Dante compares the lake of ice in Hell to a huge sheet of glass. The first area they encounter is called Caina, after Cain who killed his brother in the book of Genesis. Here they see thousands of sinners frozen in the lake, with only their neck and heads protruding from the ice. This is the area reserved for those who have sinned against their own family. In a bizarre scene, Dante accidentally kicks the head of one of the sinners and ends up berating him and pulling his hair out in a rage. Most of the characters in this scene are politicians and families from Florence.

Dante the poet describes the extreme cold and wind, cold enough to freeze tears and produce the constant sound of teeth chattering. As Dante and Virgil progress they enter into one of the most famous scenes in the Inferno, two sinners frozen in one hole, one sinner gnawing and eating the head, hair, brains, and scalp of the other.  …continue… …or go back…

Dante and Virgil continue to walk through the filthy dark air, and Dante sees what he believes are the towers of a city in the distance.  Virgil tells Dante that these are not towers, but giants, seen from the waist up, standing in a pit and guarding the very floor of Hell.  As they approach, they hear a terrifying blast of a horn blown by one of the giants, Nimrod.  In the Bible, Nimrod was the builder of the tower of Babel, and as they approach he speaks to them in a language of gibberish, only understood by him.

Virgil convinces a different giant to let them pass and descend to the bottom of Hell.  Virgil and Dante are then transported by the giant, Antaeus, who cradles them in the palm of his huge hand and gently lowers then down to the bottom of the pit.  Dante and Virgil are now on the floor of Hell, which turns out to be a frozen lake called Cocytus.  The two then begin their journey on the floor of ice to the very epicenter of evil.   …continue… …or go back…

In the middle of Dante’s discussion with the Achemists, two other souls run up. Dante watches in horror while one of them sinks his teeth into the sinner Dante was speaking with and drags him away like prey. These souls are the falsifiers of people, condemned to an eternity of madness. This is followed by Dante and Virgil encountering a bizarre “lute shaped” soul with a huge belly and worthless legs who can only move tiny distances. This is Master Adam, one of the souls of the counterfeiters. This sinner is condemned to have a horrible disease where he is always parched, but can never quench his unbearable thirst.

Master Adam points out to Dante two other figures, Potiphar’s wife (the Biblical figure, who tried to seduce Joseph), and Sinon the greek (who convinced the Trojans to bring the Trojan horse into that city). These sinners represent the sin of falsification of words. Dante watches closely as Master Adam and Sinon the Greek engage in a petty argument while suffering in Hell, however Virgil keeps Dante moving toward the central pit of Hell. …continue… …or go back…