The Divine Comedy is a long narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun in 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
Note of course that although it did heavily shape the ideas of heaven and hell in the public consciousness, its not considered a religious text per say. Just a work of literature. In addition to other times it was referenced, the divine comedy was allegedly considered a basis for the design of nocturne, in which nocturne's plot was meant to be seen as like a descent into hell, similar to the divine comedy. It also features in the story structure of going through hell to reach heaven seen in persona 5, as well as the kind of pilgrimage aspect to the empyrean seen in smtv.
General info
The narrative describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise or Heaven, while allegorically the poem represents the soul's journey towards God. Dante draws on medieval Christian theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy and the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse". The work was originally simply titled Comedìa and the word Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio. The first printed edition to add the word divina to the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce, published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.
One of the things the story is notable for is combining greek mythology with christianity, but in a way that was seen as fully christian. Greek figures and monsters were inserted in the stories alongside christian ones as if they were simply within a christian paradigm. In this way it resembles mainline megaten heavily, which depicts a world that is predominantly abrahamic, but which contains aspects of greek and other religion subsumed into it as if it was one paradigm.
In terms of megaten, there are a few references directly to the divine comedy, and a few things that may be indirect. One notable reference being that in megami tensei II and then late in smti nine lucifer is seen frozen in ice (his crystal palace in smtii may also be a reference). A more obvious one being the overall plot and progression of persona 5. In persona 5, mementos is drawn to look like the artwork of dante's inferno. and the plot progression likewise follows the overall divine comedy. In that you travel down to the center, only to eventually end up back on the surface, and finally travel up into the sky to meet "god." Who in this case is the demiurge. And of course that corresponds to in the divine comedy traveling down to hell, only to travel up purgatory, and up to heaven.
The story of the divine comedy is also meant as a metaphor, or esoteric depiction of spiritual growth and movement towards god. Persona 5 is likewise about growth as an individual. But in keeping with the jungian element, this growth is depicted not as monistic, but as balanced. Jung depicts god and the devil as archetypes of unity and differentiation, but says that proper balance balances these influences. and likewise in persona 5, the corrupt palace owners represent the corruption of too much emphasis on radical selfishness, whereas yaldabaoth represents the opposite extreme of intense unity. The game depicting something that corresponds somewhat to the neutral paths in mainline games by showing both these extremes as one sided, but growth as ultimately something that is in a sense between them. It parallels the symbolic journey, but with a twist that takes the idea to a different type of conclusion. Especially since during the journey downwards you fight demons, and then during the journey upwards you fight angels, and ultimately an analogue of god.
It is possible that the layers in the labyrinth of amala are also a reference to the divine comedy, but this is less obvious. One more reference to the divine comedy is that in IV the purgatorium and paradiso are likely meant to be named after the latter two books of the divine comedy. And obviously the character dante who makes a cameo in nocturne is based on dante from the divine comedy.
One last point to note is that the divine comedy reflects the medieval association of heaven with space in general. Dante describes the orbits of the planets as being related to different parts of heaven. Which gives context to why in iva, yhvh's universe is depicted as in space. Because while modern art of heaven tends to associate it with clouds, the medieval image tied it to space as well. The concept of the "seven heavens" being tied to the orbits of the known planets.
Inferno
Inferno opens on the evening of Good Friday in the year 1300. Traveling through a dark wood, Dante Alighieri has lost his path and now wanders fearfully through the forest. The sun shines down on a mountain above him, and he attempts to climb up to it but finds his way blocked by three beasts—a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf. Frightened and helpless, Dante returns to the dark wood. Here he encounters the ghost of Virgil, the great Roman poet, who has come to guide Dante back to his path, to the top of the mountain. Virgil says that their path will take them through Hell and that they will eventually reach Heaven, where Dante’s beloved Beatrice awaits. He adds that it was Beatrice, along with two other holy women, who, seeing Dante lost in the wood, sent Virgil to guide him.
Virgil leads Dante through the gates of Hell, marked by the haunting inscription “abandon all hope, you who enter here” (III.7). They enter the outlying region of Hell, the Ante-Inferno, where the souls who in life could not commit to either good or evil now must run in a futile chase after a blank banner, day after day, while hornets bite them and worms lap their blood. Dante witnesses their suffering with repugnance and pity. The ferryman Charon then takes him and his guide across the river Acheron, the real border of Hell. Note how charon being the figure guiding people to the afterlife even in a christian paradigm resembles how in mainline megaten this tends to be the case.
The First Circle of Hell, Limbo, contains no suffering, and houses the virtuous pagans, including Virgil and many of the other great writers and poets of antiquity, who died without knowing of Christ. After meeting Horace, Ovid, and Lucan, Dante continues into the Second Circle of Hell, reserved for the sin of Lust. At the border of the Second Circle, the monster Minos lurks, assigning condemned souls to their punishments. He curls his tail around himself a certain number of times, indicating the number of the circle to which the soul must go. Inside the Second Circle, Dante watches as the souls of the Lustful swirl about in a terrible storm; Dante meets Francesca, who tells him the story of her doomed love affair with Paolo da Rimini, her husband’s brother; the relationship has landed both in Hell.
The overall layout of the circles and the way it is drawn is heavily referenced in persona 5, where the layout of mementos is depicted in a way that resembles the art of the inferno. And mementos of course represents the dark / demonic / shadow aspect of the world in its spiritual incarnation, and so is comparable to hell. In the Third Circle of Hell, the Gluttonous must lie in mud and endure a rain of filth and excrement. In the Fourth Circle, the Avaricious and the Prodigal are made to charge at one another with giant boulders. The Fifth Circle of Hell contains the river Styx, a swampy, fetid cesspool in which the Wrathful spend eternity struggling with one another; the Sullen lie bound beneath the Styx’s waters, choking on the mud. Dante glimpses Filippo Argenti, a former political enemy of his, and watches as other souls tear the man to pieces.
Virgil and Dante next proceed to the walls of the city of Dis, a city contained within the larger region of Hell. The demons who guard the gates refuse to open them for Virgil, and an angelic messenger arrives from Heaven to force the gates open before Dante. The Sixth Circle of Hell houses the Heretics, and there Dante encounters a rival political leader named Farinata. A deep valley leads into the First Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell, where those who were violent toward others spend eternity in a river of boiling blood. Virgil and Dante meet a group of Centaurs, creatures who are half man, half horse. One of them, Nessus, takes them into the Second Ring of the Seventh Circle of Hell, where they encounter those who were violent toward themselves (the Suicides).
These souls must endure eternity in the form of trees. Dante there speaks with Pier della Vigna. Going deeper into the Seventh Circle of Hell, the travelers find those who were violent toward God (the Blasphemers); Dante meets his old patron, Brunetto Latini, walking among the souls of those who were violent toward Nature (the Sodomites) on a desert of burning sand. They also encounter the Usurers, those who were violent toward Art.
The monster Geryon transports Virgil and Dante across a great abyss to the Eighth Circle of Hell, known as Malebolge, or “evil pockets” (or “pouches”); the term refers to the circle’s division into various pockets separated by great folds of earth. In the First Pouch, the Panderers and the Seducers receive lashings from whips; in the second, the Flatterers must lie in a river of human feces. The Simoniacs in the Third Pouch hang upside down in baptismal fonts while their feet burn with fire. In the Fourth Pouch are the Astrologists or Diviners, forced to walk with their heads on backward, a sight that moves Dante to great pity.
In the Fifth Pouch, the Barrators (those who accepted bribes) steep in pitch while demons tear them apart. The Hypocrites in the Sixth Pouch must forever walk in circles, wearing heavy robes made of lead. Caiphas, the priest who confirmed Jesus’ death sentence, lies crucified on the ground; the other sinners tread on him as they walk. In the horrifying Seventh Pouch, the Thieves sit trapped in a pit of vipers, becoming vipers themselves when bitten; to regain their form, they must bite another thief in turn. In the Eighth Pouch of the Eighth Circle of Hell, Dante speaks to Ulysses, the great hero of Homer’s epics, now doomed to an eternity among those guilty of Spiritual Theft (the False Counselors) for his role in executing the ruse of the Trojan Horse. In the Ninth Pouch, the souls of Sowers of Scandal and Schism walk in a circle, constantly afflicted by wounds that open and close repeatedly. In the Tenth Pouch, the Falsifiers suffer from horrible plagues and diseases.
Virgil and Dante proceed to the Ninth Circle of Hell through the Giants’ Well, which leads to a massive drop to Cocytus, a great frozen lake (note that the term cocytus is also from greek myth, as are many of the terms for places in hell seen in the inferno. In v lucifer can generate a blue star called cocytus star). The giant Antaeus picks Virgil and Dante up and sets them down at the bottom of the well, in the lowest region of Hell. In Caina, the First Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell, those who betrayed their kin stand frozen up to their necks in the lake’s ice. In Antenora, the Second Ring, those who betrayed their country and party stand frozen up to their heads; here Dante meets Count Ugolino, who spends eternity gnawing on the head of the man who imprisoned him in life. In Ptolomea, the Third Ring, those who betrayed their guests spend eternity lying on their backs in the frozen lake, their tears making blocks of ice over their eyes.
Dante next follows Virgil into Judecca, the Fourth Ring of the Ninth Circle of Hell and the lowest depth. Here, those who betrayed their benefactors spend eternity in complete icy submersion. A huge, mist-shrouded form lurks ahead, and Dante approaches it. It is the three-headed giant Lucifer, plunged waist-deep into the ice. Lucifer being trapped in ice is referenced in megami tensei II, where you seem him originally frozen. His body pierces the center of the Earth, where he fell when God hurled him down from Heaven. Each of Lucifer’s mouths chews one of history’s three greatest sinners: Judas, the betrayer of Christ, and Cassius and Brutus, the betrayers of Julius Caesar. Virgil leads Dante on a climb down Lucifer’s massive form, holding on to his frozen tufts of hair. Eventually, the poets reach the Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, and travel from there out of Hell and back onto Earth. They emerge from Hell on Easter morning, just before sunrise.
Purgatorio
Purgatorio picks up where the Inferno left off—Dante and Virgil have just emerged from their tour through Hell, and the two travelers find themselves on the island of Mount Purgatory at the dawn of a new day. On the shores of the island, Dante and Virgil watch a boat arrive. Guided by an angel, the boat shuttles a new batch of penitent souls to Purgatory. Like these souls, Dante is about to climb Mount Purgatory.
Before beginning to scale the mountain, Dante and Virgil must first pass through ante-Purgatory. They meet a variety of souls, most of whom are shocked to see that Dante casts a shadow, showing that he's alive. Along their travels they pass though the First Spur of the Indolent and the Second Spur of the Late-Repentants. They travel to the Valley of the Rulers and meet a bunch of deceased kings. In the valley, a serpent appears at dusk, only to be driven away by two angels.
The penitent souls are unable to travel in Purgatory at night, so, although Virgil is in a hurry, he and Dante rest until morning. Dante sleeps and dreams about an eagle abducting him. When he wakes up, he finds himself at the entrance to Purgatory proper. Virgil informs him that St. Lucia came while he slept and carried him to the gate to Purgatory. They climb the three steps to the gate, and the angel guarding the entrance carves seven P’s into Dante’s forehead.
Now in Purgatory proper, Dante and Virgil have seven terraces to pass through, each of which corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins. Note how the palaces in persona 5 correspond to the sins as well, and you are depicted as purifying them, in keeping with the metaphor for growth and redemption. On the first terrace of the Prideful, Dante and Virgil observe in the wall of the cliff sculptures representing humility. They come across the Prideful penitents, who are being punished for their sin of pride by carrying massive weights on their backs. The penitents are permanently hunched over, and Dante takes on their bent position in order to speak with them.
Dante remains in this position through the entire first terrace, identifying with the Prideful, until they reach the exit, where an angel erases one P from Dante’s forehead. Dante and Virgil climb to the second terrace of the Envious. Voices there call out examples of fraternal love. They witness the Envious penitents being punished by having their eyelids sewn shut with iron wire. Voices call out examples of punished envy. Dante and Virgil exit the second terrace, and another angel removes a P from Dante's forehead.
Now in the third terrace of the Wrathful, Dante has a vision containing examples of gentleness. Black smoke, the punishment of the Wrathful, envelops them, rendering them blind. In the smoke, they meet a man named Marco Lombardo, who discourses on free will and political corruption. Dante and Virgil meet the angel who removes the third P from Dante’s forehead.
As they travel to the fourth terrace of the Slothful, Virgil explains how love determines the structure of Purgatory. He continues to lecture on love and free will. The Slothful penitents, meanwhile, shout examples of zeal and show that their punishment is to run without rest. Dante has a nightmare about a Siren, but the next morning, they exit the terrace and an angel removes Dante’s fourth P.
Dante and Virgil ascend to the fifth terrace of the Avaricious and Prodigal, where they witness the penitents' punishment: lying stretched face down on the ground and bound by hand and foot. The penitents shout examples of poverty and generosity. Suddenly, Mount Purgatory trembles. We learn that this happens every time a penitent soul becomes completely purged and ready to ascend to Heaven. An epic poet named Statius joins Dante and Virgil. He turns out to be a big fan of Virgil; and he is also the purged soul for whom the mountain trembled. The trio meets an angel who erases Dante’s fifth P.
On the sixth terrace of the Gluttonous, they encounter a strange tree. A disembodied voice cites examples of temperance. They encounter a man named Forese Donati, who explains the punishment of the Gluttonous as agonizing thirst and hunger. He points out the poet Bonagiunta da Lucca, who chats with Dante about poetry. At the exit of the sixth terrace, an angel removes Dante’s sixth P. Dante, Virgil, and Statius climb to the seventh terrace of the Lustful. Reflecting on the thin penitents he encountered in the terrace of the Gluttonous, Dante asks how souls can grow lean if they don’t need food. Virgil cedes the floor to Statius, who explains the generation of the soul and their aerial bodies. Here among the Lustful, however, they witness the punishment of the penitents, who walk in flames. The Lustful shout examples of chastity.
Dante meets the poet Guido Guinizzelli, whom he reveres, and also the poet Arnaut Daniel. At sunset, the travelers reach the exit to the seventh terrace, and an angel removes Dante’s final P. However, to leave the terrace, Dante must first walk through a wall of flames. He hesitates with fear, but Virgil lures him through with the promise that he will see Beatrice on the other side. Past the fire, Dante sleeps. In the morning, Virgil announces Dante’s readiness for the Earthly Paradise.
In the Earthly Paradise, Dante meets a woman named Matilda, who explains the origins of wind and water in the forest of the Earthy Paradise. At the banks of the river Lethe, an extraordinary procession passes by, halting before Dante. Virgil disappears, due to being disallowed to enter heaven, and to Dante’s distress, but Beatrice appears. Beatrice, however, rebukes Dante for crying over Virgil’s disappearance. She continues accusing him of his sins and faults. Dante confesses to his sins, then passes out from the sight of Beatrice’s beauty. Matilda immerses the unconscious Dante in the waters of the Lethe and he wakes up. The procession proceeds to the Tree of Knowledge, where Dante falls asleep.
When he wakes, Beatrice charges him with a mission: to observe and write down everything he sees here for use in his poetry when he goes back to earth. Dante witnesses the procession's chariot attacked by an eagle, a fox, the eagle again, and a dragon. Then the chariot turns into a whore, courted by a giant. Beatrice prophesies God’s vengeance on the dragon, whore, and giant. At the closing of Purgatorio, Matilda leads Dante to the river Eunoe, and immerses him in the water. He is now ready to ascend to Heaven, with Statius and Beatrice as his guides.
Paradiso
Paradiso opens with Dante's invocation to Apollo and the Muses, asking for his divine task. He and Beatrice ascend from the Earthly Paradise. Beatrice outlines the structure of the universe. Dante warns the readers not to follow him now into Heaven for fear of getting lost in the turbulent waters. Interestingly, some pagans are seen in heaven, being depicted as having found a way to convert to christianity indirectly even before it was created.
Dante and Beatrice arrive in the First Heaven, sphere of the Moon. Beatrice vigorously quizzes Dante and then corrects his views on the cause of the moon spots. Dante first sees the blessed souls as points of light. He meets Piccarda Donati, who explains the souls' happiness with their places in Heaven. She explains that the Moon houses souls who broke their vows. Beatrice explains why Dante sees the souls in these heavens, when they are all located in the Empyrean, (the Tenth Heaven). Then she explains vows in terms of absolute and contingent will.
They ascend to the Second Heaven, sphere of Mercury. Justinian explains the history and destiny of Rome. He tells Dante that the souls in Mercury were all just, but motivated by fame. Beatrice explains God's just vengeance on Jerusalem. They ascend to the Third Heaven, sphere of Venus. Dante meets Charles Martel, an early French emperor, and he explains why sons can end up so different from their fathers. Dante meets Cunizza da Romano and Folco of Marseille, who points out Rahab to Dante. Note here how the layers of heaven are equated to space and the planets. This giving context to why not only cloud heaven is associated with law and angels in-game, but space as well, with the spheres of the planets being considered heavenly in the past.
Beatrice and Dante ascend to the Fourth Heaven, sphere of the Sun. St. Thomas and eleven other souls form a crown around our heroes. Dante denounces the senseless cares of mortals. St. Thomas discusses the life of St. Francis and the Franciscans. A second crown forms around the first. St Bonaventure talks about the life of St. Dominic and the Dominicans. The crowns dance.
St. Thomas explains the wisdom of King Solomon and warns Dante not to judge hastily. Solomon explains the source of the blessed souls' light. They ascend to the Fifth Heaven, sphere of Mars. The souls form an image of the Cross. Dante meets Cacciaguida, who expounds on the virtue of ancient Florence. Dante indulges in a rare proud moment over the nobility of his birth. Cacciaguida talks about the noble Florentine families. Then, he tells Dante about his destiny of exile, but tempers it with encouragement to Dante to fulfill his poetic mission.
Dante and Beatrice move on to the Sixth Heaven, sphere of Jupiter. The souls spell out the message Diligite iustitiam, qui iudicatis terram ("Love justice, you who judge the earth"), and then form the Eagle. The Eagle explains Divine Justice and the inscrutability of God's Mind. It introduces the six spirits that form its eye and explains why the Emperor Trajan and Ripheus are there. They continue to the Seventh Heaven, sphere of Saturn. Dante sees the golden ladder. Dante meets St. Peter Damian, who denounces degenerate prelates. The spirits cry out in encouragement and Dante faints from the force. Dante meets St. Benedict.
Beatrice and Dante ascend to the Eighth Heaven, sphere of the Fixed Stars. Dante gazes down on Earth and realizes how small and petty it is. They witness the coronation and re-ascension of Mary and Christ into the Empyrean. St. Peter examines Dante on faith. Dante conveys his hope of returning to Florence one day to be crowned as a poet. St. James examines Dante on hope. Dante goes blind. St. John examines Dante on charity. Adam answers Dante's four questions. St. Peter denounces corrupt popes.
Beatrice and Dante then move on to the Ninth Heaven, Primum Mobile. Beatrice prophesies the coming redemption of the world. Dante observes the model of the nine Angelic Intelligences orbiting a shining Point. Beatrice explains the discrepancy between it and the material universe. Beatrice tells Dante the Creation story, explains the order of the universe, and clears up the question about the number of extant angels.
They ascend into the Tenth Heaven, the Empyrean. Dante sees the illusion and then real Celestial Rose. Beatrice points out the seat reserved for Henry VIII. Beatrice disappears and is replaced by St. Bernard. Dante prays his thanks to Beatrice. Next, Dante gazes upon Mary. St. Bernard explains the placement of the blessed in the Celestial Rose, including that of the innocent infants. St. Bernard prays to Mary to intercede to God on Dante's behalf so that the poet may look upon God. Mary approves. Dante looks into the Eternal Light, and sees within it the image of the Holy Trinity. He ponders the mystery of the Incarnation. God bestows the answer upon him in a flash of light and Dante's soul is, finally, at one with God's. This revelation being something that he says is unable to be described.
Obviously, this marks a parallel to the end of persona 5 as described above. But another reference to dante shows up in SMTV. in smtv, the character tao leads you to the empyrean, and in a close parallel to beatrice, takes on a more exalted form the closer she brings you to there. In addition, the throne of god itself seems based on the painting of dante's empyrean done by gustave dore. This same shape is also seen in the game over screen of nocturne.