The Characterization of Medea, Dido, Ariadne and Deianira in Ovid's Heroides and Metamorphoses carissimis parentibus THE CHARACTERIZATION OF MEDEA, DIDO, ARIADNE AND DEIANIRA IN OVID'S HEROIDES AND METAMORPHOSES by MARY CATHERINE BOLTON, B.A., M.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University @ copyright by Mary Catherine Bolton, 1989 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY McMASTER UNIVERSITY (Roman Studies) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: The characterization of Medea, Dido, Ariadne and Deianira in Ovid's Hero ides and Metamorphoses. AUTHOR: Mary Catherine Bolton, B.A. (Carleton University) M.A. (Queen's University) SUPERVISOR: Professor A.G. McKay NUMBER OF PAGES: viii, 319 ii Abstract Ovid's characterization of women has long been recognized as revealing an understanding of the female psyche. This is shown not only in his love poetry, but also in his depiction of women in the Heroides and Metamorphoses. The Hero ides in particular offered considerable scope for the portrayal of women in a state of crisis and for an exploration of their anxieties and conflicts. The verse letters reveal Ovid's interest in portraying women at an early point in his literary career, an interest which he continued throughout his writing career and which again finds expression in the Metarmorphoses. While Howard Jacobson's study (Princeton, 1974) treats all the single letters, Florence Verducci (Princeton, 1985) has restricted her work to five of the fifteen single letters. Little attempt has been made to trace Ovid's depiction of women from the Heroides into his later works. This work investigates the characterization of Medea, Dido, Ariadne and Deianira as they are initially portrayed in the Heroides and as they are later depicted in the Metamorphoses. Each chapter details early accounts of the heroines, iii followed by an exploration of the characterization in the Heroides and Metamorphoses. It is shown that, while Ovid's knowledge and use of his predecessors is apparent, his ability to adapt the mythological details concerning his heroines creates an entirely new depiction; his portrayal varies from the Heroides to the Metamorphoses due to the demands of the respective genres and to the emphasis which he wishes to place. Despite the familiarity of his figures, Ovid has created divergent, yet coherent, interpretations of pyschological and emotional crises. iv Acknowledgments I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. A.G. McKay, for _his unfailing encouragement, direction and never-ending patience. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the members of my supervisory comrni ttee, Dr. P. Kingston and Dr. P. Murgatroyd, for their helpful comments and advice. Hamilton, Ontario. July, 1989. v Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . v PREFACE CHAPTER ONE: MEDEA Heroides XII Section I: Introduction . 8 Section II: Lines 1-2: Preamble . 1 2 Section III: Lines 3-20: Medea's Complaint . 1 4 Section IV: Lines 21-158: Narratio . 1 9 Section V: Lines 159-174: Querelae . 42 Section VI: Lines 175-182: Revenge . 44 Section VII: Lines 183-206: Cohortatio . 46 Section VIII: Lines 207-212: Warning . 47 Section IX: Conclusions about the Nature of Medea 49 Metamorphoses VII.1-424 Section I: Introduction . 51 Section II: Lines 1-38: Medea's Passion . 52 Section III: Lines 39-73: Medea's Hesitation 55 Section IV: Lines 74-99: The Grove of Hecate . 59 Section V: Lines 100-143: The Trials . 62 Section VI: Lines 144-148: Transition . 63 Section VII: Lines 149-158: The draco . 64 Section VIII: Lines 159-178: Jason's Request . 65 Section IX: Lines 179-237: Medea, venef ica . 67 Section X: Lines 238-284: Preparation of the Potion . 68 Section XI: Lines 285-293: Rejuvenation of Aeson 71 Section XII: Lines 294-296: Transition . 71 Section XIII: Lines 297-349: Daughters of Pelias . 72 Section XIV: Lines 350-403: Medea's Escape I 74 Section XV: Lines 404-424: Medea's Escape II . 75 Section XVI: Conclusions about the Nature of Medea 77 vi CHAPTER TWO: DIDO Heroides VII Section I: Introduction . 8 1 Section II: Lines 1 -6: The Dying Swan . 88 Section III: Lines 7-18: Dido's Disbelief . 92 Section IV: Lines 19-168 . 98 Part A: Lines 19-74: First Attempts to Influence Aeneas . 98 Part B: Lines 75-138: Attacks against Qi etas 1 1 2 Part C: Lines 139-156: Advantages of Carthage 122 Part D: Lines 157-168: Dido's Spirit of Sacrifice 125 Section V: Lines 169-180: Further Arguments Against Leaving . 127 Section VI: Lines 181-196: Dido's Last Words 130 Section VII: Conclusions about the Nature of Dido 133 Metamorphoses XIV.75-84 Section I: Introduction 135 Section II: Lines 75-84: Discussion 138 CHAPTER THREE: ARIADNE Heroides X Section I: Introduction 147 Section II: Lines 1-6: Ariadne's Reason for Writing ..... 157 Section III: Lines 7-58: Narratio . 1 6 1 Section IV: Lines 59-78: Ariadne's Distress 176 Section V: Lines 79-110: Ariadne's Fears ... 180 Section VI: Lines 111-128: Ariadne's Complaints against Nature . 189 Section VII: Lines 129-132: Castigation of Theseus 1 92 Section VIII: Lines 133-152: Cohortatio ... 194 Section IX: Conclusions about the Nature of Ariadne . 200 Metamorphoses VIII.159-179 Section I: Introduction . 206 Section II: Lines 159-179: Discussion ..... 210 Section III: Other Versions of the Ariadne Story . 215 a) Fasti III.459-516 .. 2 1 5 b) Ars Amatoria I.525-568 ... 219 vii Section IV: Conclusions about the Nature of Ariadne . 222 CHAPTER FOUR: DEIANIRA Heroides IX Section I: Introduction . 227 Section II: Deianira's Letter . 236 Section III: Lines 1-2: Hercules' Victory 238 Section IV: Lines 3-26: Narratio 240 Section V: Lines 27-118: Complaints . 243 Section VI: Lines 119-142: Comparatio . 254 Section VII: Lines 143-164: Accusatio . 258 Section VIII: Lines 165-168: Farewell 263 Section IX: Conclusions about the Nature of Deianira . 264 Metamoq~hoses IX.1-272 Section I : Introduction . 267 Section II: Lines 1-88: Achelous 268 Section III: Lines 89-97: Interlude . 273 Section IV: Lines 98-133: Ness us . 274 Section V: Lines 134-272: Deianira . 281 Section VI: Conclusions about the Nature of Deianira . 288 CONCLUSION 291 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 305 viii Pref ace Ovid's interest in the pyschology of women is revealed not only· in his love poems, but also in his depiction of women in the Heroides and in the numerous character sketches of the Metamorphoses. His ability to adapt myth to its fullest extent is clearly seen in the contrasting or parallel depictions of the figures treated in this work: Medea, Dido, Ariadne and Deianira. By means of these and other figures, Ovid has explored the possibilities of different characterizations, often extending in his depictions the formal genre of the poem or transforming a character for a particular purpose within a larger framework. Although past scholarship on the Heroides has primarily been concerned with identifying their genre-­ whether they be suasoriae, ethopoeiae, prosopopoeiae, dramatic monologues or letters, to name but a few -- this study accepts the general premise that Ovid's rhetorical training is reflected, to some extent, in his work but that this also does not deny elegiac, epic, or tragic influences. Peter Steinmetz has most recently assembled the various discussions concerning the literary form of the 2 Heroides and concludes by identifying them as independent, free-standing "monodramas", which present heroines at a particular crisis-point of their lives. 1 He terms them monodramas as they can be read, recited or staged.2 This interpretation does not deny Ovid's own identification of the Heroides as letters (A.A. III.345, Am. II.18.27), but takes into account the external explanations found in the letters: who is writing, to whom she is writing, the circumstances of the writer, the addresses to family members, to the writer herself and the purpose of the letter as a whole.3 For the purpose of this work, the Heroides will be regarded as embodying the general framework of the le~ter genre, but allowing for extensions of this form and even for a partial destruction of the illusion of a true letter. Similarly, the genre of the Metamorphoses has been identified by Ovid himself as a carmen perpetuum (Met. I.4) -- a continuous, interconnected poem -- and is accepted as such for this study. The stories of Medea, Dido, Ariadne 1 Peter Steinmetz, "Die literarische Form der Epistulae Heroidum Ovids," Gymnasium 94 (1987): 140. 2 For a discussion of the staging of the Heroides see M.P. Cunningham, "The Novelty of Ovid's Heroides," CP (1949): 100-106. 3 For discussions of the letter form, see E. Oppel, "Ovids Heroides: Studien zur inneren Form und zur Motivation," (Ph.D. diss., Erlangen-NUrnberg University, 1968); Heinrich Dorrie, Der heroische Brief (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1968); Helmut Rahn, "Ovids elegische Epistel," A&A 7 (1959): 105-120. 3 and Deianira will be examined on their own merits but also with regard to their function within their respective books, as well as their relationship (parallel or contrasting) with the Heroides. The letters of Medea, Dido, Ariadne and Deianira will be discussed in this order and as separate entities. Traits which are common to these letters will be also be highlighted; additional references to the Heroides will concentrate mainly on the single letters and will exclude the double letters. Attempts to find a coherent ordering among the letters will also be omitted.4 Further, although the pictorial influence seems strong in Ovid, particularly in the depiction of Ariadne,5 discussion here has been limited to purely literary evidence.