Minos was a judge in the underworld in Greek mythology and has a similar role in Dante's poem. Upon entering hell, souls go to see Minos in the second circle of hell and confess their sins. Minos wraps his monstrous tail around him a certain number of times, and this corresponds to the numbered circle of hell that the soul must go to.
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Minos Character Timeline in Inferno
The timeline below shows where the character Minos appears in Inferno. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Canto 5
...second circle of hell, where there is more suffering and screaming. Dante sees the monstrous Minos, the judge of the underworld in Greek mythology, judging and sentencing souls. When souls come...
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Minos sees the living Dante and stops him, but Virgil tells Minos that Dante is fated...
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Canto 13
...form. According to Pier, when someone commits suicide, his or her soul is sent by Minos to the seventh circle of hell. There, it falls somewhere in the forest, sprouts "like...
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Canto 27
...and one can only be repentant if one has sinned first. Once brought to hell, Minos sent Guido here to the eighth circle of hell, for his fraudulence and deceit. Having...
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