As noted in the last commentary, this is the introduction to the Inferno. In later parts, the Purgatorio and the Paradiso, Dante will invoke Christian deities to help him, but here he does not invoke them concerning Hell. Instead, he turns to the classical Muses, to Genius, and to Memory.
In his short invocation, he mentions two others who have gone before him, Aeneas and St. Paul. They represent Dante’s two great concerns: the papacy and the empire. This preoccupation with the papacy and the empire will continue throughout the entire Inferno.
Note that the name of the Virgin Mary is by periphrasis—that is, her name is never mentioned directly. Neither will the name of Jesus ever be mentioned in this unholy place—only by allusion. And while Beatrice is mentioned in Line 103, she is never mentioned by name again.
