“On the other side, Satan, alarmed, Collecting all his might, dilated stood, Like Teneriff or Atlas, unremoved: His stature reached the sky, and on his crest Sat horror plumed; nor wanted in his grasp What seemed both spear and shield.”

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The Ottimo and Benvenuto both interpret the three faces as symbolizing Ignorance, Hatred, and Impotence. Others interpret them as signifying the three quarters of the then known world, Europe, Asia, and Africa. ↩

Aethiopia; the region about the Cataracts of the Nile. ↩