Euripides’ Corinthian Princess in theAeneid

Abstract

s he begins his commentary on the fourth book of the Aeneid, Servius declares the entire book to be derived from Apollonius’ depiction of Medea in love in the third book of the Argonautica: Apollonius Argonautica scripsit et in tertio inducit amantem Medeam: inde totus hic liber translatus est.1 While the makeup of Dido’s character is one of the most complex in the poem (it alludes to, among others, Nausicaa, Ariadne, and Cleopatra2), Medea may be the most powerful and sustained presence. Two Medeas are evoked in Vergil’s depiction of his heroine. Encouraged by Venus and Juno to fall in love with the handsome stranger who needs her help to continue on his quest, Dido is likened to the young Medea of Apollonius. In the bitter exchange of speeches with Aeneas, and her turn to magic in despair, she is linked to the older, aggrieved Medea of Euripides.3 But there are echoes in the poem that point to another young princess, similar in many ways to the young Medea of Apollonius, but tragically connected to the destructive Medea of Euripides.4 My goal is to explore Dido’s relationship to the Corinthian princess who burns and melts by Medea’s design in Euripides’ play. I will argue that this additional Euripidean connection complicates the allusions to Medea and sheds new light on two important episodes, the gift-giving scene in Book 1 and Dido’s suicide in Book 4.5 I will also show that, once initiated through the character of Dido, the presence of the princess contributes to the allusive makeup of other characters, especially Creusa and Lavinia, who are connected to each other and to Dido within the poem through their relationship to Aeneas.