Canto XXVI opens with a passionate address to Dante's native Florence, saying that there are so many Florentines populating Hell because of the terrible actions of its citizens. Dante prophesizes that a day of mourning will come to Florence, and not a day too soon.
The poets move on to the eighth chasm where Dante sees thousands of little flames, reminding him of fireflies on a hillside. He leans so far forward on the ledge of the bridge that he almost falls into the chasm. Virgil says that each of the flames contains a sinner, which is hidden from view by the fire surrounding it. These are the Evil Counselors, people that used their power and their intellect for evil. Dante remarks that he already figured out that each flame contained a sinner, and that he wishes to speak with a great flame that splits away into two horns of fire. This two-pronged flame conceals Ulysses and Diomede, who are in Hell because of three evil deeds: the ambush of the Trojan Horse; the weeping of Deidamia, the King's daughter whom Achilles abandoned; and the matter of the theft of Pallas Athena's statue at the Palladium. Because Dante is Italian, Virgil suggests that he speak with them instead, because they are Greek and may scorn Dante's manner of speaking.
Virgil speaks to the flame and Ulysses, who makes up the larger part of the flame, begins to tell the story of his death. He had wanderlust and convinced a few of his friends to take a long journey with him. They sailed for five months beyond Hercules' Pillars and came to a giant mountain. As they sailed towards it, a storm broke and sunk the ship.
