MYRMIDONS, DOLOPES, AND DANAANS, WORDPLAYS IN 'AENEID 2'

As Aeneas begins his story of Troy's fall he wonders if in relating it even her enemies, such as the Myrmidons or Dolopes or the soldiers of Ulysses, could refrain from tears (Aen. 2.6-8). The reference to a weeping soldier of Ulysses is a subtle allusion to Vergil's Homeric model,1but why are the Myrmidons and Dolopes mentioned? The usual explanation that these were the soldiers of Neoptolemus,2who plays a central role in Aeneas’ account of Troy's fall, is not entirely satisfactory. In Homer the Myrmidons inhabit Phthia (cf. Il. 2.683-4) and are thus naturally linked with Achilles and Patroclus,3but the Dolopes seem to play no role at all in the fighting. Their name occurs only once in the Iliad (as the people ruled by Phoenix)4and not at all in the Odyssey. © 1990, The Classical Association. All rights reserved.