Eunoe ( ; ) is a feature of
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
's ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' created by Dante as the fifth river of the dead (taking into consideration that
Cocytus
Cocytus or Kokytos (, literally "lamentation") is the river of wailing in the underworld in Greek mythology. Cocytus flows into the river Acheron, on the other side of which lies Hades, the underworld, the mythological abode of the dead. There ...
was described as a
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
rather than a river). In the ''
Purgatorio
''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...
'', the second ''cantica'' of Dante's poem, penitents reaching the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
at the top of Mount Purgatory are first washed in the waters of the river
Lethe
In Greek mythology, Lethe (; Ancient Greek: ''Lḗthē''; , ) was one of the rivers of the underworld of Hades. In Classical Greek, the word '' lethe'' ( λήθη) literally means "forgetting", "forgetfulness". The river is also known as Amel ...
in order to forget the memories of their mortal sins. They then pass through Eunoe to have the memories of their good deeds in life strengthened.
Upon completing one's sentence in Purgatory, a soul is washed in the rivers Lethe and Eunoe (in that order) by Matelda. It is unclear who Matelda was in real life, but, nonetheless, her function is to cause the penitent to forget his or her sins (now that these sins have been purged) and then sip from the waters of Eunoe so that the soul may enter heaven full of the strength of his or her life's good deeds.
In ''Purg.'' XXXIII, in the concluding lines of that canto and of the entire ''cantica,'' Dante makes particular reference to the ''dolce ber'' ("sweet draught"
[''Purgatorio'', Canto XXXIII, line 138, Longfellow translation]) of Eunoe when he explains that he wished he possessed greater space to write of the water that "ne'er would satiate me."
The word "eunoe" is one of Dante's many
neologism
In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
s presumably derived from Greek "
eu-," meaning "good" and "noe," meaning "mind."
See also
Other mythological rivers borrowed by Dante from Greek lore:
*
Acheron
The Acheron ( or ; ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ''Acherontas'') is a river in the Epirus (region), Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and has a drainage area of . The river's source is located near the vil ...
, separating the
Vestibule from Hell proper; Dante crosses with the help of
Charon
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon ( ; ) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and ...
(''Inf.'' III)
*
Styx
In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...
, the
Fifth Circle, containing the Wrathful and the Sullen; Dante crosses in
Phlegyas
In Greek mythology, Phlegyas (; Ancient Greek: Φλεγύας means 'fiery') was a king of the Lapiths (or the Phlegyans).
Family
Phlegyas was the son of Ares and Chryse, daughter of Halmus, or of Dotis. In one account, he was mentioned as ...
' skiff (''Inf.'' VII-VIII)
*
Phlegethon
In Greek mythology, the river Phlegethon () or Pyriphlegethon (, ) was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, along with the rivers Styx, Lethe, Cocytus, and Acheron.
Mythology
According to Homer's ''Odyssey'', t ...
, the
Seventh Circle, Ring 1, containing the Violent Against Others (''Inf.'' XII)
*
Cocytus
Cocytus or Kokytos (, literally "lamentation") is the river of wailing in the underworld in Greek mythology. Cocytus flows into the river Acheron, on the other side of which lies Hades, the underworld, the mythological abode of the dead. There ...
, the
Ninth Circle
The following is a list of fictional criminal and terrorist organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints.
0-9 100
Originally based in Metropolis, the 100 kept a firm grip on the city's criminal underworld for years, i ...
, the frozen lake of ice containing various traitors and, finally,
Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
himself (''Inf.'' XXXI-XXXIV)
*
Lethe
In Greek mythology, Lethe (; Ancient Greek: ''Lḗthē''; , ) was one of the rivers of the underworld of Hades. In Classical Greek, the word '' lethe'' ( λήθη) literally means "forgetting", "forgetfulness". The river is also known as Amel ...
, in the
Earthly Paradise
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Gene ...
atop the
Mountain of Purgatory; Dante, held in the arms of Matelda, is immersed in the Lethe so that he may wipe out all memory of sin (''Purg''. XXXI). The Lethe it is mentioned in ''Inf.'' XXXIV.130 as flowing down to Hell to be frozen in the ice around Satan, "the last lost vestiges of the sins of the saved"
John Ciardi
John Anthony Ciardi ( ; ; June 24, 1916 – March 30, 1986) was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet and translator of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', he also wrote several volumes of children's poetry, pursu ...
, ''Purgatorio'', notes on Canto XXVII, pg. 535
Eunoë is also the name of a nymph reported in Greek mythology;
Eunoë
Eunoë () according to Greek mythology, was a naiad-nymph daughter of the Potamoi, river god Sangarius (mythology), Sangarius, sometimes associated with Persephone as her mother. Eunoë is the wife of the Phrygian king Dymas (king of Phrygia), Dy ...
References
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