Electra, Hector, Aeneas
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I’ vidi Eletra con molti compagni, tra’ quai conobbi Ettòr ed Enea, Cesare armato con li occhi grifagni.
I saw Electra with many companions, among whom I recognized Hector and Aeneas, and Caesar in arms, with hawk-like eyes.
Dante sees Electra with many companions, among them Hector and Aeneas, and Caesar armed, with hawk-like eyes.
The Trojan-Roman line opens the parade. Electra is the mother of Dardanus, ancestor of Troy; Hector and Aeneas are its heroes; Caesar its heir, founder of the empire Dante revered.
The detail of Caesar's <i>occhi grifagni</i>, hawk-eyed, is vivid and slightly fierce — a warrior's keen, predatory gaze. Dante is threading the whole imperial myth, from Troy to Rome, through a single glance across the meadow, honoring the lineage he believed God had chosen to rule the world.
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Inferno 4.121 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/dante-inferno/4.121/