Fluctus curarum : Catullan and Lucretian intertexts in the Dido-episode of the Aeneid

Abstract

This paper examines the way the depiction of Medea in Ennius’ Medea exul and that of Ariadne in Catullus 64 constitute the background for the Dido-episode of Vergil’s Aeneid. Regarding the intertextual relations of the Vergilian and the Catullan texts, I focus on the motif of fluctus curarum, the ‘flow of concerns’ affecting the above mentioned heroines. These Catullo-Vergilian intertextual connections are tinged by the circumstance that the phrase is also employed by Lucretius in his De rerum natura. It will be of key importance to observe the way the Aeneid’s combined reminiscences to the Lucretian mankind as a victim of illusions and to the Catullan Ariadne as not only a victim but also a product of them lay the foundation of Dido’s falling prey to unrealities.