Commentary Purg XXVII 94-99

It is now before dawn on Wednesday morning, the last day on the mountain, from which Dante will depart at noon.

      'Cytherea' is a proper noun formed from the epithet used of the 'maritime' Venus, the lustful goddess born of the spume of the sea near the island Cythera.  Dante here presents her as morning star, as she was seen at the opening of the cantica.  However, and as has been pointed out in recent years with increasing insistence, in 1300 Venus was the evening star at this period of the year, and the morning star only in 1301.  See the discussion in Vescovini [Vesc.2002.1], pp. 292, 300n., who resists the temptation to 'redate' the poem to 1301, believing that Dante is merely taking advantage of poetic license.  And see C.Purg.I.19-21.

      For the formulaic nature of Dante's preparation of his three dream narratives in Purgatorio see Hollander (Holl.1969.1), p. 149.  All the dreams are preceded by 'an astronomical reference to the hour of the morning at which the dream occurs' and then by the distinct vocabulary of dream vision, as in the second of these tercets: 'in sogno mi parea / donna vedere' (in a dream I seemed to see a lady).