The Seventh Circle: The Minotaur and the Centaurs

Dante and Virgil descend to the seventh circle, where the violent are punished. At the entrance, the Minotaur rages, biting itself, but Virgil taunts it and they pass. They see the river of blood, Phlegethon, where tyrants and murderers are boiled to various depths. Centaurs armed with arrows patrol the bank. Chiron, Nessus, and Pholus approach; Virgil explains that Dante is alive and guided by divine will. Chiron appoints Nessus to guide them. Nessus points out tyrants immersed in the blood: Alexander the Great, Dionysius, Ezzelino da Romano, and Obizzo d'Este. They continue to a shallower part of the river, where the Centaur points out Attila, Pyrrhus, and Sextus. This episode introduces the geography of the seventh circle and the punishment of the violent against their neighbors.