Greed

Greed
Circle Number	4
Boss	Plutus Alighiero
Creatures	Hoarder/Waster Throne Demons
Locations	Wheel of Fortune
Host	Gessius Florus
Prev. Circle	Gluttony
Next Circle	Anger

“For the crime of Greed do these souls suffer. Those clerks asquint of mind made no measured spending in life. And by contrast, in these Popes and Cardinals, greed practiced it's excess.” — Virgil

Greed was the fourth Circle of Hell.

Overview

After escaping from the Hall of Gluttons, Dante entered the circle of Greed which was mechanical in nature and it was compared to the previous circles. Within the circle are the occupants who are boiled alive in the molten gold below and they are condemned for hoarding too closely or spending too freely with the riches. In this "Factory of torture," Dante will be faced with the horrendous puzzles of the Wheel of Fortune which was used to deliver punishment and those of the fallen god named Plutus who was a living golden statue.

It is also in this circle where Dante must confront the monstrous shade of his father named Alighiero who was eager to destroy the son who he blamed for his violent death and damnation.

Areas of the Circle

• The Wheel of Fortune: Happy, the wheel spins and judges, an engine of chance eager to flounder our fortunes. She was often maligned, even to those who gave her praise.
• Plutus: The God of Wealth guarded the inner parts of Greed.

Trivia

• In the Divine Comedy, the fourth circle of Hell is quite different from how it is depicted in Dante's Inferno. In the poem, the hoarders and wasters jousted back and forth constantly with the huge bags of money, wailing and gnashing their teeth. The "Accursed wolf" Plutus is not a statue, but an actual wolf. He still mutters the strange cryptic "Pape Satan" phrase though. In accordance with Virgil's words, the original text mentioned a high amount of Popes, cardinals and monks that are present in this circle for their overpowering greed.
• The damned souls on the climbable walls in this circle appeared to actually be made out of gold.
• The original Latin name for the Deadly Sin of Greed was Avaritia which the word, "Avarice" is derived. The corresponding Heavenly Virtue which was the opposite to Greed was Charity (Caritas).
• According to Dante, Greed was a form of Divine Love for items in a world that was created by God, perverted into an obsession with material goods which is why it is only designated as the fourth circle rather than a lower one. The other sins that are derived from corrupted Divine Love (Lust, Gluttony) are also found in the higher circles of Hell (Circles 2 and 3 respectively).

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