Dante
doesn't have much time for popes. At least for those who transgress what he regards as the
appropriate bounds of their authority. There are numerous pontiffs in Dante's vision of Hell,
cast down for a multitude of sins, and Anastasius II is one of them.
He was
pope in the late 5th century AD and during his pontificate tried to heal a schism or breach
between rival factions in the Church. In doing so, he agreed to meet with Photinus of
Thessalonica, who had been labelled as a heretic by Anastasius' predecessor as pope, Gelasius I.
The very idea of granting an audience to a confirmed heretic was considered scandalous to many
and Anastasius' reputation was seriously damaged as a result. He died shortly after his audience
with Photinus, but his name lived on in infamy, and he became the first pope in history not to
be made a saint. Dante's somewhat unfair treatment of Anastasius is further compounded by the
fact that most scholars think he got the pope confused with the Byzantine Emperor, Anastasius
I.
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