Canto XXI-XXIII

"Upon the ground, where he was crucified By three stakes. When he saw me there he squirmed All over, and puffing in his beard, he sighed; Fra Catalano, observing this, explained: 'The one impaled there you are looking at Is he who counseled the Pharisees to bend The expedient way, by letting one man be put To torture for the people. You see him stretch Naked across the path to feel the weight Of everyone who passes' and in this ditch, Trussed the same way, are racked his father-in-law And others of that council which was such A seed of evil for the Jews."(Canto XXIII. 106-118)

This encounter not only gives insight on the bibles most defining moment, but it also serves as another example of how the punishments of hell are fitting of the crime. The man mentioned above being crucified, is Caiaphas (the high priest at the time of Jesus's trial). At first I believed this quote to be an allusion to Pontius Pilate, but the excerpts, "by letting one man be put To torture for the people," and "his father-in-law And other of that council" made me change my mind. I found this out by looking up Jesus's trial in the Bible. Caiaphas according to scripture, advises a council of chief priests and Pharisees that it is expedient that "one man should die for the people [so that] the whole nation perish not" (John 11:50). This helped solidify my argument, but I was still not satisfied; I needed additional fortification, for I was still skeptical of what "and in this ditch, Trussed the same way, are racked his father-in-law And others of that council which was such A seed of evil for the Jews," meant. After some extensive research on Caiaphas (meaning a phone call to my dad) I found out that Caiaphas's father-in-law, Annas (My dad was unsure on the spelling) and other members of the council set out the crucifixion of Jesus. Knowing this, you then see the elaborate metephorical connections and how his punishment is annalogous to his crime. He was a hypocrite, preaching prudence but not showing it, so Dante notes that he resides in the Sixth circle; because he called for Christ's crucifixion, he himself lies crucified; and because his actions contributed to the suffering of one for the sins of many, he now is stretched "naked across the path to feel the weight of everyone who passes." This is true justice.

"Does have a place where you can cross at will. It was yesterday, five hours later than now, That the twelve hundred and sixty-sixth year fell." (Canto XXI. 109-111)

This quote, yet again alludes to the earthquake that happened when Christ died (mentioned two posts before this one). Based on these words, if I analyzed this passage correctly, the present day in the passage, is good Friday, or the day after Jesus died. If you look at the text, you can tell the exact time and date in which Dante narrated these events.