Fraud

Fraud
Circle Number	8
Boss	None
Creatures	Malacoda; All creatures from each circle
Locations	Malebolge
Host	Thais
Prev. Circle	Violence
Next Circle	Treachery

"Ten ditches leading down the final circle. Each filled with its own crimes, its own forms of punishment." -Thais

Fraud was the eighth Circle of Hell.

Overview

"I live in shame, a whore awash in sewage. I confess I teased and seduced hundreds, led them to sin for my own gains. But I am just one of many who suffer here in the Malebolge." -Thais

The Circle of Fraud was an extremely dark place that held those who are guilty of deliberate, knowing evil and those who used lies and deception for personal gain. This circle was divided into ten bolge (Singular bolgia, Italian for "Ditches"), each holding a different type of liar and each had a different, but fitting form of punishment. Dante is confronted by Beatrice who was the Queen of Hell who forces him first to confront the demon that was called the Malacoda and survive the Malebolge, hoping that the Crusader will fail as retribution for her own damnation.

In the game, this circle was also home to every single demon and monster that appeared in the previous circles. Each step down in Fraud featured a small arena which the player will have to fight through the creatures of Hell. These fights are timed trials which Dante will have to pass in order to survive the level and avoid being plunged to his death. The player can also gain a bonus of souls for completing a Bonus Challenge in addition to the timed trials.

The Malebolge

The ten ditches of the Malebolge are described as followed:

1. Panderers and Seducers: "The panderers and seducers will spend eternity beaten, prodded and whipped by Lucifer's lieutenants."
2. Flatters: "My brethren in the Malebolge, we flounder in sewage and waste."
3. Simony: "Sellers of favors, crimes against the Church. They are trapped in baptismal baths, their feet eternally in flames."
4. Diviners: "The fortune tellers should have known that they could not see with the eyes of God. They walked with their heads backwards, their eyes awash in tears."
5. Grafters: "Great, winged demons tended to the grafters who stole and embezzled in life. They are thrown into the deep and vile pits."
6. Hypocrites: "The cloaks of the hypocrites appeared regal and noble and yet worn as punishment, each lined with crippling lead."
7. Thieves: "The thieves are held and bitten by the serpents. The venom burns them to ash only so they may reform and suffer again."
8. Evil Counselors: "The evil advisers who used their forked-tongues for counsel serving their own ends. They stood ablaze."
9. Sowers of Discord: "They held their heads and innards, the chaos that they caused in life, cast upon them in death."
10. Falsifiers: "All thoughts of pain and suffering fell upon the falsifiers. Hear their wailing and be warned."

Trivia

• In the Divine Comedy, Dante and Virgil encountered many famous figures from history and myth in each bolgia:
  • In the Panderers and Seducers Bolgia, Dante encounters Venedico Caccianemico and the Greek hero named Jason.
  • In the Flatters Bolgia, Dante encounters Alessio Interminelli of Lucca and Thais the Harlot.
  • In the Simony Bolgia, Dante encounters Pope Nicholas III who hints that he will later be joined in Hell by the other two Popes including the one who sentenced Dante to exile.
  • In the Diviners Bolgia, Dante encounters Amphiaraus, Tiresias, Tiresias' daughter named Manto, Aruns, Michael Scot, Asdente the Shoemaker and Guido Bonatti.
  • The Grafters Bolgia is guarded by the Malebranche ("Evil Claws", a group of demonic creatures) led by Malacoda. The grafters were forced into large pits of burning tar, reminiscent of their "Sticky fingers" in life, though none are explicitly named.
  • In the Hypocrites Bolgia, Dante encounters Catalano dei Malavolti, Loderingo degli Andalo and Caiaphas (The high priest who condemned Christ to death).
  • The Thieves Bolgia is guarded by Cacus the Centaur who has a fire-breathing dragon on his shoulder. Some notable thieves are included in the passage such as Vanni Fucci, Agnello Brunelleschi, Cianfa Donati, Buoso Donati/Buoso degli Abati and Francesco de Cavalcanti.
  • In the Evil Counselors Bolgia, Dante encounters Ulysses (Odysseus) and Diomedes who are condemned here for their role in the Trojan War and the creation of the Trojan Horse. Guido da Montefeltro is also seen here.
  • In the Sowers of Discord Bolgia, a sword-wielding demon hacks away at the Sowers of Discord, symbolizing how these sinners divided people and nations. They are not killed, but instead traveled back in a circle to the demon which their bodies fully regenerated. Then are hacked to pieces all over again. Dante encounters Muhammad, Muhammad's son-in-law Ali and Bertran de Born.
  • In the Falsifiers Bolgia, Potifar's wife named Zuleikha and the Greek spy named Sinon are mentioned to be here as well as Myrrha. Sinon is here instead of the Evil Counselors Bolgia because his advice was false as well as evil.
• It is interesting to note that you never got to see any of the souls condemned to the Malebolge that are suffering from their respective punishment. All of that you got is a statue showing what the sinner's condemnation is on the side of the arena above each ditch. The screams can be heard coming up from the inky darkness below each arena.
• Fraud is unrelated to Divine Love or a corrupted virtuous desire. Hence, it is placed lower in Hell by Dante. However, Fraud can be said to be a natural consequence of the Deadly Sins (Upon which Circles 2 through 5 are based).
• Fraud in it's own right is wasteful to Life itself. It is more serious than the other previous sins due to the sinners' assumption of being able to corrupt and manipulate God's creations for evil gain. As such, the Fraudulent are committing a form of hubris against God and are placed among the lowest circles (Violence, Treachery) which shared in this form of power-assumption.

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