Bad Apples
Which “fierce meal” has become an eternal feast that will forever remain on the menu?
Who is “Archbishop Ruggieri"?
Guilty of the crime of treachery against guests, this man killed his kinsmen at a banquet that he hosted.
Who is "Ptolemy"?
In a grotesque inversion of the starvation he endured in life, Ugolino eternally gnaws on Archbishop Ruggieri’s skull. What desire results in this manifestation?
What is “vengeance”?
When Ugolino finishes his story, he goes back to Ruggieri’s skull with teeth as strong as this animal’s.
What is a "dog"?
What sin lies beneath the seemingly innocent imagery of “tending fruit in a bad garden"?
What is "treachery"?
As a result of straying from God for worshipping false idols and sacrificing children, Jeremiah 19:9 prophesied this consequence for the people of Judah.
What is "cannibalism"?
Sinners like Fra Alberigo in Ptolomea, the Third Ring of this Ninth Circle, suffer from more than just the freezing cold and demonic possession. What physical manifestation reveals their sorrow?
What are “icy visors formed from their frozen tears”?
After his sons died, Ugolino went blind and called their names for two days. Then this force overcame his grief.
What is "fasting" (hunger)?
Given that dates are more valuable than figs, what does the sinner mean when they say “my figs have been repaid with dates”?
What is “the punishment was greater than the crime”?
"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?” The verse from Luke 11:11 demonstrates this paternal characteristic of the virtues of charity and sacrifice.
What is "fatherly love"?
Ugolino bites his hands, becomes stone-like, and later gropes over the bodies of his dead children. Although these actions demonstrate intense anguish, what emotion associated with his role in their fate might also be inferred?
What is “guilt”?
In Ugolino’s prophetic dream, Ruggieri leads a hunt in which lean, eager hounds tear the flanks of these animals, who represent Ugolino and his sons.
What is "a wolf and its cubs"?