In canto 28 Dante integrates the biblical world and the mythological world as he has done previously in Inferno. Dante enters earthly paradise in this canto and is astounded by the glorious things he sees such as the, “… divine forest, thick and alive” (Purgatorio 28, 2-3). He is met by a beautiful woman who goes by the name Matelda. Matelda explains to Dante that where they are is the Garden of Eden where humanity would have lived in eternal peace till the end of time had Eve not succumbed to sin. Matelda explains this by saying, “The highest Good, who alone pleases himself, made man good and for the good, and this place he gave as a token to him of eternal peace” (Inferno 28, 91-93). The Garden of Eden is no doubt one of the most famous biblical references. Without the creation of original sin by Eve, there would have been no journey for Dante the pilgrim. There are also two important streams mentioned in this canto and that is the Lethe and the Eunoe. Matelda explains the purpose of these streams by saying, “On this side it descends with the power to take away all memory of sin; on the other it gives back the memory of every good deed” (Purgatorio 28, 127-129). Lethe appears in Greek and roman mythology and is known as the “river of oblivion.” Dante takes the classical meaning of Lethe and molds it to fit the earthly paradise he seeks to recount. Along with the biblical and classical imagery used by Dante, he also adds his own contribution by the creation of Eunoe. The notes of Purgatorio state, “The name is a coinage of Dante’s, from Greek eu [well] and noesis [knowledge], meaning “knowledge of good”(Durling).

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.