Commentary Purg XXIII 25-30

The first reference is to Ovid's narrative concerning Erysichthon, who, having cut down trees in a sacred grove, was driven by its offended deity, Ceres, into boundless appetite that only ended when he engorged his own flesh (Metam. VIII.738-878).  The second, as was noted by several of the early commentators, is to an incident recorded in the sixth book of Josephus's De bello judaico (Concerning the Jewish War) in which a young woman named Mary, during the general starvation brought about by Titus's siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, killed, cooked, and ate her infant son.  Benvenuto (DDP Benvenuto.Purg.XXIII.28-30) contrasts the actions of this cruel Mary with those of that other Mary, who watched as her son, Jesus, was crucified.  For an English translation of the episode in Josephus's account see DDP Longfellow.Purg.XXIII.30.  It is noteworthy that the poet explicitly adds exemplars to those 'found' on the seven terraces.  It is further noteworthy that he underlines the uniqueness of the gesture by having the first of the two added in his voice as poet, while the second is reported as his association at the time, back there upon the mountain.  The protagonist thinks of Mary's fellow Hebrews (and not of her, since she had eaten) as being identically stricken as are these penitents, while the poet thinks of the starved aspect of Ovid's self-ingester.  While Mary's fellow citizens are not necessarily guilty of anything, they may (or may not) be meant to be associated with her horrific act of impiety; Erysichthon, on the other hand, has his consuming hunger thrust upon him because of an impious act.  Both references are, however, to 'tragedies,' whether of the Jews who lost their holy city or of Erysichthon, who lost his life.  These penitents, however, are on the verge of entering the New Jerusalem.  Thus Dante's associations move back to their sinful days on earth, leaving only latent their better endings.

      For an interpretation of Ovid's tale as a parable, suggesting that the body should be read as indicating the condition of the soul, see Stephany (Step.1991.2), who begins by pointing out that Dante's penitents resemble not Erysichthon so much as the personified figure of hunger (Fames) in Ovid's story.  Stephany is perhaps the only scholar who has treated the passage to deal with the change in Dantean point of view noted above; in his understanding, the poet's and the protagonist's associations are potentially at odds.