Semantron 2014

Too hot to handle: allusions to Sappho in VirgilÊs Aeneid book 4

Patrick King VirgilÊs allusions to other authors are innumerable throughout the Aeneid, and greatly enrich the experience of those who pick up on them. Although the intertextuality of the Aeneid and other literature has been widely discussed, I believe VirgilÊs allusions to Sappho have received limited attention from commentators. 1 2 In this essay I shall suggest that VirgilÊs allusions to Sappho, in particular in the opening lines of the Aeneid Book 4 and SapphoÊs fragment 31, require close attention and are rich in meaning. I shall not only consider the direct literary similarities of the two extracts, but also explore the effect this has on the characterization of Dido in Book 4 more generally. Further to this, I shall hypothesize how a contemporary audience may have responded to hearing these allusions. By means of introduction to the above questions, I wish to draw attention to SapphoÊs fame throughout the classical period and her profound influence on a diverse range of authors so as to establish a basis for the possibility that Virgil could have alluded to Sappho. For example, Catullus 51 3 (lines 9 -12) is a free translation of Sappho 31. 4 It has also been argued that Catullus 61 and 62, both examples of wedding poetry, draw heavily from SapphoÊs own nuptial poetry. 5 Catullus 11 and 51 were both written using the Sapphic stanza, and Horace too was an admirer and imitator. 6 Similarly, Melinno, a rare female poet in 2 nd -century AD Rome, composed Sapphic stanzas. This shows how Sappho remained influential throughout antiquity. 7 In 1891 two medallions were discovered, one depicting Horace, and before him a volume inscribed with SapphoÊs name, the other depicts Virgil, and before him a volume inscribed with HomerÊs name. 8 This shows, as Knapp points out, that Sappho was considered Âthe great lyricÊ of antiquity, equal in her field to Homer, Âthe great epicÊ. 9 Ovid Heroides 15, a letter written from SapphoÊs perspective to Phaon, perhaps shows that Sappho had risen to a mythical level of fame (in first- century BC Rome) since she is the only historical character in the Heroides. I believe it is reasonable to conclude from the wealth of references to Sappho in ancient literature that not only Virgil, but also the educated contemporary Roman audience, would have been familiar with SapphoÊs poetry. In my view, the audienceÊs assumed knowledge of Sappho is critical to why Virgil may be alluding to her in Book 4, which I shall expand upon in the body of my essay. 1 I use Lyne 1983 pages 100 – 104 as my summary for the history of scholarship on intertextuality. 2 Hall 2012 footnote 1 summarises the relatively scarce scholarship on Sappho. I find William Harris (of Middlebury College) particularly compelling in his notes on Aeneid Book 4, in which he expands upon the point Hall alludes to in the title of her article (ÂAnd Cytherea smiledÊ). He points out the similarities of Aeneid 4 line 128 Âadnuit, atque dolis risit Cytherea repertisÊ, highlighting the reference to Aphrodite as ÂCythereaÊ, two words from ÂdolisÊ, with Sappho fragment 1 (Lobel and Page, henceforth LP), in which ‘δολόπλοκε’ , related to ÂdolisÊ etymologically, is used as an epithet for Aphrodite. Harris further points out the similarities of line 128 with fragment 140 (LP), which refers to Aphrodite by another name, ‘Κυθέρἠ’ . 3 The Latin text I use, and quote later, comes from the Perseus Tufts website. 4 Thomas 1999 page 60 5 Oxford Classical Dictionary Fourth Edition 2012 entry on Sappho 6 See footnote 5 above 7 Lefkowitz and Fant Third Edition 2005 page 8. 8 Knapp 1908 page 1. 9 See footnote 7.

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