How The Divine Comedy drew on Ezekiel
A documented line of influence: Dante Alighieri demonstrably engaged Ezekiel’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
The source
Ezekiel
Ezekiel · c. 580 BCE
BibleThe influenced
The Divine Comedy
Dante Alighieri · 1320
MedievalRelevance
7/10
On The Divine Comedy’s page
- When Eden's procession arrives in Purgatorio XXIX, Dante stops to name his source — "read Ezekiel" — and models the four winged creatures on Ezekiel 1
- The chariot vision "by Chebar's flood" is the template for the Comedy's strangest pageant
- Reading Ezekiel first gives you the picture Dante assumes you already have; he diverges from it on just one detail (the number of wings, following Revelation)
On Ezekiel’s page
- Dante names Ezekiel by name in Purgatorio XXIX and stages Eden's mystical procession on the prophet's chariot vision
- The four winged living creatures of the Divine Pageant come straight from Ezekiel 1 — "by Chebar's flood"
- Dante tells the reader outright to picture them as Ezekiel painted them, departing only on the count of wings, where he follows John instead