Dante Alighieri's poem The Divine Comedy is arguably the most comprehensive and vivid imagining of a Christian afterlife committed to paper since the Bible. Dante's verses, written at the center of the Christian world in 14th century Italy, have remained etched in our cultural memory for 700 years. Few other texts have captured such an expansive conception of the psychological, moral, and spiritual practices of people's lives as they wend their way through the circles of the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

Images used by permission:
Columbia University: Digital Dante Project