Furies

The Furies, known in Greek mythology as the Erinyes and named by Dante as the three infernal goddesses Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone, appear at a decisive threshold in the pilgrim's journey through Hell. Stationed atop the high tower with the red-flaming summit of the City of Dis, they emerge suddenly when Dante and Virgil find themselves blocked at the gates of the infernal city, unable to enter without divine intervention. Their arrival marks the first moment in the Inferno where the forces of Hell actively resist the travelers' passage, transforming the journey from a guided tour of punishment into a genuine spiritual trial.

Identity and Appearance

The Furies are described as having the limbs and mien of women, but they are stained with blood and begirt with the greenest hydras. Small serpents and cerastes form their tresses, entwining their horrid temples. Megaera is positioned on the left-hand side, Alecto weeps on the right, and Tisiphone stands between them. Each Fury rends her own breast with her nails and beats herself with her palms, crying out so loudly that Dante, for dread, presses close to Virgil. Their appearance is not merely grotesque but carries a specific mythological and theological weight: they are the handmaids of the Queen of everlasting lamentation, Proserpina, and their function is to execute vengeance upon the damned.

The Threat of Medusa and the Siege of Dis

The Furies' most dramatic action is their collective cry to summon Medusa, the Gorgon whose gaze turns men to stone. Shouting with their eyes cast down, they call out, "Medusa come, so we to stone will change him!" and recall that they had not avenged themselves on Theseus for his assault on the underworld. Virgil immediately commands Dante to turn around and keep his eyes shut, covering them with his own hands to ensure the pilgrim does not see the Gorgon. This moment is the closest Dante comes to being permanently trapped in Hell, and it underscores the Furies' role as guardians of the boundary between the upper circles of incontinence and the lower circles of violence and fraud. Their threat is neutralized only by the arrival of an angel sent from Heaven, who crosses the Styx with soles unwet and opens the gate of the city with a little rod, rebuking the fallen angels and the Furies for their arrogance.

The Furies in Purgatory: The Scourge of Envy

The Furies reappear in a transformed context on the Second Terrace of Purgatory, where the sin of envy is purged. Here, the envious souls sit against the cliff, clad in sackcloth, their eyelids sewn shut with iron wire. The voices that fly through the air, invisible, cry out examples of charity and generosity, including the phrase "I am Orestes!" — a reference to the mythological story of Orestes and Pylades, which is directly associated with the Furies in classical tradition. In Aeschylus' Oresteia, the Furies pursue Orestes for the murder of his mother Clytemnestra, and his friend Pylades famously declares himself Orestes to save him. Dante repurposes this mythological echo: the envious, who in life rejoiced at others' harm, now hear the voice of Orestes' self-sacrificing love as a corrective example. The Furies' mythological function of relentless pursuit is thus inverted into a spiritual medicine that teaches the opposite of their own vengeful nature.

The Scourge of Envy and the Bridle of Love

On the Second Terrace, the envious souls are subjected to a double discipline: the scourge of love and the bridle of its opposite. The first voice that passes, crying "Vinum non habent" ("They have no wine"), recalls Mary's intercession at the wedding at Cana, an act of charitable concern for others. The second voice, "I am Orestes!" exemplifies the willingness to sacrifice oneself for a friend. The third voice, "Love those from whom ye have had evil!" directly commands the envious to practice the virtue they lacked. Virgil explains to Dante that this circle scourges the sin of envy, and that the bridle of another sound — the examples of punished envy — will be heard before they reach the Pass of Pardon. The Furies, who in the Inferno were agents of terror and obstruction, are thus transformed in the Purgatorio into a moral reference point for the very virtue that opposes their nature: charity that rejoices in another's good.

Thematic Significance

The Furies occupy a unique position in Dante's moral architecture, bridging the classical and Christian worlds. In the Inferno, they represent the implacable justice of God operating through pagan mythological figures, a justice that would condemn Dante to eternal damnation if he were to see Medusa. In the Purgatorio, their mythological story is repurposed as an example of the love that the envious lacked. This dual treatment reflects Dante's method of using classical material allegorically: the Furies are not merely literary decorations but active participants in the soul's journey, first as obstacles to be overcome by grace, then as lessons to be internalized by the penitent. Their presence in both realms underscores the continuity of divine justice, which operates through terror in Hell and through healing correction in Purgatory.