The Three Shades standing on top the Gates are 98 cm high. The larger-than-life-size group was initially made of three independent figures. Later on, Rodin replaced one hand in the figures to fuse them together, the same as in the smaller version (below.) The figures originally pointed to the phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate” (“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”) from Canto III of the Inferno.