The Giants and Antaeus

Dante and Virgil leave Malebolge and approach the well of Cocytus, the ninth circle. They see the giants, who stand like towers around the rim. Nimrod babbles incomprehensibly; Ephialtes, bound in chains, shakes himself in rage. Virgil speaks to Antaeus, who is unbound and can speak, asking him to lower them to the bottom of Cocytus. Antaeus takes them in his hands and places them gently on the frozen lake. This episode marks the transition to the circle of treachery, and the giants symbolize the pride and rebellion that led to the fall of Lucifer.