Ovid, Heroides 7.191-196
Anna soror, soror Anna, meae male cōnscia culpae,
iam dabis in cinerēs ultima dōna meōs.
nec cōnsūmpta rogīs īnscrībar Elissa Sychaeī,
hoc tantum in tumulī marmore carmen erit:
Praebuit Aēneās et causam mortis et ēnsem; 195
ipsa suā Dīdō concidit ūsa manū.
191. male cōnscia: male characterizes the result of Anna’s being a participant in Dido’s offense; Anna is a participant in a bad act; she is not a bad participant.
193. nec…īnscrībar: since Dido will be cremated (she has already created the funeral pyre on which she will be consumed, cōnsūmpta rogīs), the negative must modify īnscrībar.
195 When Aeneas mets Dido in the Underworld (Aen. 6.458), he asks he what caused her death. Ovid’s Dido provides the answer that Vergil’s silent Dido refused to give.
Sychaeī: i.e., (the wife) of Sychaeus.
ŪSA: < ūtor + ablative (manū).
Interrogata
- Why does the poem end with an epitaph?
- In your opinion, does the conclusion alter (augment? diminish?) Ovid’s reimagining of Dido’s character?
