Dante's Paradiso: A Visitor's Guide to Heaven

We’ve all heard about it, but what is Heaven, really? In this video, we explore Dante Alighieri’s Paradiso—the final part of The Divine Comedy—where he takes us on an epic journey through Heaven’s nine sacred spheres. A sequel to Inferno and Purgatorio, Paradiso is a breathtaking vision of the afterlife, filled with divine light, angelic beings, and deep spiritual revelations.

But what exactly happens in Dante’s Heaven? What are the Nine Spheres? And how does Dante’s vision compare to other ideas of the afterlife? Join me as I break down Dante’s journey through Heaven and explain the mystical and theological meanings behind Paradiso. It's going to get pretty strange!

I hope you enjoy this video, and thank you for 861K subscribers :)

H.

P.S. Helpful PSA: I've had to gloss over finer story beats within this video, so I have included a link to Paradiso below!

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:40 What is Dante's Paradiso?
02:02 Sphere I - The Moon
03:00 Sphere II - Mercury
03:55 Sphere III - Venus
04:55 Sphere IV - The Sun
05:48 Sphere V - Mars
07:01 Sphere VI - Jupiter
08:14 Sphere VII - Saturn
09:14 Sphere VIII - Fixed Stars
10:48 Sphere IX - Primum Mobile
12:11 The Empyrean
13:34 Conclusion
15:15 Outro


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Sources & Further Reading:

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Music & Footage:

In Pieces by Madison York
Via Epidemic Sound

Pandora's Box by Arthur Benson
Via Epidemic Sound

Mysterious Forest by Howard Harper-Barnes
Via Epidemic Sound

Partners in Crime by Christoffer Moe Ditevsen
Via Epidemic Sound

Quantum Mechanics by Silver Maple
Via Epidemic Sound

Sound of Saturn

Godsend by Johannes Bornlof
Via Epidemic Sound

From Another Universe by Christian Andersen
Via Epidemic Sound

At the End of Nothing by Silver Maple
Via Epidemic Sound

All stock footage via Pexels

#dantealighieri

[kovoc]

I love how everyone in the afterlife seems strangely obsessed with Italian politics.

[wuzfang]

Paradiso is literally, maybe the real Heaven is the friends we made along the way.

[RahamaLaham]

"The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways"
-An eagle made of human flesh.

[ChiEsp]

When the AU is so loved by the fandom than everyone thinks that is canon

[packagedyogurt]

Paradiso actually reveals something that is basically a plot twist, Beatrice reveals that the heavenly bodies are only a representation of what heaven looks like. Heaven isn’t the solar system but in order for Dante to comprehend the idea of a divine paradise Beatrice dumbs it down for him. Which can also mean that the hell and purgatory Dante saw are also only representations and not the actual thing

[neilerator]

That the city council of Florence formally revoked Dante's exile and that an asteroid was named fater Beatrice are just such wonderful examples of how humans care about art and make sense of their surroundings. That one work remains in generational conscience for such a long time that people still care about it and base decisions off of it, it felt heartwarming to me. Also, your videos just always succeed in getting me to relax. Thank you so much for your work!

[thecheeselord]

The real Paradiso is this video series
Love it

[xXyasabeXx]

“Ambition, no matter how noble is always tainted by desire of personal glory”

[elleng]

I had to method act for this one. I watched it in the dark with some bread, butter and cheese for a medieval snack

[sloppyjoe]

I love the real world science of the planets being casually mixed with the fantastic nature of the story.

[alcatrazvongola]

Dante: “This truly was a Divine Comedy, huh?”

[MichaelMaurice]

We asked and he responded. Thank you hochelaga!

[lore.keeper]

The last bit where Dante's exile is revoked and an asteroid is named after Beatrix is so touching and poetic, the perfect ending to this historical masterpiece of a trilogy

[yukiomishimafan]

Paradiso is the most surprising. It seems lonely, empty and weird and not like the bright, joyful, cloudy heaven modern Christians imagine

[ed-mt]

I was fortunate to find this Divine Comedy series 2 days ago so this dropped at the PERFECT time.

[yt-user]

Yo, I literally JUST finished Pugatoria, and hoping to see this video, I refreshed the videos tab and behold!!! "27min ago"!

[Fhrendo]

I love that you’ve been uploading more often, it’s been a *blessing* 😄

[paintedpig]

This was such a great collection of videos and it's nice to see all three parts given such effort! I'd love to see you do something like this for the 72 Demons of Ars Goetia

[alexanderevans_]

Milton's Paradise Lost/Regained next?

[kayvibesmusic]

I am so invested I saw inferno and I’ve been binge watching with pizza this is amazing