Person
Name: Veglio di Creta
Alternate Name: Old Man of Crete
Nature: mythical
Gender: male
Description: Dante's invention, the statue, which is located under Mt. Ida on the island of Crete, symbolizes the progressive stages of humankind from the golden age to the iron age. The tears which flow down the crack in its body represent the suffering of humanity, which form in turn the four rivers of Hell. Dante's chief sources for the statue are Ovid's account of the stages of man in the Metamorphoses and Nebuchadnezzar's dream in the Bible.
Associated Locations:
Images:
Flaxman, John
