In canto XXVI of The Inferno in The Divine Comedy, Dante the Poet describes how Ulysses actions and faults were the cause of his ultimate damnation in hell. By putting himself in front of his crew, family, and Greek gods, he dismisses what is best for them in order to search for his own personal desires in his life. Closer reading reveals that it is Ulysses' curiosity that leads him to hell, and more importantly, is a resemblance of Dante the Pilgrim's own life, as he constantly struggles trying to find a purpose in this life. Therefore, Dante the Poet's vision of the nature of sin is not merely from one's deception toward another, but an addition of one's curiosity which leads them on their downward spiral into hell. In order for Virgil to satisfy the wishes of Dante the Pilgrim, he asks the flame of Ulysses about how he was sent into hell. Filling his request, Ulysses begins telling his story by starting off with his definitive goal saying, Neither my fondness for my son nor pity for my old father nor the love I owed Penelope, which would have gladdened her, was able to defeat in me the longing I had to gain experience of the world and of the vices and the worth of men. (XXVI. 94-99) From this quote, one can see Ulysses' curiosity to explore the world is not only more important than his own son, but exceeds the time he should be spending with his father, who may be lacking in years, with the addition to his commitment that he owes his wife through marriage. His desires have already began to cast a shadow over one of the most important aspects of a human, that of family, as well as taking over his soul longings in life, that of which Jay Ruud explains is a passion to seek out all that is virtuous and immoral in the world (527). By elaborating on what Ruud believes is Ulysses' ultimate desires on his quest, one can also see the purpose for why he began his travel is to gain awareness of the world in which no other man had ever had the knowledge. Following this, Ulysses not only did what he needed to do to continue on with his own desires, he swayed his crew so well, that he could hardly hold them back due to their new excitement in unraveling the mystery of the uninhabited earth. Levi compares this pursuit of ˜virtue and knowledge' to the virtue in which h