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Limbo 1600x1200
Limbo
Circle Number 1
Boss King Minos
Creatures Unbaptized Baby
Guardian Demon
Tormented Shades
Anger Minion
Locations Charon's Ferry
Citadel of Limbo
Host Pontius Pilate
Prev. Circle The Gates of Hell
Next Circle Lust
“Here suffer those who did not sin, yet did not have the required portal of our faith. Their punishment is the denial of Paradise.” — Virgil


Limbo was the first Circle of Hell. It is the residence of the Virtuous Pagans and Unbaptized Souls. Prior to guiding Dante, Limbo was also the residence of Virgil's spirit.

Trivia[]

  • The term derives from the Latin term "Limbus," which translates to "Edge" or "Boundary". It is believed to be the outermost region of Hell, to which the condemned souls who were not sinful, but lacked the proper faith to enter Paradise or those who never received baptism, are placed. However, this concept of Limbo is not officially taught by the Catholic Church. Rather, it reflects Dante's belief of Hell and everyone that is supposed to dwell there.
  • In The Divine Comedy, it is elaborated that due to these souls being otherwise innocent or righteous, the only punishment that they have to undergo is never being able to be in the presence of God (they are otherwise treated with honor and unharmed physically). These souls forever hunger after the ultimate knowledge and meaning of life, yet are doomed never to be satisfied. The children who died before they had a chance to be christened are also found here (though they are not demonized as they are in the game). By this reasoning, the sin of never having the chance to believe in God is considered the lightest of all sins in Dante's view, and deserves the least of penalties. The souls who got the chance, and accepted or believed that there is a God, are spared this fate, and could go on (unless they had committed heresy).
  • This circle has many similarities to the Elysian Fields of Greco-Roman mythology. According to the myth, the souls of the good and pious are sent to this beautiful land, where there is peace, plenty and happiness, with neither a need for food nor rest. There is eternal light and joy in the Elysian Fields, and especially virtuous souls are given their own island to dwell upon: The Isle of the Blessed.
  • In the original Divine Comedy, the host spirit of this circle, Pontius Pilate, is not found in Limbo, but in the Vestibule of Hell, for standing aside while Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by order of the Sanhedrin. Those in the Vestibule were punished for never choosing sides by manifestations of their own guilty conscience.
  • In "Inferno", in this circle Dante encountered the mythological figures of Orpheus, Electra, Hector, the Amazon queen Penthesilea, Aeneas, Latinus, Camilla and Lavinia. He also meets the poets Homer, Horace, Ovid and Lucan; the mathematician Euclid; the astronomer Ptolemy; the philosophers Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Democritus, Diogenes, Anaxagoras, Thales, Empedocles, Heraclitus, Dioscorides, Cicero, Linus, Seneca and the historic figures of Hippocrates, Avicenna, Galen, Julius Caesar, Lucius Junius Brutus, Lucretia, Julia, Marcia, Cornelia, Averroes and Saladin. Virgil himself pities his fellow shades trapped in Limbo, since they could not rise above their current state without the awareness of God.
  • Virgil mentions to Dante that the Biblical figures of Adam, Abel, Noah, Moses, David, Abraham, Jacob, Rachel, "and many others" were also found in this circle until Jesus arrived in Limbo and brought them to Heaven (referred to as the Harrowing of Hell.) Interestingly, although Adam and Abraham are explicitly mentioned as being saved, their spouses (Eve and Sarah), are not mentioned; their whereabouts are not disclosed in the game (although they are seen located in Heaven). Rachel is the only wife explicitly mentioned by Dante as being saved alongside her husband.
Nine Circles of Hell
Limbo ·  Lust ·  Gluttony ·  Greed ·  Anger ·  Heresy ·  Violence ·  Fraud ·  Treachery
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