The Old Man of Crete

Abstract

The Old Man of Crete, which appears in Inferno XIV, 94–120, is one of the more puzzling figures in Dante's Comedy. Noting allusions to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and to Ovid's Metamorphoses and its location the middle of the world as known to medieval Europeans have done little to illuminate it. One does better by elaborating on the fact that it is supported by two feet that represent the temporal and spiritual realms and on its relation to Rome and Damietta. That is, it should recall Dante's points in On World Government that peace and the careful separation of the temporal and spiritual realms are necessary for the fulfillment of human potential. Rome's prime condition during Augustus' reign, its current degeneration, due in large part to the Papacy's meddling in temporal affairs, and the blurring of the boundary between the two realms during the battle that occurred at Damietta during the Fifth Crusade all help to explain the statue. The themes of peace and the separation of the temporal and the spiritual realms also are prominent in all the scenes that occur on or next to the rivers of hell, which flow from the statue. That confirms the importance of those themes in the cantiche as a whole and in the scene in which the Old Man appears.