Ninth Circle of Hell

Treachery: The deepest circle of Hell, where Satan resides. As with the last two circles, this one is
further divided, into four rounds. The first is Caina, named after the biblical Cain, who murdered his
brother. This round is for traitors to family. The second, Antenora—from Antenor of Troy, who
betrayed the Greeks—is reserved for political/national traitors. The third is Ptolomaea for Ptolemy, son
of Abubus, who is known for inviting Simon Maccabaeus and his sons to dinner and then murdering
them. This round is for hosts who betray their guests; they are punished more harshly because of the
belief that having guests means entering into a voluntary relationship, and betraying a relationship
willingly entered is more despicable that betraying a relationship born into. The fourth round is Judecca,
after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. This round is reserved for traitors to their
lords/benefactors/masters. As in the previous circle, the subdivisions each have their own demons and
punishments.

Round 1: Caina. Named after the Biblical Cain, who killed his younger brother Abel in a jealous rage,
then attempted to conceal his crime from God. Here are imprisoned those who betrayed their families. Those
that are condemned here are frozen up to their necks in ice. Mordred is among the damned here.
Round 2: Antenora. Named after the Trojan general Antenor. When captured by the Greek army,
although the Trojans were very willing to ransom him, Antenor betrayed Troy to the Greeks. Here are
imprisoned those who betrayed their countries. The ice here reaches the base of the traitors' skulls. Dante
encounters Count Ugolino here, gnawing on the skull of the man who had condemned him to die of starvation.
Round 3: Ptolemaea. Named after Ptolemy, son of Abubus. Despite being married to a daughter of the
Biblical Simon Maccabaeus, Ptolemy invited his father-in-law and two of his brothers-in-law to a banquet, and
then murdered them. Here are imprisoned those who betrayed their guests, people who came to their home for
shelter. In many cultures, such an action was considered an abomination and subject to divine retribution. Those
that are condemned here lie supine in the ice, which covers everything except for their faces.
Round 4: Judecca. Named after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ, and as such is considered the
greatest traitor of all. According to the Gospel of St. Matthew, once Judas realized what he had done, he hung
himself (the Acts of the Apostles states that he died when his abdomen burst open while plowing a field). Here
are imprisoned those who betrayed lords, masters and benefactors. All of the sinners punished within are
completely encased in ice, distorted in all conceivable positions. Due to having no one to talk to here, Dante and
Virgil moved on to the center of the ninth Circle of Hell.
At the center of the ninth Circle of Hell, Satan is depicted as a giant, terrifying beast with six wings and
three faces (one red, one black, and one a pale yellow), an inversion of the Holy Trinity. Satan is frozen waist-
deep in ice. His right and left heads gnaw on Cassius and Brutus (the Roman senators who betrayed and
murdered Julius Caesar), feet first in those mouths. In the central, most vicious mouth is Judas Iscariot. Judas is
being administered the most horrifying torture of the three traitors: his head gnawed by Satan's mouth and his
back is forever being skinned by Satan's claws.