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The Inferno Canto V
The second circle of Hell is the true entrance to Hell. At the door, sits Minos. He judges those who wait to enter and sends them to their appropriate tier in Hell. This second tier is the eternal prison of carnal sinners, those who indulged irrationally in the lusts of the flesh. Their punishment is to be lashed and driven about by an unending fierce wind. In the ranks of the shadows are Dido, Helena, Achilles, Paris, Tristan, and Cleopatra. Dante calls two spirits who seem lighter than the rest to come to him. They are the lovers Francesca of Rimini and her lover Paolo. Francesca tells him their sweet story of earthy longing while Paolo weeps and Dante is overwhelmed by pity and faints.
