Dante and Virgil in Hell by William Bouguerau (1850)After seeing Dante and Virgil in Hell by William Bouguerau, I began a quest to acquire greater understanding the religious meaning of life, and especially more meaning to my life. Bouguerau's powerful portrayal initially left me intrigued about Dante's Divine Comedy. I read Dante with fascination and a burning desire to learn more about Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. Like an exasperating and irresistible puzzle, I puzzle over these great religions and am left with more questions than answers. I feel like I could never gain total knowledge of God, but I thirst for as much knowledge about “him” as can be revealed, in an effort to enrich my life. I first saw William Bouguerau's Dante and Virgil in Hell, while doing a Google image search to include in a hate email to an ex-boyfriend. Studying the captivating images of two powerful men tearing each other apart in a life-or-death battle, I experienced what I will call an epiphany. It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly how this happened. I started thinking about the problems in the Middle East. The war in Iraq, the fighting in Israel and Lebanon, the continuing hostilities in Afghanistan, the bombing of the World Trade Center, made me think of the death, misery and suffering caused by powerful men who fight. It didn't make sense to me. I was inextricably attracted to reading the book written by Dante, the Divine Comedy, for which this picture was painted. Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy in 1306. Essentially, the book is about Dante Pellegrino who had not lived a particularly pious life. Beatrice, Dante's late fiancée, asks the Virgin Mary to help him see his mistakes. Mary accepts and Dante is sent on a tour through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. At first he is spiritually lost. His guide through Hell and Purgatory is Virgil (pictured above). In Hell you encounter various sinners: the violent, the ruffians, the simoniacs, the soothsayers, the soothsayers, the hypocrites, the thieves, the evil counselors, the sowers of discord, the counterfeiters, the traitors and the gluttons. Dante learns to despise sin. Beatrice takes him to heaven where he is presented to God by St.