Aeneas and Dido as the Flamen and Flaminica in the Servian Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid

Abstract

The Servian commentary on Vergil's Aeneid has two primary authors: one, Servius himself; two, evidence of an earlier commentator sometimes considered to be Aelius Donatus. In a number of notes from this second author, the commentator finds in the Aeneid what he considers to be allusions that associate Aeneas with the flamen Dialis, an ancient, high-ranking Roman priest. In book 4 the association expands to include Dido as the priest's wife, the flaminica. This thesis examines these notes in detail to determine the origins and context of such an association, what impact this portrayal has on the reading of Dido and Aeneas' relationship and their respective characters, and the potential motivations of the two commentators in including or excising these notes. Though the idea that Vergil intended for his readers to understand these allusions to Aeneas as the flamen Dialis is rejected by modern scholars, it still offers insight into the minds of Vergil's earliest scholars, and may even add another layer to our own reading of the Aeneid's most (in)famous couple.