Commentary Inf XXIV 85-87

The serpents derive, as almost all commentators duly note, from the ninth book of Lucan's Pharsalia with its description of the Libyan desert, replete with them. They are all beyond the pale of any known zoology. For a catalogue of Lucanian serpentism see DDP Benvenuto.Inf.XXIV.85-90. For the texts see DDP Singleton.Inf.XXIV.86-87. And for Dante's knowledge of Lucan more generally see Paratore (Para.1965.2).