Dante, Inferno
Geryon, the Image of Fraud
Virgil summons Geryon to the bank so that he can carry the travellers into the next circle. The creature’s upper part rests on land while its tail remains beyond the edge. The face resembles that of a just man, while the rest is serpentine, marked with varied patterns and supplied with shaggy claws. The pleasant appearance and venomous tail belong to the poem’s image of fraud.
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In the sources
The encounter
LiteraryVirgil summons Geryon to the bank so that he can carry the travellers into the next circle. The creature’s upper part rests on land while its tail remains beyond the edge.
Further detail
LiteraryThe face resembles that of a just man, while the rest is serpentine, marked with varied patterns and supplied with shaggy claws. The pleasant appearance and venomous tail belong to the poem’s image of fraud.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the supplied Thompson & Thomas edition of H. F. Cary’s translation. It describes Dante’s literary vision, distinguishing its assignments and reported claims from historical biography, other classical traditions and independently established accounts of an afterlife.
Original passages
Source 1
Dante's Inferno
image vile of Fraud appear'd, His head and upper part exposed on land, But laid not on the shore his bestial train. His face the semblanceOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Dante’s Inferno, Cary translation; active reader leaf 119
Passage read in the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace-normalised anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Associated plates separately inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0082-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0082-E001-P0119
- Original scan leaf
- 126
- Recorded leaf number
- 126
- Current Reader position
- 119
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Dante's Inferno
His face the semblance of a just man's wore, So kind and gracious was its outward cheer ; The rest was serpent all : two shaggyOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Dante’s Inferno, Cary translation; active reader leaf 119
Passage read in the exact edition’s extracted canto text; whitespace-normalised anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Associated plates separately inspected.
- Edition
- IMJ-0082-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0082-E001-P0119
- Original scan leaf
- 126
- Recorded leaf number
- 126
- Current Reader position
- 119
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Cerberus in the Third Circle
The three-throated guardian among the gluttonous souls beneath ceaseless cold rain.
Same subject and traditionThe Harpies of the Thorny Wood
The nesting creatures whose feeding opens the transformed trees to lamentation.
Same subject and traditionThe Minotaur at the Broken Descent
The enraged guardian at the steep passage into the seventh circle.