Is This What Heaven Looks Like?
A guide to Dante's Paradiso
So far we’ve covered Dante’s 9 levels of Hell and Purgatory… but what does Dante’s Heaven look like?
Paradiso, the third and final part of his Divine Comedy, is a fascinating trip not just through Heaven, but through the entire cosmos. And even more than an exploration of the divine, it’s a metaphorical representation of the soul's ascension toward God.
So here are the 9 spheres of paradise, what they can teach you about your own spiritual journey, and what lies at the very heart of heaven itself…
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The Map of Heaven
Departing from the Garden of Eden with Beatrice as his guide, Dante travels to the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, the Primum Mobile, and the Empyrean.
Dante’s heaven is full of intricate cosmology, drawing from Ptolemaic astronomy and Christian theology. Each celestial sphere represents a different level of blessedness and virtue.
But the hierarchies of heaven don’t mean that some souls are more loved than others — while Dante meets specific souls on specific spheres, he makes sure to point out that they are all also present in the highest heaven (the Empyrean), where God dwells.
The only differentiating factor between souls is the degree to which they are able to “sense the Eternal Spirit”.
First Sphere: The Moon
The first celestial sphere Dante and Beatrice visit is that of the Moon, where they encounter souls who failed to keep their vows in life. Keeping one’s vows is a big deal, since free will was God's greatest gift to Man — failing to reciprocate this gift lands you at the outermost sphere.
Put differently, they loved the Good (God), but were inconsistent in the courage and fortitude that would have enabled them to fully express their love for it.
It’s here that Dante meets Piccarda Donati, a Florentine noblewoman who explains how she was forced to break her vow of chastity. She still ended up in heaven, however, as an eternal testament to God’s love and mercy.
Piccarda, like the other souls on the moon, radiates a gentle, reflected light, symbolic of faithfulness despite her earthly shortcomings.
Second Sphere: Mercury
In the sphere of Mercury, Dante meets souls who were driven by ambition for earthly fame and honor. Their actions were good, but tainted by their desire for recognition. Souls are enveloped in a brilliant, quicksilver light — a reflection of their active pursuit of virtue.
Here, Dante converses with Roman Emperor Justinian, who tells tales of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and his own efforts to bring justice and order to Rome.
Why is Justinian here? Because although he established a new age of Roman law and order, he did it to bolster his own legacy.
Third Sphere: Venus
The sphere of Venus is where Dante finds the souls of those marked by love, both earthly and divine — those who did good things but chased sinful urges while doing so. They glow with a soft, rosy light, symbolizing their passion and affection.
Among them is Charles Martel, titular King of Hungary and someone Dante actually knew in real life. Although a skilled military leader, he was tempted by a forbidden love affair.
Together, they discuss the requisites of a functioning society, the influence of the stars on human disposition, and the importance of divine love in guiding one’s life.
Fourth Sphere: The Sun
In the radiant sphere of the Sun, Dante encounters the great theologians and scholars whose wisdom illuminated the minds of men. This sphere is characterized by its intense brilliance — a reflection of the divine wisdom these people imparted.
Thomas Aquinas appears as a beam of light, since he illuminated humanity intellectually, and so does King Solomon, Boethius, and St. Bonaventure. In life, Bonaventure was a friendly rival of Aquinas, belonging to a different Catholic order. Here, they’re forever joined in camaraderie.
Dante then ascends into the fifth tier — where he’s suddenly overwhelmed by a magnificent light.
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