Inferno

Inferno (Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Dante's Divine Comedy. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through what is largely the medieval concept of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine Circles of suffering located within the Earth. Allegorically, the Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul towards God, with the Inferno describing the recognition and rejection of sin.

In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, when seeing the center of the Shield World, Chief Petty Officer Mendez mentioned that it "reminds [him] of Dante's Inferno." Halsey corrected him that "Dante's hell was a series of descending rings," but was interrupted as the area shifted. Additionally, Halo 3: ODST has drawn some speculation that it was inspired by the poem. In it, the protagonist is guided through a metaphorical hell by Vergil, the city's Superintendent-class AI. Towards the end of the game, he descends to Sublevel 09 of the Data Center, where part of it has been frozen, similar to Cocytus, the frozen ninth level of hell.