[Canto 17]
The beast Geryon is the guardian of the eigth circle. Geryon is sometimes identified as a death-demon with the tail of a scorpian but the face of an honest man. In Greek mythology he is described differently as a monster with one head, three bodies, and two arms and legs. His apperance was also that of a warrior. It is ironic that he has the face of an honest man but is in hell, this can suggest that he could be similar to Dante or that he liked him. The idea of the three different faces could suggest three different sins that all belong to one person.
[Canto 18]
Venedico Caccianemico, a noble Bolognese Guelph, was said to have been a procurer of his sister Ghisolabella to gain the favor of Obizzo II of Este, this being the reason he belongs in the eigth circle of hell. The greek hero Jason is also in this circle. It seems to be the pattern that noblemen and heros are in placed in hell.
[Canto 19]
In this canto the people are very curious who Dante is and Virgil tells him to lie to them. He is also confused for Pope Boniface who was Dante's political enemy. It is probably important for him to hide his identity because many of the people in this circle are people he had conflicts with.
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