Editing Inferno (Dante) (section)

====Entrance to Dis====
In the distance, Dante perceives high towers that resemble fiery red [[mosque]]s. Virgil informs him that they are approaching the [[Dis (Divine Comedy)|City of Dis]]. Dis, itself surrounded by the Stygian marsh, contains Lower Hell within its walls.<ref>Allen Mandelbaum, ''Inferno'', notes on Canto VIII, p. 358</ref> Dis is one of the names of [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], the classical king of the underworld, in addition to being the name of the realm. The walls of Dis are guarded by [[fallen angel]]s. Virgil is unable to convince them to let Dante and him enter.

'''''Canto IX'''''
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Dante is threatened by the [[Erinyes|Furies]] (consisting of [[Alecto]], [[Megaera]], and [[Tisiphone]]) and [[Medusa]]. An [[angel]] sent from Heaven secures entry for the poets, opening the gate by touching it with a wand, and rebukes those who opposed Dante. Allegorically, this reveals the fact that the poem is beginning to deal with sins that [[philosophy]] and [[humanism]] cannot fully understand. Virgil also mentions to Dante how [[Erichtho]] sent him down to the lowest circle of Hell to bring back a spirit from there.<ref name="DLS8"/>

{{Clear}}
[[File:Stradano Inferno Map Lower.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Lower Hell, inside the walls of [[Dis (Divine Comedy)|Dis]], in an illustration by [[Stradanus]]; there is a drop from the sixth circle to the three rings of the seventh circle, then again to the ten rings of the eighth circle, and, at the bottom, to the icy ninth circle]]