enter here," the words above the gate into Inferno. 

The souls that wail on this plain pray for death
Denial is the reason for their suffering
Forever being stung by wasps and demons breath
The blood and tears that fall serve the maggots need

I don't think this stanza really captures what the first circle is about; in Limbo, these souls were unbaptized babies and the "virtuous pagans" whose only sin was not worshipping God above all other gods. This is supposed to be the most involatile circle, but the song makes it sound harsh and awful. Perhaps this is to keep up the notion that all of Inferno is a horrible place where no one wants to end up.

Descention, thrusting to the second plain
Minos judges as his tail twines
Lustful thoughts and greed whip these wretched souls
A hurricane of hate mocks their helpless pleas

This stanza, about the second circle, I think is a good basic summary of the lustful. Mentioning the hurricane, Dante's contrapasso, describes the punishment here well: no matter their cries, these souls will forever be swept around in a "hurricane of hate" because in life, they allowed themselves to be swept into a hurricane of lust. 

Drifting now down deeper, into eternal flames
Awake at the third circle, the cold and filthy rain
Punished for their gluttony, languid for all time
The earth it stinks of corpses, damned for all time
The vicious beast Cerberus, three heads, blooded eyes
Tears his talons through the air, all the sinners cry

At this part in the song (5:30), the music calms a bit, and the tone is smoother, emphasizing the words here: it slows down, because these gluttonous souls are to be "languid for all time," the tone here mirroring the meaning of the words and the punishment. 

Down, be still thy cursed wolf
The master scorns its name
Dive to the next plain
The sullen and the vain
Suffer for greed
The prodigal they bleed
For all eternity
Plutus holds the key

Here, the song gets intense once more, as Virgil forces Cerberus back, so they can move on to the next circle, or "plain," as the song calls it. They combine circle four and five here, probably because they're in the same Canto, not really explaining about the sullen, vain, greedy, or prodigal. It sounds like they think all of these souls have the same contrapasso, even though they are quite different between the prodigal/avaricious and the wrathful/sullen. It's also pretty hard to understand all of the words here, because they're kind of shouting rather than singing. 

Damned, the wrathful and the vain
Suffer the fifth plain
Cross the river Styx
Heed your crucifix
The mudded corpses cry
Howling to the sky
Reach the other side
Open wide the gate

Now, the song explains a little better that there is a difference between the prodigal and the wrathful, but they don't actually address the punishment for circle four. This is a good stanza, I think, about the contrapasso of circle five, how they're in the Styx, and they're "howling to the sky," which is a bit of a dramatization of what they're actually doing (more of a chanting, resigned to their fate in the Styx). 

Enter the sixth circle of barren land and flames
Passing through the gate of dis the furies scream her name
Belching forth in agony invoking her to rise
The spirit's rage consuming us the evil in their cries
Queen of vipers, queen of serpents
Cast their souls to stone
Spread to wealth of Gorgon's power
Medusa's inner soul

This part kind of glosses over heresy, only mentioning how barren it is. Also, they place a lot of emphasis on Medusa, probably because she is a well known mythical monster, and she gives a scary image. It is not sung, but kind of chanted.

We're drawing ever closer to the seventh hell
They violate their neighbors, their god and themselves
We're sailing slowly through the boiling river of blood
Immersed in the depths below souls scream in agony
The twisted beast he laughs, he draws his arrow back
His sights on anyone exposing of their flesh
He impales their hearts with ease
And shrugs their piercing screams
Pity is they'll never die
They'll suffer here eternally

Again, the tone changes in this stanza; slower, more calm, emphasizing this sin--violence against neighbors, self, and God, and how it is the worst Dante and Virgil encountered so far. I think the second half of this stanza is refering to the centaurs possibly, but I'm not too sure. 

Imagine a place where every horror comes to life
Where every torture is real and time stands still
Eight fiery steps and we're closer to the end

In a cold and timeless grave buried head first in shit
Praying all the while for a quick & painless death
Scratching furiously at scabbed and oozing wounds

Lucifer ... angel of light
Cast below god of ice
Ruling hell unholy trinity
The traitors freeze for all eternity
Lucifer ... betrayer of god
Tormentor ruthless and cold
Judas' screaming here in agony
The traitors freeze for all eternity

We haven't read the rest of the Inferno yet, so this last bit is hard to fully analyze. They clearly spent most of the song on the first half of Inferno, and quickly going through the last couple circles without really making it clear what was happening. Although, if we had finished the Inferno, this part may have been more clear to me. The song overall is not my taste at all, but I think has some merits if it is being used like this--to enhance understanding and appreciation for the Inferno (even though some parts seemed inaccurate to me, or too exaggerated). It does a decent job of explaining/ summarizing the basics of most of the Inferno, but if someone hadn't read it listened to this song, they probably would get the general gist of it, just some of the circles and punishments would be unclear. I honestly didn't like the song, because it sounds too abrasive for most of it, and I will never listen to it again. It was hard to get through once. But I think the fact that the song exists at all is a testament to the Inferno, and how it is still being interpreted in many ways, and some of the lyrics I think put that particular part into good perspective. Overall, the song was okay, but the Dante part was pretty awesome.