Chapter 20: The Soothsayers and Fortune Tellers
Dante and Virgil now were on the bridge above the fourth bolgia. Looking down, Dante saw that the sinners were crying as they walked around the Circle; the floor of the Circle was wet with tears. Dante also saw that the sinners were twisted in a grotesque way; their heads were twisted so that the face was above the back, not above the chest. As the sinners cried, their tears ran down their backs and into the cleft of their buttocks.
Dante cried, too — something that Virgil did not like.
Dante is a backslider, Virgil thought. He realized that simony is a great sin indeed, but now he pities how the sinners are being punished in the fourth bolgia.
“Dante, you are a fool,” Virgil said. “The Inferno is not a place for pity. Every soul here deserves to be here, and every soul here is punished in a very appropriate way.
“The sinners in this fourth bolgia are the soothsayers and the fortune tellers. They tried to look too far ahead in the future, and now they are punished by not being able to look ahead at all. Now they travel by walking backward because they can see only backward, not forward.
“Look around you. Here is a sinner who was one of the Seven Against Thebes. The two sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices, decided to share the rule of Thebes after their father abdicated the throne. Each brother was supposed to rule for a year and then allow the other brother to take the throne for a year; however, after ruling for a year, Eteocles refused to step down from the throne and allow Polynices to rule for a year. Therefore, Polynices raised an army and marched against Thebes and his brother.
“Amphiaraus was one of the seven generals of the army marching against Thebes and Eteocles. He foresaw that he would die if he fought against Thebes, so he attempted to hide himself so that he would not have to fight. However, his wife revealed his hiding place, so he had to go on the military expedition. During the attack on Thebes, the Earth opened up and he fell into the chasm, dying as he had foreseen. He appeared before Minos, who never errs. Minos judged him and sent him here.
“Now look at Tiresias, the most famous prophet of Thebes. You have read about him in Ovid. Tiresias was famous enough to be consulted by Odysseus in the Underworld in Homer’s Odyssey.
“Tiresias lived life as both a man and a woman. He once saw two snakes having sex, and he hit them with his staff. As his punishment, Hera turned him into a woman. Tiresias married and gave birth to Manto, his daughter, who was also a prophet. After seven years as a woman, he again saw two snakes having sex, and he again hit them with his staff and changed sexes, this time turning back into a man. Because Tiresias had lived life as both a man and a woman, when Zeus and Hera quarreled over who enjoyed sex more — the man or the woman — they turned to Tiresias to settle the argument. Tiresias said that women enjoyed sex more, and Hera struck him blind.
“Because Tiresias tried to see too far into the future, he is punished here.
“Now look at Tiresias’ daughter, Manto, whose long hair now covers her breasts instead of her back, while her hairy parts are now in back and not in front. Manto was a soothsayer at Thebes. After Tiresias died, she went to Italy and founded Mantua, the city where I, Virgil, was born.
“Listen carefully, and I will you the true story of how my city, Mantua, was founded. Truth is important, and I don’t want you to believe any inaccurate stories of how Mantua was founded.
“Manto saw land lying surrounded mostly by a marsh. She moved there and died there. After she died, men arrived and build a town there because it was well protected by the marsh. They named their town after Manto.”
Learn from this story, Virgil thought. The theme of my story is truth. The story of the founding of Mantua is controversial, with more than one version. I am here telling the true story. Truth, of course, is something that people engaging in fraud wish to hide.
You, Dante, must say the truth in your writing. If you tell the true story of the founding of Mantua in your Divine Comedy, you will be letting your readers know that you care about truth. You will be establishing your credibility. Because your readers will know that you care about the truth of the founding of Mantua, they will know that you are careful to report the truth about the afterlife.
“Virgil,” Dante said, “you always tell me the truth. Now can you tell me about some other sinners here?”
Virgil replied, “Eurypylus is punished here in this part of the Inferno. You know about him from reading my Aeneid — my epic poem that you know almost by heart. Eurypylus was a Greek warrior who was sent to the Oracle of Delphi in order to inquire why the gods were angry at the Greeks.
“Also punished here is Michael Scot, a mathematician and scholar who was born in Scotland. He was a magician who was able to serve his guests food magically brought from France and Spain and other countries.
“But we have seen enough. Let us continue our journey.”
***
Copyright by Bruce D. Bruce
***
Free eBooks by David Bruce (pdfs) (Includes Discussion Guides for Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise)
Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Retelling in Prose
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238180
Dante’s Inferno: A Retelling in Prose
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/89244
Dante’s Purgatory: A Retelling in Prose
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210951
Dante’s Paradise: A Retelling in Prose
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238110
Dante’s Inferno: A Discussion Guide
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342391
Dante’s Purgatory: A Discussion Guide
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/344723
Dante’s Paradise: A Discussion Guide
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/345337
***
Dante’s Inferno Haiku
https://cosplayvideos.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/dante-inferno-haiku.pdf
Dante’s Purgatory Haiku
https://cosplayvideos.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/dante-purgatory-haiku-pdf.pdf
Dante’s Paradise Haiku
https://cosplayvideos.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/dante-paradise-haiku.pdf
***
Check out
Vivian Lee Reach: A Choreographer’s Voyage Within Dante’s Inferno
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/vivian-reach-a-choreographers-voyage-within-dantes-inferno/
***
Romance Books by Brenda Kennedy (Some Free)
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/smoothie2003
****
INFERNO, PURGATORY, and PARADISE
Here are links to my retellings of Dante’s Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise.
INFERNO: CANTO 1
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/dantes-inferno-canto-1/
INFERNO: CANTO 2
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/01/dantes-inferno-canto-2/
INFERNO: CANTO 3
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/dantes-inferno-canto-3/
INFERNO: CANTO 4
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/dantes-inferno-canto-4/
INFERNO: CANTO 5
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/dantes-inferno-canto-5/
INFERNO: CANTO 6
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/05/dantes-inferno-canto-6-retelling-the-gluttonous/
INFERNO: CANTO 7
INFERNO: CANTO 8
INFERNO: CANTO 9
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/dantes-inferno-canto-9-retelling/
INFERNO: CANTO 10
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/dantes-inferno-canto-10-heretics-in-flaming-tombs/
INFERNO: CANTO 11
INFERNO: CANTO 12
INFERNO: CANTO 13
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/dantes-inferno-canto-13-retelling-the-suicides/
INFERNO: CANTO 14
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/dantes-inferno-canto-14-retelling/
INFERNO: CANTO 15
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/dantes-inferno-canto-15-retelling-ca/
INFERNO: CANTO 16
INFERNO: CANTO 17
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/dantes-infernp-canto-17-retelling-geryon/
INFERNO: CANTO 18
INFERNO: CANTO 19
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/dantes-inferno-canto-19-retelling-the-simonists/
INFERNO: CANTO 20
INFERNO: CANTO 21
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/dantes-inferno-canto-21-retelling-the-grafters/
INFERNO: CANTO 22
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/dantes-inferno-canto-22-retelling/
INFERNO: CANTO 23
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/22/dantes-inferno-canto-23-retelling-the-hypocrites/
INFERNO: CANTO 24
INFERNO: CANTO 25
INFERNO: CANTO 26
INFERNO: CANTO 27
INFERNO: CANTO 28
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/27/dantes-inferno-canto-28-retelling-the-schismatics/
INFERNO: CANTO 29
INFERNO: CANTO 30
INFERNO: CANTO 31
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/dantes-inferno-canto-31-retelling-towering-giants/
INFERNO: CANTO 32
INFERNO: CANTO 33
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/dantes-inferno-canto-33-retelling/
INFERNO: CANTO 34
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/dantes-inferno-canto-34-retelling-the-ultimate-evil/
***
PURGATORY: CANTO 1
PURGATORY: CANTO 2 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 3 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 4 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 5 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 6 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/08/dantes-purgatory-canto-6-retelling-sordello/
PURGATORY: CANTO 7 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 8 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/dantes-purgatory-canto-8/
PURGATORY: CANTO 9 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 10 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 11 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 12 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 13 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 14 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 15 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 16 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 17 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 18 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/dantes-purgatory-canto-18-retelling/
PURGATORY: CANTO 19 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 20 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 21 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 22 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 23 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/dantes-purgatory-canto-23-retelling/
PURGATORY: CANTO 24 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/dantes-purgatory-canto-24-retelling/
PURGATORY: CANTO 25
PURGATORY: CANTO 26 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 27 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/01/dantes-purgatory-canto-27-retelling/
PURGATORY: CANTO 28 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 29 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 30 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 31 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 32 RETELLING
PURGATORY: CANTO 33 RETELLING
***
PARADISE: CANTO 1 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 2 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/dantes-paradise-canto-2-retelling-moon-dark-spots/
PARADISE: CANTO 3 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 4 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 5 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 6 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 7 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 8 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 9 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 10 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 11 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 12 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 13 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 14 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 15 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/dantes-paradise-canto-15-retelling-mars-cacciaguida/
PARADISE: CANTO 16 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 17 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 18 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 19 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 20 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 21 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 22 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 23 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/dantes-paradise-canto-23/
PARADISE: CANTO 24 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/dantes-paradise-canto-24-retelling/
PARADISE: CANTO 25 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 26 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 27 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 28 RETELLING
https://davidbruceblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/dantes-paradise-canto-28-retelling/
PARADISE: CANTO 29 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 30 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 31 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 32 RETELLING
PARADISE: CANTO 33 RETELLING
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