Re: VIRGIL: teaching Aeneid in translation

[Leofranc Holford-Strevens]

In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Denise Davis-Henry 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
Sorry this is so off the topic but I was wondering about the significance
of the name Elissa, versus Dido.  My AP students were intrigued that
Aeneas used Elissa in referring to the queen at line 335 of Bk IV.  We
don't think that this name was applied to her before this line and
therefore, we are wondering if there is any significance that to its use at
this particular juncture? 
Since no-one else has suggested anything, let me, belatedly, answer.

The only form of _Dido_ that Vergil uses is _Dido_. He does not use the 
Latin genitive _Didonis_, which would have sounded too archaic for his 
age, nor does he use the Greek genitive _Didus_, which would have been 
too precious for a Roman epic. Therefore he needed another name; and 
what better choice, if Aeneas is trying to mollify the angry queen, than 
her own name for herself? According to the late Hellenistic treatise on 
women warriors, _Gunaikes en polemikois sunetai kai andreiai_, recently 
edited by Deborah Gera (_The Anonymous_ Tractatus de Mulieribus, Leiden: 
Brill, 1997), Timaeus had said it was her Phoenician name; and that is 
the name she will apply to herself in line 610. So, 'I shall be very 
happy [nec pigebit = et magnopere iuvabit] to remember "Elissa".' Of 
course it doesn't work, since nothing would have soothed her; but at 
least he tried (or he stopped at nothing, if you prefer).

Leofranc Holford-Strevens
--
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Leofranc Holford-Strevens
67 St Bernard's Road                                         usque adeone
Oxford               scire MEVM nihil est, nisi ME scire hoc sciat alter?
OX2 6EJ
tel. +44 (0)1865 552808(home)/353865(work)          fax +44 (0)1865 512237
email:
 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home)/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (work)
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply.
Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message
"unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You
can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub