Roman Gods
King of the Roman gods; equivalent to Greek Zeus
First labor: Hercules slays this lion
What is the Nemean Lion?
Dante is lost here at the start of his journey
What is the dark forest?
Prophetess who guides Aeneas
Who is the Sibyl of Cumae?
Greek god who rules the Underworld
Who is Pluto
Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty
Who is Venus?
Hercules cleans these stables in a single day
What are the Augean Stables?
The Roman poet who guides Dante
Who is Virgil?
Magical item needed to enter the Underworld
What is the Golden Bough?
A common motif: a guided descent into the Underworld to learn truth
What is the journey motif?
Messenger who travels between realms?
Who is Mercury?
Labor that involves a three-headed dog from the Underworld
What is Cerberus?
Three beasts that block Dante’s path
What are a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf?
Aeneas meets this lost love in the Underworld
Who is Dido?
Virgil serves as this motif in The Inferno
What is the mentor?
Goddess of the hearth and home
Who is Vesta?
Labor where Hercules must retrieve a magical girdle
What is the Girdle of Hippolyta?
The inscription over the gate of Hell
What is “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”?
Aeneas’ father, who shows him Rome’s future heroes
Who is Anchises?
This deep pit in the Underworld is used to punish Titans and the wicked, far below Hades.
What is Tartarus?
God of War
Who is Mars?
Labor that teaches Hercules about perseverance against a regenerating beast
What is the Hydra?
What does the dark forest symbolize?
What is sin and moral confusion?
Gates Aeneas uses to exit the Underworld
What are the Gates of Ivory?
This common motif shows the hero traveling into the realm of the dead to gain knowledge, face fears, or fulfill a destiny.
What is descent into the Underworld?