Journey through Hell - Pre-post to Dan Brown's "Inferno"

Stay tuned to the Huntingtonian and www.huntingtonian.com for my review on Inferno.

Before I go to see Inferno, opening October 28, I decided to research a bit on Dante Alighieri's vision of hell that's been terrifying the world for over 700 years.

This is an immense topic, so this will be just a nutshell version. Dante describes Hell as being divided up into nine sections, each designated for a different punishment; and some of those levels are divided into sub-levels for more specific punishments. The nine main levels include Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. In each level, the soul guilty of it are punished for all eternity with all kinds of torture, like in Wrath, the active wrathful fight each other in the river Styx while the passive wrathful drowns in the river.

Since the publication of Dante's epic poem, The Divine Comedy, the section in Inferno has inspired society in many ways. Several full length and short films have been made bringing Inferno to life. Sculpture depicting different scenes of Hell have been carved out. Many painters have made their own vision of the nine levels of Hell. Hell, the most famous painting is by Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli.

Have you heard of the classic rock band, Styx? They're named after the hellish river. The popular AMC drama Mad Men is known to have quoted "Inferno." The most popular phrase to ever come out of the poem is "Abandon all hope, ye who enters here," as inscribed on the gates of hell.

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, uses Botticelli's painting as a backdrop to Robert Langdon's mission to stop a man made plague from obliterating half the world's population. I won't give any spoilers, but I am disappointed how the book ended.

Again stay tuned for my review.