Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

Dante begins his Medieval epic journey, The Divine Comedy, in a woods of doubt at age 35 on Good Friday, 1300. As he journeys through the first section, The Inferno, he has the pagan philosopher poet, Virgil, as his guide.

This figure of Dante comes from "Dante as the Poet of the 'The Divine Comedy' by Domenico di Michelino, 1465, Florence Cathedral. The head is based on Dante's death mask.

As Dante proceeds through the dark wood, he encounters three animals--a spotted Leopard, a ravening She-Wolf, and a Lion. These creatures represent the three types of sins Dante finds in Hell only in a different order:

• The Leopard ["all tremor and low and gaudy pelt"] represents sins of incontinence [lack of personal restraint]
• The Lion ["raging with hunger"] represents violence
• The She-Wolf ["gaunt and wasted beyond all belief"] represents malice & fraud which Dante considered the worst of the sins

Therefore I think and judge it for thy best
Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide,
And lead thee hence through the eternal place...

Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 BCE), known as Virgil

Dante's guide through Hell is Virgil, symbol of human intellect [author of the epic poem, The Aeneid]. Virgil wears a toga, the sign of a Roman citizen, but unlike that of a senator, his toga is unbleached. Like Dante, he wears the laurel wreath of the poet. In his hand he carries a scroll beginning his epic.

The head of the paper doll is taken from a Roman bust of the poet.