Dante's Inferno Minos Character Analysis

The purpose of this essay is to tell the story of Minos and give a brief depiction of his duties from Dante’s Inferno. Being one of three main judges in Hades, Minos stood before the second circle blocking the way until he judged all that went through. “There Minos sits, grinning, grotesque, and hale. He examines each lost soul as it arrives and delivers his verdict with his coiling tail” (Ciardi 35). Upon entering the circle each sinner was to confess their sin to Minos and he would then give their assignment. Minos’s tail being wrapped around the sinners was equal to the number of the circle that they were assigned to.
Minos character prior to Dante’s Inferno was both a Myth and a historical person. Prior to being one of the supreme

judgers of the underworld, he was a son of Zeus and was also known as the Ruler of Crete and the Ruler of the seas. As the Wise King of Crete, he received his laws from Zeus. Minos was also known for being the ruler of peace but he had a tendency to be cruel. During his reign, he receives a bull from Poseidon that was too beautiful to kill so he kept it and sacrificed another bull in his place. According to the legends Poseidon was angry and caused Minos’s wife to fall in love with the bull and then she gave birth to a Minotaur. King Minos shut the Minotaur up in a labyrinth and was later killed. Minos was ultimately judged according to the Minotaur’s life that was revolved around violence, his murderous lifestyle, and his tragic end. In the Sistine Chapel you can see a representation of Minos in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment Mural.