Dante's journey began when he found himself lost in the dark woods on a disturbing trip through Hell. There, in darkness and fear, Dante found himself in the presence of sinners who had transgressed divine laws; committing immoral acts. These sinners, in their desolation and despair, were destined to suffer eternal punishment that were designed to replicate the horrors of their sins. Dante claimed not to be the appropriate person for the journey. However after Virgil expressed disapproval of his lack of bravery and explained the reasons why he was the chosen one, Dante took heart in Virgil's clear statement and agreed to follow him. "For our own good, and I shall be your guide and lead you out though an eternal place where you will hear desperate cries, and see tormented shades, some old as hell itself, and know what second death is from their screams"" (Dante 1.113,117). The sufferers in Hell are not bad human beings, but they are not worthy of God either.
As Dante and Virgil descended down far from the top into Hell, they encountered the shades guilty of more severe sins, and these shades or souls perfectly represented a suitable fate of each circle of Hell. Their eternal suffering reflects their sins from their time before death, sins that were put in order according to the morals of the time. Dante Alighieri's own opinion was also shaped by the environment around him and political corruption. .
For Dante Alighieri, to be a traitor like Judas or Brutus was the worst sin of all. This was followed by fraud, which was one of the most distressing bad things that somebody could commit during this time period, due to the political instability. Lust was of lesser significance compared to the others. For this reason, the inferno is based mostly on social and political traditions of the time that are in conflict with religious beliefs. Violence was much more common, and a lot of it was political.