Summary: CANTO III

Dante sees the inscription above the gates of Hell that reads "Through me the way into the
suffering city." Virgil tells him he must leave all hesitation behind, for now he will enter Hell
where people are miserable and have lost their reason. As they go through the gates Dante hears
loud wailing, "strange utterances," and voices of all kinds. The chaos is so intense that Dante
weeps, horrified. He asks Virgil what all the noise is, and Virgil tells him that this place holds the
souls of those who were neither rebellious against God nor faithful to God. They live in this
space, called the Ante-Inferno, continually following a great banner, being bitten by insects, and
having their blood and tears consumed by worms. Also existing here are the "coward angels,"
who cannot enter Hell but were cast out of Heaven.
Next Dante sees a great crowd of people waiting on the banks of a river. He learns they are the
shades of the damned, waiting for the demon Charon to take them across the river Acheron into
Hell. They wail and weep as Charon tells them to forget any hope of seeing Heaven. Charon then
challenges Dante's presence, saying he may not cross, but Virgil tells Charon Dante's presence
has been "willed above." Dante is perplexed as to why the people seem eager to enter Hell. Virgil
explains that divine justice turns their fear into desire. Then an earthquake and a violent wind
cause Dante to fall unconscious.