{"id":98,"date":"2018-06-19T13:10:12","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T17:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/?page_id=98"},"modified":"2025-07-17T11:44:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T15:44:41","slug":"hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/","title":{"rendered":"Hell\u2019s Beasts and Bodies: The Anatomy of Hell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hell\u2019s Beasts and Bodies: The Anatomy of Hell<\/h1>\n\n\n<nav style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"is-responsive wp-block-navigation is-layout-flex wp-container-core-navigation-is-layout-db721894 wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"sections\" \n\t\t data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-context='{\"overlayOpenedBy\":{\"click\":false,\"hover\":false,\"focus\":false},\"type\":\"overlay\",\"roleAttribute\":\"\",\"ariaLabel\":\"Menu\"}'><button aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Open menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-open\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.openMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 7.5h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><path d=\"M4 15h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container\"  id=\"modal-1\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--has-modal-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--is-menu-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.initMenu\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--focusout=\"actions.handleMenuFocusout\"\n\t\t\t\ttabindex=\"-1\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-close\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-dialog\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-modal=\"state.ariaModal\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.ariaLabel\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--role=\"state.roleAttribute\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Close menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-close\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.closeMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"m13.06 12 6.47-6.47-1.06-1.06L12 10.94 5.53 4.47 4.47 5.53 10.94 12l-6.47 6.47 1.06 1.06L12 13.06l6.47 6.47 1.06-1.06L13.06 12Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-content\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.focusFirstElement\"\n\t\t\t id=\"modal-1-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__container is-responsive wp-block-navigation\"><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/crafting-a-cosmos\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Crafting a Cosmos<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/mapping-hell-cartography-and-the-comedy\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Mapping Hell<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/dante-and-the-new-world\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Dante &amp; the New World<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/infernal-geometry\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Infernal Geometry<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/stars-and-moonspots-dantes-astronomy\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Stars &amp; Moonspots<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/envisioning-the-heavens-purgatory-and-paradise\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Envisioning the Heavens<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/archeology-and-mathematics-dante-in-the-19th-century\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Archeology &amp; Mathematics<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Hell\u2019s Beasts &amp; Bodies<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\" wp-block-navigation-item  menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/women-authors-of-science-and-the-comedy\/\" title=\"\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Women Authors of Science &amp; the Comedy<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/nav>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Behold the beast with the pointed tail, behold the one that makes the whole world stink! Its face was that of a just man and the rest of its torso was that of a serpent; it had two paws, hairy to the armpits; it had back and breast and both sides painted with knots and little wheels\u2026in the emptiness all its tail was wriggling, twisting upward the poisoned fork that armed its tip like a scorpion\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>\u2014<em>Inferno<\/em> 17.1\u201327<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-acc8bb78 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\" style=\"background-color:#faf3e6\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/d34_aeon1466_1s-c-1861m1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-164\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1022\" height=\"1269\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D34_AEON1466_1S-C-1861m1.jpg\" alt=\"Geryon \u2013 Detail of Dante from L'inferno di Dante Alighieri colle figure di G. Dor\u00e9 [The Inferno of Dante Alighieri with the Figures of G. Dor\u00e9]\" class=\"wp-image-164\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>1. Geryon \u2013 detail from <em>L&#8217;inferno di Dante Alighieri colle figure di G. Dor\u00e9<\/em> [The Inferno of Dante Alighieri with the Figures of G. Dor\u00e9]<\/strong><br>Dante Alighieri (1265\u20131321)<br>Illustrated by M. Gustave Dor\u00e9 (1832\u20131883)<br>Paris: Hachette, 1861<br>Brown University Library, Chambers Dante Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/dxx_aeon2680_1s-qk99md\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-166\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1006\" height=\"1659\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/Dxx_AEON2680_1S-QK99md.jpg\" alt=\"Ortus Sanitatis\" class=\"wp-image-166\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>2. <em>Ortus Sanitatis<\/em><\/strong><br>Jakob Meydenbach (active fifteenth century)<br>Munich, Germany: Jakob Meydenbach, 1491<br>Brown University Library, Lownes Science Collection<br>Hand-colored rubrication; detail of &#8220;Draconis&#8221; [Dragon]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/d43_aeon1898m\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-167\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"927\" height=\"1282\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/D43_AEON1898m.jpg\" alt=\"La divina commedia di Dante Alighieri; manoscritto Pal 313 conservato presso la Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Firenze\" class=\"wp-image-167\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>3. <em>La divina commedia di Dante Alighieri; manoscritto Pal 313 conservato presso la Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Firenze<\/em><\/strong><br>Dante Alighieri (1265\u20131321)<br>Rome, Italy: Societ\u00e0 Dante Alighieri, 2013<br>Detail of Inferno 28; full-color, full-size facsimile reproduction of the manuscript Palatino 313 held in the National Central Library of Florence<br>Brown University Library<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/dxx_aeon3815_2s-be-c25-1883md\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-168\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"948\" height=\"1303\" src=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/63\/2018\/06\/Dxx_AEON3815_2S-BE-C25-1883md.jpg\" alt=\"De humani corporis fabrica [On the Fabric of the Human Body]\" class=\"wp-image-168\" style=\"width:200px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>4. <em>De humani corporis fabrica<\/em> [On the Fabric of the Human Body]<\/strong><br>Andreas Vesalius (1514\u20131564)<br>Basel, Switzerland: Joannes Oporinus, 1543<br>Brown University Library, Lownes Science Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-container-content-e269605d\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>This striking image of Geryon was designed by Gustave Dor\u00e9 <strong>(1)<\/strong>; this edition of the <em>Inferno<\/em> is the first to feature his engravings. Geryon is a giant hybrid monster that transports Dante and Virgil to the lowest circles of Hell. The number of hybrid creatures in Dante\u2019s poem has been noted by scholars, who have suggested they were inspired by medieval bestiaries and Horace\u2019s <em>Ars Poetica<\/em>. A printed bestiary of sorts, the <em>Ortus Sanitatis<\/em> <strong>(2)<\/strong>, shows a woodcut illustration of a dragon, which may give us some view of how Geryon was imagined in the minds of medieval and Renaissance readers. Primarily a medical text on the healing properties of plants, there are also sections on animals (fish, birds and mammals), as well as exotic creatures such as manticores, hydras and half-human creatures. Hell\u2019s monsters and devils were often viewed in terms of their allegorical meaning, but hybrid creatures such as Geryon additionally expressed Dante\u2019s invention and virtuosity in visual description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An early illustration of the eighth circle of Hell depicts the circle reserved for those who were perceived, from Dante\u2019s Christian point of view, to have caused religious schism <strong>(3)<\/strong>. The <em>contrapasso<\/em>, or punishment, was reflected in the division of the body, which is cut open to reveal this particular soul\u2019s insides. Other souls in the twenty-eighth canto have missing body parts or are headless, making for one of the most gruesome and terrifying cantos of the <em>Comedy<\/em>. The display of the interior of the body seems almost medical, perhaps referring to medieval images of bloodletting or figures in books on anatomy. In fact, this anatomical interpretation of the canto resembles later treatises on anatomy, such as Vesalius, in which readers are privy to viewing the different layers of the human body <strong>(4)<\/strong>. A further connection between Vesalius and the <em>Comedy<\/em> is the word \u201cfabbrica,\u201d variously translated as creation, fabric, construction and composition. Dante himself, Galileo, and other writers called the poem\u2019s cosmos a \u201cfabbrica,\u201d perhaps relating the human body to the anatomy of Hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hell\u2019s Beasts and Bodies: The Anatomy of Hell \u2014Inferno 17.1\u201327 This striking image of Geryon was designed by Gustave Dor\u00e9 (1); this edition of the Inferno is the first to feature his engravings. Geryon is a giant hybrid monster that transports Dante and Virgil to the lowest circles of Hell. The number of hybrid creatures <a href=\"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/hells-beasts-and-bodies-the-anatomy-of-hell\/\" class=\"more-link\">&#8230;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Hell\u2019s Beasts and Bodies: The Anatomy of Hell<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width-no-menu.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-98","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":395,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/98\/revisions\/395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/poetryofscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}