Dante portrays Purgatory as an island-mountain in the Southern Hemisphere. This realm is divided into three parts. The bottom slopes of Mount Purgatory (Purgatorio I–IX) have been designated as "Ante-Purgatory" by commentators. Purgatory proper consists of seven levels or terraces (Purgatorio X–XXVII) of suffering and spiritual growth, associated with the seven deadly sins. Finally, the Earthly Paradise is located at the top of the mountain (Purgatorio XXVIII–XXXIII).
Passage of time
As described in the Inferno, the first twenty-four hours of Dante's journey took place on earth and started on the evening of Maundy Thursday, 24 March (or 7 April) 1300 (Inf. I and II), and the next full day (Good Friday) was spent exploring the depths of Hell with Virgil as a guide (Inf. III–XXXIV.69). Dante and Virgil spent the next day ascending from Hell to see the stars (Inf. XXXIV.70–139). They arrive at the shore of the Mountain of Purgatory – the only land in the Southern Hemisphere – at 6 am on Easter Sunday,[2] which is 6 pm on Sunday in Jerusalem, since the two points are antipodal. Dante describes Hell as existing underneath Jerusalem, having been created by the impact of Lucifer's fall; the Mountain of Purgatory was created by a displacement of rock caused by the same event.[3] The Purgatorio picks up where the Inferno left off, describing Dante's three-and-one-quarter-day trip up the mountain that ends with Dante in the Earthly Paradise at the time of noon on Wednesday, March 30 (or April 13).
Prayer
Prayer is a dominant theme in Purgatorio. Many of the souls Dante meets are depicted in prayer, with multiple liturgical references to psalms and hymns throughout the terraces.[4] Prayers by the living on behalf of the souls also play a large role in the cantica, with some souls the pilgrim meets along the way requesting prayers from living relatives and even from the pilgrim himself.[5] Dante learns from Manfred of Sicily in Ante-Purgatory that, in Purgatory, prayers from others work by shortening the wait that souls have to endure before entering Purgatory proper and by accelerating the rate at which souls ascend Mount Purgatory.[6] One soul, Forese Donati, has gotten through Ante-Purgatory and the majority of the terraces only five years after his death, because of the prayers of his wife, Nella, on Earth.[7] Forese's case, especially when compared to that of Statius, who has spent over 500 years on Mount Purgatory,[8] shows the power of prayer to aid souls after death.[5] Dante receives eleven distinct requests for prayer from individual souls in Purgatory, with most of the requests coming from souls in Ante-Purgatory and with the frequency of requests decreasing as he progresses through Purgatory.[5]
