The Seven Deadly Sins: History
Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604)
introduced the Seven Deadly Sins
They were initially known as the Seven
Capital Sins
This meant that these were root sins—sinful
tendencies that lead to sinful actions.
Dante envisioned the punishment of sinful
deeds in the Inferno, but focuses on the
elimination of sinful tendencies in the
Purgatorio.