How Did Rome And Roman Influence In Dante's Divine Comedy?

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Rome and Roman ideology have a significant influence throughout Dante’s Divine Comedy, as is evident from the appearance of multiple Romans in all three parts of the afterlife, Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In the Comedy, it is apparent that Rome is favored by God, though there is also evidence that Rome has strayed from its former glory, and not for the better. Ultimately, Dante does make a case as for what Rome has done wrong, and what must happen should it return to greatness. As Dante journeys through Purgatory, he happens upon Marco, a Lombard. In their discussion, Marco presents two ideas in regards to the strife pervading Italy in Dante’s time. He first assures Dante that the discord is not the result of the will of God, but rather …show more content…
XVI, 58-83). To explain where society went astray, he says “Rome, which made the good world, used to have two suns that made visible the two paths, of the world and of God”, and that the joining of the two paths has extinguished Rome’s guiding light (Purg. XVI, 106-111). There are two ideas to be found in Marco’s claim, the first being that the mankind is best when under the rule of a single leader, and the other being that the church and the state must be separate completely. The former is most evident by the phrase “Rome, which made the world good”. This is, of course, is referring to the Roman Empire, which ruled over multiple nations and, as it seems to Dante, ruled to the benefit of those nations. At the height of the Empire’s power, a significant part of the world was being ruled by a single entity, and it is no coincidence that this period of Roman history is one of glory. The latter of the two ideas is best described through Marco’s words when he says, “One sun has extinguished the other, and the sword is joined to the shepherd’s …show more content…
I. 121-126). Virgil is the author of The Aeneid, the epic poem which illustrates the founding of Rome. Though he is a pagan, and therefore is in Limbo, he is still the one who is leading Dante on his journey to finding God and salvation. Instead of having his guide be someone who can pass into heaven guide him through the afterlife, Dante has consciously chosen a man who idolizes the ideals behind the creation of Rome. Virgil’s role serves to expand upon the notion that mankind is best when under the rule of one king. As the author of The Aeneid, Virgil details how Aeneas, a single man, was the progenitor of Rome. It was through his individual leadership that Rome was founded. In including Virgil in the narrative, knowing his great work, Dante reminds the reader that it was a single ruler who was, effectively, the birth of Rome and all it would achieve. Later in Inferno, Dante is led to the last circle of Hell, where he is shown Lucifer himself. He is described as having “three faces on his head” and “in each of his mouths he was breaking a sinner” (Inf. XXXIV, 37-57). In those mouths are Judas, who faces the worst retribution, and the other two are Brutus and Cassius of Rome. Dante has assigned the same torture to Judas, who betrayed Christ, and to Brutus and Cassius, the two men behind the assassination of
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