The Guilt of Dido

14 Pages·2011·1.13 MB·English

Unmarried Dido: Aeneid 4.550-52
Author(s): Christopher Nappa
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Hermes, 135. Jahrg., H. 3 (2007), pp. 301-313
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
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UNMARRIED DIDO: AENEID 4.550-52
"UnhappyD ido" is perhapst hem ostd ebatedf igurien theA eneida fterA eneas
himselfb, utt hei mmediatcea uses of heru nhappinesasr e no mysteryH.a vinge s-
caped herm urderoubsr othearn d foundedw hatl ookst o be a greatc ityi nA frica,
she fallsd esperatelyfo ra manw hosed estinyc alls hime lsewheree, ven as hers
keepsh erw heres he is. Her resistancteo theo nseto f passiond oes no good at all,
and she findsh erselft hes ubjecto f gossipa mongh erc itizensM. oreoverb, egin-
ningt hea ffairw ithA eneash as meantb reakingh erv ow to herd eceasedh usband
Sychaeus.I n thee nd,s he killsh erselfa nd damnsA eneas and his descendanttso
eternael nmityw ithC arthage.
Scholarlyd ebateo n Dido focuseso n severali nterrelateisds ues1,o f whicht he
mostc ontentiouiss perhapst heq uestiono f guilt.T hati s, does Dido deservea ny
blamef ort he" marriagew" ithA eneas and itsc onsequences2-i f noti n oure yes
theni nV ergil'so r thoseo fh iso riginaal udience?T hisc an,o fc ourse,b e extended
to theg reaterd ebateso n them issiono fA eneasi n general3S. imilarlyt,h ec onnec-
tionb etweenV ergil'sD ido and Romanh istoryh as been exploredb otha s a way
of locatingt hec haracterag ainstt heb ackdropo f Romanr elationsw ithC arthage
1T he scholarlyli teraturoen Dido is predictablyab undantI. have triedt o keep citationt o a rea-
sonable minimuma; ccordinglyt,h eb ibliographyto thisa rticlei s representativrea thert hanc om-
plete. For recento verviewso f approachesa nd problems,s ee N. M. Horsfall, A Companiont o
theS tudyo f Virgil,L eiden, 1996, 123-34,a nd S. Spence,V ariume t mutabile:V oices ofA uthority
in Aeneid4 , in C. Perkell, ed., ReadingV ergil'sA eneid:A n InterpretivGe uide, Norman,O kla.,
1999, 80-95 and 317-19. A usefula nd comprehensivter eatmenotf ther ole of Dido in theA eneid
is R. C. Monti,T he Dido Episode and theA eneid:R oman Social and PoliticalV alues in theE pic,
Leiden, 1981; his accounti s particularlyus efulo n thep oliticals ide of Dido and herr elationship
withA eneas. For a usefull ook at the complexityo f Vergil'sD ido as parto f the dynamicc om-
plexityo f Augustanl iteraturaen d culture,s ee K. Galinsky,A ugustanC ulture:A n Interpretive
IntroductionP,r inceton1, 996, 229-31.
2 N. Rudd, Lines of EnquiryC, ambridge,1 976, 32-53 is a perceptives tudyo f thec oncepto f
guilta s it applies to Dido. Related to thisq uestioni s whethert her elationshipb etweenD ido and
Aeneas can be regardeda s a legitimatem arriageb y Roman standardsJ. .L . Moles, Aristotlea nd
Dido's Hamartia,G &R 31, 1984, 48-54 uses Aristotle'sc onceptiono f tragedyt o analyze Dido's
culpa withp articularr eferencteo Aen. 4.165-72.
3 See C. G. Perkell, On Creusa, Dido, and theQ ualityo f Victoryi n Virgil'sA eneid,i n H. P.
Foley, ed., Reflectionso f Womeni n AntiquityN, ew York, 1981, 355-77; Perkell uses the Dido
episode (along witht heC reusa episode) to exploret heq uestiono f pietas and its potentialt o de-
humanize.F or thep osition,i n myv iew too extremet, hatt heD ido episode is designedt o call into
questiont hev alue and ethicso f Aeneas' mission,s ee S. Farron, The Aeneas-Dido Episode as an
Attacko n Aeneas' Mission and Rome, G&R 27, 1980, 34-47.
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302 ChristopheNr appa
and theN earE ast,a s well as a way of determinintgh eo riginala udience'sl ikely
responset o heri n theA eneid*C. riticsa lso continuet o debatet hee xtentt o which
herp arti n theA eneido wes to earlierG reeka nd Latins ourcesa s well as thew ay
theV ergilianD ido is theb asis forn umeroulsa terD idos in antiquityan db eyond5.
Finallyt, hea ffinitieosf V ergil'sD ido narrativwe itht ragicd ramar emaina n active
andf ruitfuarl eao fr esearch6In. thep resendt iscussionI willt ryo nlyt o adumbrate
Dido's characteirn one respectw, ithouatt temptintgo addresst hel argerq uestion
of herg uilto r of thei mplicationosf hers toryf ora readingo f theA eneida s a
whole:D ido is infelix",u nhappy"b, ecauseo fw hats hed oes and suffersb,u tw hat
one does and suffercso mes at least in partf romw ithinI.n whatf ollows,I will
exploret hei mplicationosf a debatedp hrase( moref erae4 .551) fort hec haracter
of Dido and outlineb, rieflya, f ewo f thew aysi n whicht hisu nderstandinogf her
charactecra n illuminathe err olei n thep oem.T he phrasei n questioni s designed,
I will argue,t o suggesta numbero f differenrte adingso f Dido's behaviora nd
ultimateltyo evokea t thisj uncturein thep oema seto f imagesa nd allusionst hat
consistentlays sociateD ido witht hew ild,u ncivilizedw orld- a worldt hatd iffers
sharplyf romb otht heC arthaget hats he has triedt o createa nd thef uturRe ome
thatg overnsA eneas' destiny.
The passagei n question:
'non licuitt halamei xpertemsi nec rimineu itam
degerem oref erae,t alisn ee tangerec uras;
nons eruataf idesc inerip romissaS ychaeo'.
[Aeneid4 .550-52]7
4 See N. M. Horsfall, Dido in the Lighto f HistoryP, VS 13, 1973-74, 1-13 and R. Hexter,
Sidonian Dido, in R. Hexter and D. Selden, eds., Innovationso f AntiquityN, ew York, 1992,
332-84.
5 On thel iteraryo riginso f theD ido storys ee Horsfall (n. 4 above) and Hexter (n. 4 above)
336-40. RecentlyD, . Nelis, Vergil'sA eneid and theA rgonauticao f ApolloniusR hodius,L eeds,
2001, 125-85e xplorest hec onnectionb etweenV ergil'sD ido and Apollonius'A rgonauticaa s does
N. Krevans, Dido, Hypsipyle,a nd the Bedclothes,H ermathena1 73-174, 2003-04, 175-83. M.
Desmond,R eading Dido: Gender,T extualitya,n d the Medieval Aeneid,M inneapolis,1 994 and
J.W atkins,T he Spectero f Dido: Spensera nd VirgilianE pic, New Haven, 1995 botht racep ost-
classical incarnationosf Dido and hers tory.
6 See mostr ecentlyS pence (n. 1 above) 85-90 and V. Panoussi,V ergil'sA jax: Allusion,T ra-
gedy,a nd Heroic Identityin theA eneid,C A 21, 2002, 95-134 (withu sefulb ibliographyat 95 n.
1). Rudd (n. 2 above) and Moles (n. 2 above) are particularlyin terestedin Aristotelianid eas of
hamartiaa nd thet ragic.S ee also A. Wlosok, VergilsD idotragodie:E in Beitragz um Problemd es
Tragischeni n der Aeneis, in H. Gorgemannsa nd E. Schmidt,e ds., Studienz um antikenE pos,
Meisenheima m Glan, 1976, 228-50; W. Clausen, Virgil'sA eneida nd theT raditiono f Hellenistic
PoetryB, erkeleya nd Los Angeles, 1987, 53-60; and E. L. Harrison,T he Tragedyo f Dido, EMC
33, 1989, 1-21.
7 Citationsa re fromM ynors' Oxfordt ext;a ll translationasr e myo wn.
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UnmarrieDd ido: Aeneid4 .550-52 303
The odd statemenatb ove has puzzledV ergil'sr eadersa, nd whilec ommentators
have sometimese xplainedt he lines to theiro wn satisfactionD,i do's meaning
herer emainss omewhatm urkyO. n thef ace of it,D ido woulds eem to complain
thats heh as notb eena llowedt o live herl ifew ithoumt arriagel,i kea wilda nimal,
therebyes capingt hep ainfusl ituationin whichs he has twicef oundh erselfo,n ce
whenh erh usbandS ychaeusw as murderedn,o w againw henh erl overA eneas is
preparintgo departi n ordert o fulfial destinyt hatd oes noti ncludeh er.C ontro-
versyh as centeredon thep hrasem oref erae,a ndw hilea ll majorc ommentatoorns
thesev ersest endt owards imilarc onclusionsa, re-evaluatioins in orderA. clearer
understandinogf Dido's wordsa nd theiri ntertextuaasls ociationsw ill shedl ight
on herc haractearn d fate.
It is of courset ruet hata nyt extm ayr eceived ifferenbtu tc omplementariyn -
terpretationbsu,t i n thec ase of Dido's complainth erei t is especiallyl ikelyt hat
thel inesc annotb e pinnedd ownt o onlyo ne set of associationsA. s Book 4 pro-
gressesD, ido becomesi ncreasingliyr rationaaln, da nyonew how ishest o interpret
hers tatemenhte res houldr ealizet hats he herselfm ayn otc ompletelyu nderstand
whats he is sayingT. hus,e veni n tryintgo decideb etweent hei nterpretatiotnhsa t
scholarsh ave offeredw, e will have to realizet hatd ifferenmt emberso f Vergil's
audiencew ill have understoodD ido to mean differentth ingsT. hese different
meaningsI, thinkl,i e alonga spectrumw ell definedb y commentatorbse ginning
withQ uintilianD. ido can legitimatelbye understootdo say "I was nota llowedt o
remainu nmarriedp,e riod"( animalsd o notm arry)o,r "I was nota llowedt o go on
as an honorablew idow"( as even some animalsd o), or even "I was nota llowed
to live withc ompletef reedomf roms ocial constraint(a"n imalsd o noth ave social
constraints).
All oft hesei nterpretatioonfst hep assages peako nlyt ot heq uestiono fw hatt he
characteDr ido is herselft ryingto say,b utb eyondt hatq uestiont herei s another.
As studentosf n arratologhya ver ecognizeda, speechd eliveredb ya charactecra n
arise fromt wo separate,e ven contradictormy,o tives:t hato f the speakingc ha-
racterw ithint hen arrativaen d thato f then arratowr ho standso utsidei t8.T hus
Dido triest o conveys omethintgo A nna,b utV ergilm ayu se herw ordst o convey
all sortso f messagest o his audience.I n otherw ords,w hethewr e accepto r reject
thei deas of anyg ivenc ommentatoarb outA eneid4 .550-52,w e are stilld ealing
onlyw ithw hatD ido is tryintgo sayt oA nna,n otw ithw hatV ergili s tryintgo say
to us. Afterr eviewingw hatd ifferenstc holarsh ave thoughDt ido was tryingto
geta t in thesel ines,I willt urnt o theq uestiono f whyV ergilh as hers ay whats he
does.
8 See I. de Jong,A NarratologicalC ommentaryo n the Odyssey,C ambridge,2 001, xii (s.v.
"'argument'f unction")x, iii-xiv( s.v. "embeddedn arrative")a, nd xv (s.v. "'key' function"w) ith
referencesT. hese termsh ave been developedt o talka bout storiese mbeddedi n largern arratives,
butt heb asic premisea pplies to non-narrativsep eech as well.
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304 ChristopheNr appa
Commentatorhsa ve offereda varietyo f suggestionfs ort he meaningo f the
phrasem oref erae9.Q uintilian(9 .2.64) takes Dido to mean thats he longs for
a lifet hati s withoutm arriagea,n d thus,a s she sees it, like thato f animalsr a-
thert hanh umanb eings10U. nfortunatelQyu,i ntilia'ns commentasr e themselves
controversial1a1n,d he has been made to say severald ifferentth ingsb y critics
citingh imi n supporto f theiro wn views.S erviusc laimst hatm oref eraer eferts o
monogamousd evotione, ven aftert hed eatho f thes pouse;h is evidencef ort his
odd claimi s thel ynx12c,e rtainlya/ era,b utn oto therwispe ertinentto ourt ext13.
Forbigert akest hep hraset o meant hatD ido suggestst hats he shouldh ave lived
like a beast,n ota humanb eing,s o thats he mighth ave resistedt hej oys of love
and marriage1a4n d thus( presumablya)v oidedt hep aino f losingt hemS. imilarly,
forH eyne and Conington-NettleshiDpi,d o's phrasei ndicateso nly thats he is
imaginingth eu ncivilizedw orldt hatl acksb othh umani nstitutionsus cha s marri-
age and,a ccordinglyt,h es ufferinagn d anguisht heym aye ntail15H. enrys ees in
moref erae a referencteo innocencea, nd along thes ame lines,P age sees in the
lifeo f a beasta referencne ott o brutalitbyu tt o "simple,u ntrainedu,n corrupted
nature. . ,"16P. ease, followingO gle17,t akest hep assaget o meant hatD ido "now
9 The major nineteentha-n d twentieth-centucroym mentatorasr e addressedb elow. For good
surveyso f opinionsu p throught he firstt hirdo f the twentiethce nturys,e e C. Buscaroli, ed., II
librod i Didone, Milan, 1932, 385-88 and M. B. Ogle, On a Passage in Vergil,A eneidI V, 550-51 ,
TAPA 56, 1925, 26-36. For a possible connectionb etweeno ur passage and theo ldert raditionac -
cordingt o whichD ido killedh erselft o avoid marryinIga rbas,s ee W. F. J.K night,R omanV ergil,
New York,1 966, 126-27.
10Q uanquam enim de matrimonioq ueriturD ido, tamenh ue erumpite ius adfectus,u t sine
thalamisu itamn on hominump utet,s edferarum.Q uintiliani s discussinge mphasis,t hef igureb y
whichh iddenm eaningi s drawno ut of a phrase.
11S ee, fore xample,O gle (n. 9 above) 32-34 and R. G. Austin,e d., P. VergiliM aronisA enei-
dos liberq uartus,O xford,1 955, ad loc.
12O n moref erae Serviuss ays "Pliniusi n naturalih istoriad icit,l yncasp ost amissos coniuges
aliis non iungi".N o such passage of Plinys urvives.
13I n a recent,a s yet unpublishedp, aper R. Monti has given a credibled efenseo f Servius'
position.C itingP lato,E uripides,a nd otherG reeka uthorsh, e showst hatS ervius'i nterpretatioonf
moref erae,i fn oth is specificr eferencteo thel ynx,i s groundedi n one ancientt raditionof thought
abouta nimals,n amelyt hatt heyc an represenat morem oralw ay of lifet hanh umanb eings.
14A . Forbiger,e d., P. VergiliM aroniso pera,L eipzig, 1873, ad loc.
15C . G. Heyne,e d., PubliusV irgiliusM aro, Leipzig, 1832, ad loc; J.C oningtona nd H. Nett-
leship,e ds., The Workso f Virgilw itha CommentaryL,o ndon, 1884, ad loc.
16J . Henry,A eneida,o r Critical,E xegetical,a nd AestheticalR emarkso n theA eneis,D ublin,
18 78, vol. 2, 789-98; T. E. Page, ed., The Aeneido f Virgil,L ondon, 18 94, ad loc. This is essential-
ly thev iew also of G. S. Duclos, Dido as "TriformiDs iana", Vergilius1 5, 1969,3 3-41 and Knight
(n. 9 above), 126-27. Buscaroli (n. 9 above) 386, citingL ucretius'd iscussiono f earlym an,a lso
sees moref eraea s indicatinga stateo f nrimitivien nocence
17O gle (n. 9 above) and A. S. Pease, ed., P. VergiliM aronisA eneidos liber quartus,C am-
bridge,M ass., 1935, ad loc. are followedb y T. E. Kinsey,V irgil,A eneid4 .550-1, LCM 7, 1982,
14; F. Klingner,V irgil:B ucolica, Georgica,A eneis,Z uricha nd Stuttgart1,9 67, 455-56; B. Otis,
Virgil:A Studyi n Civilized PoetryO, xford,1 964, 269 n. 2; and C. Segal, Dido's Hesitationi n
Aeneid4 , CW 84, 1990, 9 n. 23.
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UnmarrieDd ido: Aeneid4 .550-52 305
sees thats he shouldn oth ave triedt o have anym aritarl elationsw ithA eneas,i n
viewo f herf aithp ledgedt o Sychaeus,f orb y doings o she has degeneratefdr om
thes elf-restraionft a civilizedh umanb eingt o thel ower( because less intelligent
and less morallyc ontrolledl)e vel of theb rute"F. or Ogle and Pease moref erae
is Dido's own self-reproachsi,n cew ild animalsd o noth ave legitimatwe edlock,
onlyp romiscuoups assion.W hatevert heird isagreementosv er pointso f detail,
thesec ommentatorags reet hatD ido wishest o have been allowedt o live without
thep ainb roughatb outb y herd ealings,l awfulo r not,w ithm arriagaen d itse qui-
valentsT. he otherd etailso f thesel ines are generallys ubordinatetdo thatv iew,
whethetrh ep articulacro mmentatotrh inksD ido is primarilcyo ncernedw ithh er
ownd istresasb outa bandonmenotr withg uilto verh erb rokenp romiset o Sychae-
us. Thisv iewi s certainlyn otw ithouitt sm eritsb, uti td oes notr eallye xplainw hy
Vergilh as chosent hep hrasem oref erae in particular.
Since Austini s them ostr ecento f them ajorc ommentatorIs ,w ill directt he
majorityo f my commentst o his analysis.H e has identifietdh reep roblematic
phrases:n on licuit,t halamie xpertema,n d moref erae',I thinkw e need to look
carefullyat them eaningo f sine criminea s well. The meaningo f non licuitd e-
pendss ubstantialloyn thef ollowingth alamie xpertem1a*n, dt hereforI ew illt ake
thes econdp hrasef irst".U nacquaintedw itht hem arriageb ed" can onlys uggest
virginityno, t,a s Austinw ouldh avei t,w idowhood19H.e arguest hatu idua,w hen
used of vines,m eansn ot" widowed"b ut" unmarried"2a0n,d he is rightb, uti t is
one thingt o showt hata particulaprh rasem eaning" widowed"c an also mean" un-
married"a,n otherto provet hatp hrasesm eaning" unmarriedw" illr eadilys uggest
"widowed".E xpers21su ggestsla cko f anye xperiencoe rp articipationn,o tt empo-
raryl ack of contactS. erviusA uctus,f ollowedb y R. D. Williams,t akest halami
expertemto refero nlyt o remarriage2b2u, t thist oo is straineds,i nce a woman
once marriedca n nevera gainb e thalamie xpers.
We returnn ow to non licuit: whom does Dido blame witht hese words?
Austin's solutioni s Anna,t hea ddresseeo f thep recedingli nes,b uti f we reject
his readingo f thalamie xpertemA, nnab ecomesa n odd choice.D ido can blame
Annaf ore ncouraginhg era ffairw ithA eneas,b utn otf orf orcingh ert o marryS y-
18S ee Segal (n. 17 above) 9-10 on them aritala ssociationso f thalamusi n Aeneid4 .
19P ace Ogle (n. 9 above) 35 who pointso ut thatt halamie xperss houldm ean "notj oined in
lawfulw edlock". On thisr eading,t he phrasem ighti ndicatep romiscuitys,i nce it could indicate
quasi-maritarl elationsI.f Ogle is rightt o stresst hatt halamuss uggestsa legitimatem arrieds tate,
his interpretatiosnee ms to straint hem eaningo f expers,w hichm orec ommonlym eanss omething
like "untouchedb y" rathert han" notc ompliantw ith"v el sim. Similart o Ogle on thisp ointa re K.
Quinn,L atin ExplorationsC: riticalS tudies in Roman LiteratureL, ondon, 1963, 55 and Wlosok
(n. 6 above) 246.
20A ustin( n. 11 above) 163 referst o theu se of uidua of a vine at Catullus6 2.49. Viduai s never
used by Vergil,t houghh e does use thep articipleu iduatus.
21O n experss ee TLL s.v.,p assim,b ute speciallyI .A.2.III.D.
22S erviuso n thalamie xpertem": non omnino,s ed post Sychaeum".
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306 ChristopheNr appa
chaeusy earse arlierT. his decisionw as herf ather'(sa s 1.345-46m akec lear),a nd
it seemsr atherf orcedt o inserth imi ntoh ers peechh ere.O thersh ave suggested,
morep lausiblyt,h ati t is directedat theg ods or fate23a,n d thusn onl icuitm ustb e
addressedt o thew orlda t large:" I was notp ermittetdo remaina virgin"b ecause,
by and large,p rincessesa re made to marryI.t may be worthwhilteo consider
Ogle's suggestion2t4h, atn on licuitd oes nots o muchm ean" I was nota llowed
by you (or by fate,e tc.)" butr ather"i t wasn'tp ossiblea ftera ll (as you or others
mayh avet hought)"It. is thisu nderstandinogft hep hrasew hicha llowsO gle (and
thusP ease) to arguet hatD ido reproachehs erselfw itht hesel ines,b ut,a s oftenin
interpretatioonfs t hisp assage,i t requiresa distinctleyx oticu nderstandinogf an
ordinaryLa tinp hrase.
Now fors inec rimineC: atullus6 225,t hes amep oemt hatA ustinc itest oj ustify
takingt halamie xpertemto mean" widowed",m akesi tc leart hata certainb lame-
worthys elfishnesms ighte asily be attributetdo womenw ho remainedu nmar-
ried.A ustina nd otherss eem to taket hep hraset o meann o moret han" without
disapproval"b yA nna( or fort hatm atterb y anyone),w hileH enryg oes so fara s
to translatiet as "innocent"Y. et crimenis a strongw ordf ors uchd isapprovali;t
suggestsin steada ccusationso f wrongdoinga,n d thati s perhapsw hys omec om-
mentatorhsa ve triedt o explaino urn extp hrasem oref erae as meaning" promis-
cuously"26o,n e oft hei nterpretatioantst ributetdo Quintilian'ds iscussionO. n this
readingD, ido now sees thats he could noth ave herr elationshiwp ithA eneas and
geta wayw ithi t.
Austini s rightt o denyt hisr eadingo f moref erae,b uth is suggestion"l ike a
woodlandc reature"i,s littleb etterM. oref erae,l iterally"i n them annero f a wild
female"27m, ights uggest,if thef emalei n questioni s a beast,f erocityas much
as promiscuityd:o es Dido, then,w antt o be a savage? It seemsc lear thate ither
moref eraeh erem ustm eans omethinegn tirelydi fferenotr,t hef emalei n question
is not,o r at leasti s noto nly,a beast.A s we have seen,m ostc ommentatorhsa ve
understoodth ep hraset o indicatei,n some formt, hes implicityan d presumably
23T . Ladewig, C. Schaper, and P. Deuticke, eds., VergilsG edichte,B erlin,1 912, 184; Quinn
(n. 19 above) 55.
24 Ogle (n. 9 above) 35-36. These are myp araphrasesa nd notd irectq uotationsf romO gle.
25S ee Catullus6 2.56-61.
26L adewig, Schaper,a nd Deuticke (n. 23 above) 184; Ogle (n. 9 above) 35; Buscaroli (n. 9
above) 387-88; Pease (n. 17 above) 449; K. Quinn,V irgil'sA eneid:A CriticalD escriptionA, nn
Arbor,1 968, 336-39; and Wlosok (n. 6 above) 246.
27F ormso ff erus( adjectivea nd substantiveo) ccurt wenty-foutrim esi n theA eneida side from
ourp assage. Nineteeno ccurrencesr efert o animals,t hougho f these,f oura re in some ways ambi-
guous in thatt heyh ave linkst o humanb eingso r anthropomorpheinc titiest; hesea re 2.5 1 (theT ro-
jan Horse), 6.285 (monstersi n the Underworldi,n cludingS cylla, theH arpies,a nd theG orgons),
7.20 (men whomC irce has turnedin tob easts),a nd 7.489 (Silvia's stag).F ive instancesr efert o hu-
manb eingso r gods: 2.326 (Jupiter)4,. 466 (Aeneas), 6.49 and 6.80 (theS ibyl,o r literallyh erf era
corda), and finally1 0.1 2 (Carthage,w hichc an onlyb e viewed as a collectivef ori tsc itizens).
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UnmarrieDd ido: Aeneid4 .550-52 307
anxiety-frneea tureo f animall ife.Y et thisi nterpretatiiosn d ifficulsti ncei t is un-
clearw hyV ergil'sa udiences houldm akea n automaticco nnectionb etweenm ore
feraea nd emotionafl reedomC. riticss ucha s Conington-NettleshiHpe, nry,a nd
DeWitt are,I thinko,n firmegrr oundw hent heym entionth ew ildl ifeo f women
likeC amilla28f, ore lsewherein thep oemD ido is also associatedw ithh untresses
likeC amillaa nd witht hew ildw orldi n general.
We needn ott aket hea llusiont ob e a consciousf ormulatioonn thep arto fD ido,
who clearlyd oes not understanadl l the implicationosf her statementQ. uinn's
explanation2is9 useful:i n utterin4g. 550-51,D ido is fumblinwg itht het ruthb,u t
it is a truthsh e does notu nderstandat, leastn otf ullya nd consciouslyS. he says,
perhapsw ithouatw arenesso ft hei mplications",l ikea beast",b utV ergilp ointst o
a greaterco mplexo f meaningsa lso.
Let us considerf urthetrh ei dea thatm oref erae connectsD ido to womena s-
sociated,l ikeC amilla,w ithl ifei n thew ild.W henD ido is introduceidn Book 1,
she is describedb y a simile3t0h atl ooksb ackt o a famousp assagef romt heO dys-
sey?1
28S ee N. W. DeWitt, AeneidI V, 55 1: moref erae,A JP4 5, 1924, 176-78 who thinks/erra efers
to a kindo f lifeo f proudv irginityin thew ild.
29Q uinn( n. 26 above) 336-39.
30O n thiss imile,s ee especiallyV . Poschl, The Arto f Vergil:I mage and Symboli n theA eneid,
AnnA rbor,1 962, 60-68; M. K. Thornton,T he Adaptationo f Homer's Artemis-NausicaaS imile
in the Aeneid,L atomus 44, 1985, 615-22; and Duclos (n. 16 above) 33-34. The Homeric mo-
del: oit| 8' "Apxeuice; iai kcit'o vpea ioxeaipa,/ f| icaid TrpryeTOrvc epiuTiKetofvj' Ep\>uav0ov,/
T£p7iou£vKrid Tipoiai Kai ©Keltice;'t ax<}>oiai7x fj8 e 6' a|ia vtjuxjhxKi,o upai Aioq aiyioxoio,/
dypovouoin aitpvov yeynGe8 e xe <J)pevAa Tyca>r7c aadwv8 urcepf iy e Kdpr|e xei Tl8eu exama,/
peld x dpiyvamiT reXexaiK, ataxi8 e te naaav/ ©<f; |y du<l>i7i6A,o\iaiie tenpener capOevocd;8 |if|c;
{Od. 6.102-9).
31E ven as worko n intertextualihtyas opened up new possibilitiesf oru nderstandintgh er ela-
tionshipb etweent heV ergiliant exta nd itsp redecessorsa nd successors,w orko n etymologyw, ord-
play,a nd otherv erbalc onceitsh as demonstratetdh ei mportancteo Latinp oetryo f apparentlyv ery
subtlev erbalc lues. In particularV, ergilh as been shownt o lean heavilyo n his audience's know-
ledge noto nlyo f Greekt extsb uta lso of specificG reekw ordsa nd phrases.W henc onfrontewd ith
an inexplicableV ergilianp hrase,t hereforeit, m akess enset o look fora possibleG reekv ersiont hat
can be foundi n a texto bviouslyk nownt o Vergil.T his techniquew ill nota lways producer esults,
buth erei t mayb ear fruitT. he collocationm oref erae stronglyr esemblest heG reekd ypovouoc;,
a worda pplied at Odyssey6 .105-06 to then ymphsw ho huntw ithA rtemist: x\8 e 0' ductv tjuiJxxi,
Koi3paiA io<;a iyioxoio,/ dypovouoi nai^ovai ..."and withh erf rolicn ymphsw ho dwell in the
wild,d aughteros f aegis-bearingZ eus".
If I am rightt hatV ergil'sm oref erae is a referencet o theH omericd ygovofioc;t, hent heV er-
gilianp hraser eflectas particularu nderstandinogf each elemento f theG reekd ypovouog, and in
factm oref erae noto nlyr eflectHs omer's nymphs-i t also allows ther eadert o see thatt hed iffe-
rentc ontexth as activateda perhapsl atents et of associations.D ido's phrasei s nota caique in the
stricts ense of thet erm;r atheri,t is an interpretivter anslationof Homer's dyQOVOfiogW. hereas
Homer'sw ordm ightb e translatedsi mplya s "dwellingi n thew ild",V ergilh as chosent o makeu se
of a broaders et of associationsf orb otht he firste lement( since the Greek roota gr- can suggest
theb estiala s well as ther ustic)a nd thes econd (since nomos,l ike theL atinm os,c an suggestb oth
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308 ChristopherN appa
qualis in Eurotaer ipisa ut per iuga Cynthi
exercetD iana choros,q uam mille secutae
hinca tque hincg lomerantuOrr eades; ilia pharetram
fertu merog radiensqued eas superemineotm nis
(Latonae taciturnp ertemptangta udia pectus):
talise ratD ido . . .
[Aen. 1.498-503]
Justa s on theb ankso f theE urotaso r overt her idgeso f Cynthus
Diana exercisesh erb and; followingh era thousand
Oreads throngo n thiss ide and that;s he wearsh erq uiver
on hers houldera nd, as she walks,s tandsa bove all theg oddesses
(joy assails Latona's silenth eart):t husw as Dido . . .
The ] 'era Dido wantst o resemblei s not- or not only- an animal,b ut one of
thev irginahl untresseosf Diana's band,p erhapse ven Diana herself3T2.h us sine
criminer efersn oto nlyt o thed isapprovaol f a meddlings istern ort o theb roken
promiset o Sychaeus,b uta lso to thes ocial censureo f a womanw ho prefertsh e
somewhatm annishli feo f a virginh untressD.i do does notm erelyw ishs hec ould
have been lefta s an uniuira3b3u tt hats he could have fullye nteredt hes ymbolic
imageryso oftena ssociatedw ithh er,t hato ft heh untresisn thew ild,a womans e-
paratee ntirelyfr omt hew orldo fm en.I t is importantto differentiatthee v iewp re-
sentedh eref romt hev ariousv ersionso f thec onsensust, hati s, thatD ido wishes
thats he mighth ave remainedu nmarrieads an escape fromt hep ain thath er" ci-
vilized"l ifeh as broughht er.W hateverD ido herselfis consciouslyt ryingto say,
thep atterno f Diana imageryt hats urroundhs er stronglyim pliest hat,o n some
level,D ido does not simplyw ish thats he had noth ad to sufferf romh ere rotic
relationshipbs,u tt hats he had noth ad to have sucha ttachmentins thef irspt lace.
habit- the nymphss pendt imei n thec ountry-a nd character)T. hus, Dido's moref erae is nots o
mucha Latint ranslationof a Greekw orda s a Latinatei nterpretatioonf thep hrasea nd itsc ontext.
Vergil'st extr ecognizest hatw hati s benigni n its properp lace- i.e., thatD iana's nymphss hould
be &yqov6|ioi- becomes dangerousa nd disturbingw henf ounde lsewhere.D ido's wish thats he
could have lived moref erae pointsu p thef undamentalla ck of fitb etweenh erc haractera s an in-
dividuala nd herl ifea s a membero f,i ndeeda s theh ead of,h ers ociety.
A comprehensivlei sto f relevantw orkso n Vergil'su se of such featureso f languagei s beyond
thes cope of thisp aper.F or a similare xampleo f bilingualw ordplays, ee C. Nappa,C old-Blooded
Virgil:B ilingual Wordplaya t Georgics 2.483-9, CQ 52.2, 2002, 617-20. Two importanbt ook-
lengths tudiesa re J.J .O 'Hara, True Names: Vergila nd theA lexandrianT raditiono f Etymologi-
cal WordplayA, nnA rbor,1 996 and M. Paschalis, Virgil'sA eneid:S emanticR elationsa nd Proper
Names,O xford,1 997.
51C itingO vid and the Ciris, DeWitt (n. 28 above) 177-78 suggests,a s I do, thatf era might
naturallyb e takent o suggesta followero f Diana.
33O n thei deal of theu niuiras ee G. Williams,S ome Aspectso f RomanM arriageC eremonies
and Ideals, JRS 48, 1958, 23-24; Rudd (n. 2 above) 42-47; and Monti (n. 1 above) 34-55. Monti
offersa usefulc orrectiono f R. Heinze,V irgilse pischeT echnik,3 1915 = Virgil'sE pic Technique,
Berkeleya nd Los Angeles, 1993, 99.
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UnmarrieDd ido: Aeneid4 .550-52 309
Her modeli s nott hea nimalt hatn everm arriesb ecause it is subhumanb utt he
nymphw ho avoids menb ecause she prefertsh ev irginalli feo f thef ollowerso f
Diana/A rtemis3S4o. whilec ommentatorrisg htlyst resst hatD ido's problemis that
she has sufferefdr omh err elationshipws ithm en,t hep roblemg oes furthetrh an
theyh ave generallys een. WhateverD ido realizesa bouth ero wn natureV, ergil
letsu s see thats he has strongaf finitiews itht hev irginafl emalesw hosee xistence
in Greco-Romanm ythr epresentast besta margino f civilizedl ifea nd at worsta n
inversionof ,o r challenget o,i t.O ur linesm ightt henb e paraphrased
"I was nota llowed to live myl ifea s a virginw ithoutb eingt houghtim moralo r selfishl,i ke a wild
female( nymphh, untressD, iana), nevert o come intoc ontactw iths uch anxietiesa s these( feelings
of abandonmento ccasioned by both Sychaeus and Aeneas, and feelingso f guilt forb etraying
35
Sychaeus)".
In additiont o thes imileo f 1.498-502,t hei mageryo f Diana36a ttachest o Dido
in at least fouro therw ays. Beforet heq ueen herselfm akesa n appearanceV, e-
nus tellst he storyo f herh usband'sm urdera nd herd esperatef lightf romT yre;
Venush as disguisedh erselfa s a huntres(sA eneas thinkso f Diana or one of her
nymphsa)n d averst hatT yriang irlsc ustomarildyr essi n thism anner(1 .335-70).
Also,D ido herselfb ecomesa huntresisn Book 4, where( 4.133-39) shei s arrayed
in gold,a s Artemist heh untresiss in thet wenty-sevenHtho mericH ymn( 27.1)
and CallimachusH' ymnt oA rtemi(s1 10-12)37D. ido's huntingp artneirn Book 4
is comparedt oA pollo,a nd thust heirh unte vokest hoseo f Diana and herb rother
(4.143-50).F inallya, t 6.450-55,D ido is comparedt o them oon.
^ Vergils Dido also has affinitiews itht he Amazon renmesiiea,w no is tne last image tnai
Aeneas sees on Juno'st emplei mmediatelyb eforet hef irsatp pearanceo f Dido. See Duclos (n. 16
above) 34; P. A. Miller, Sive deae seu sintd irae obscenaeque volucres,A rethusa2 2, 1989, 51-
53; J.P igon,D ido, Diana, and Penthesilea:O bservationso n theQ ueen's FirstA ppearancei n the
Aeneid,E os 79, 1991, 45-53; and Segal (n. 17 above) 3-4.
35 It may be worthw onderingt oo if Dido's speech is a way forV ergilt o announceh is own
literaryin dependencef romt raditionD. ido seems to have been largelyk nowna s the typeo f the
honorablew idow,a nd in thatc ase, herc omplaintt hats he has notb een allowed to remaint hatw ay
mayr efert o Vergil's( or thet radition'sr) evisiono f hers tory.
36S ee R. O. A. M. Lyne,F urtherV oices in Vergil'sA eneid,O xford,1 987, 194-98 on hunting
imageryR. . A. Hornsby,P atternos fA ctioni n theA eneid:A n Interpretatioonf Vergil'sE pic Simi-
les, Iowa City,1 970, 89-100 is a usefuld iscussiono f thed ifferenwt ays Diana imageryl inkst he
variousd escriptionos f Dido. In particularH, ornsbyi s rightt o notet he discrepancyb etweent he
natureo f the imagerya nd ther ealitieso f Dido's life.N everthelessH, ornsby'sv iew of Dido and
herf atei s, I thinkm, ucht oo harsh;t herei s certainlym oret o herc haractera nd herd ownfallt han
the" venomo f hers elf-love"( 97). Duclos (n. 16 above) attemptst,h oughn ote ntirelysu ccessfully,
to interpretth e complex of Diana imageryi n the lighto f the concepto f "Diana Triformis"T. he
mostr ecente xaminationo f Diana imageryi n Vergil'ss toryo f Dido is J.T . Dyson, King of the
Wood: The SacrificialV ictori n Virgil'sA eneid,N orman,O kla., 2001, 149.
37I n the openingo f the HomericH ymn,A rtemisi s called xQuor]A.axaTO5i;n Callimachus'
hymn( lines 110-12),w e find" ApTeuxr iapOeviTTi itvoktove,x puaea uev xoi /evxea mi £c6vti,
Xpt)oeov5 ' e£e\)£ao8 i<J>po/v e, v 8'epdte\)x pvaeia, 0ef|, Keud8eoai xa^ivd. Cf. Vergil,A en.
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