Greyhound

The Greyhound appears in the first canto of Dante Alighieri's Inferno as a prophetic figure of deliverance, introduced by Virgil at the moment of Dante's deepest crisis. When the poet, lost in the Dark Forest, is driven back by the She-wolf of cupidity, Virgil explains that this beast "suffers not any one to pass her way" and "destroys him" whom she harasses. The only remedy, Virgil declares, is the coming of the Greyhound, who "shall make her perish in her pain." This creature is not merely a hunter but a redeemer, one who "shall not feed on either earth or pelf, but upon wisdom, and on love and virtue." His origin is cryptically given: "'Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be." The Greyhound's mission is to hunt the She-wolf "through every city" until he drives her back to Hell, "there from whence envy first did let her loose." This prophecy, delivered in the poem's opening canto, establishes the Greyhound as the political and spiritual savior who will restore order to Italy, a land that Virgil describes as suffering under the She-wolf's tyranny. The Greyhound thus functions as a messianic figure, embodying the hope for a future leader who will combine wisdom, love, and virtue to defeat avarice and bring justice. His role is entirely prophetic: he never appears in the poem's action, but his promised arrival frames Dante's entire journey as part of a larger cosmic and historical plan for redemption.