- "This is the fourth circle - Greed. All of the Earth's treasure that is beneath the Moon, or ever was, cannot give relief to these weary souls. For the crime of Greed do these souls suffer. Those clerks asquint of mind made no measured spending in life. And by contrast, in these Popes and Cardinals, greed practiced its excess."
- —Oracle, about Greed
Greed is the fourth Circle of Hell below Gluttony. Those whose attitude toward material goods deviated from the appropriate mean are punished, including avarice, who hoarded possessions, and the prodigal, who squandered them. Within the circle are occupants who are boiled alive in molten gold below, condemned for hoarding too closely or spending too freely with riches. Here Plutus, God of Wealth resides, along with Lady Fortune.
Overview[]
Greed is mechanical in nature compared to the previous circles. Within the circle are occupants who are boiled alive in molten gold below, condemned for hoarding too closely or spending too freely with riches. It is described as the "factory of torture".