The Seventh Ring is dedicated to the sin of violence. Within this ring, Alighieri chose to break it up into three specific categories with three different punishments:

1) Those who commited violence against their neighbors (War Mongers) are cast into the Phlegethon, a boiling river of blood.

2) Those who commited violence toward ones self (Suicides) are cast into the Forest of Suicides.

3) And those commited violence toward God (Blasphemers and Sodomites) are banished to the Burning Plains, a desert of raining fire.

 


When we think of "war mongers", I'm willing to predict that your immediate thoughts go toward the military, soldiers, generals, etc.  But if you take a second to think about it, you'll quickly realize that the root of war isn't about those who fight these battles. Rather, it’s the politicians who instigate these conflicts. The most recent Iraq War was very much George W. Bush's, while Desert Storm was George Bush Sr's.

When I think of politics, I think of Americas two major political parties: The Republicans (whose mascot is the Elephant) and the Democrats (whose mascot is the Donkey)

Alighieri chose to immerse his warmongers in the Phlegethon, a boiling river of blood (the blood being sourced from the sinners victims). So, for this section of hell, I chose to stock the Phlegethon with Elephants and Donkeys.


"The Forest of Suicides"
Those who commit the sin of suicide are reincarnated in the Inferno as a tree in the "Forest of Suicides".

Unique among the dead, the suicides will not be bodily resurrected, having given away their original bodies through suicide.

I chose deer for the Forest due to the branch like appearance of their antlers. The suicidal quality of the "deer in the headlights" reaction also makes them the ideal fodder for my Forest of Suicides


"The Burning Plains"
Dante's Blasphemers and Sodomites are cursed to reside in a desert of flaming sand while fire rains down from the sky.
When considering the ideal metaphor as a resident of this section of hell, folklore suggests that the fox is a tricky, untrustworthy, creature. The color pink is often associated with femininity and homosexuality. Therefore a pink fox is the perfect blasphemous sodomite.