Ripheus
Encyclopedia
Ripheus was a Trojan
hero and the name of a figure from the Aeneid
of Virgil
. A comrade of Aeneas
, he was a Trojan who was killed defending his city against the Greeks
. "Ripheus also fell," Virgil writes, "uniquely the most just of all the Trojans, the most faithful preserver of equity; but the gods decided otherwise" (Virgil, Aeneid II, 532–3). Ripheus's righteousness was not rewarded by the gods.
suggests that the virtuous pagan
will receive either inspiration or an instructor from God
to achieve his conversion. In his Divine Comedy, Dante
placed Ripheus in Paradisio, in the sixth sphere of Jupiter
(Paradiso Canto XX:1–72), the realm of those who personified justice
(Cantos 18 through 20).
's Il Filostrato
(1333–1339), Ripheus is named as one of the Trojans taken prisoner by the Greeks (IV.3.).
. In it, Ripheo is mentioned as being unable to prevent Antenor from being taken prisoner (Tr IV.50–56). As Rupheo, he appears once, in final rhyming position (Tr IV.53).
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
hero and the name of a figure from the Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
of Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
. A comrade of Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
, he was a Trojan who was killed defending his city against the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
. "Ripheus also fell," Virgil writes, "uniquely the most just of all the Trojans, the most faithful preserver of equity; but the gods decided otherwise" (Virgil, Aeneid II, 532–3). Ripheus's righteousness was not rewarded by the gods.
Dante
In Paradiso Canto XX:73–148, St. Thomas AquinasThomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
suggests that the virtuous pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
will receive either inspiration or an instructor from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to achieve his conversion. In his Divine Comedy, Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
placed Ripheus in Paradisio, in the sixth sphere of Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
(Paradiso Canto XX:1–72), the realm of those who personified justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
(Cantos 18 through 20).
Boccaccio
In BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
's Il Filostrato
Il Filostrato
Il Filostrato is a poem by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio, and the inspiration for Geoffrey Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde and, through Chaucer, the Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida...
(1333–1339), Ripheus is named as one of the Trojans taken prisoner by the Greeks (IV.3.).
Chaucer
Il Filostrato served as the basis for Chaucer's Troilus and CriseydeTroilus and Criseyde
Troilus and Criseyde is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war in the Siege of Troy. It was composed using rime royale and probably completed during the mid 1380s. Many Chaucer scholars regard it...
. In it, Ripheo is mentioned as being unable to prevent Antenor from being taken prisoner (Tr IV.50–56). As Rupheo, he appears once, in final rhyming position (Tr IV.53).