Rhodopeia (Phyllis)

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In the list of great amorous passions that burned more than Cunizza, Dante mentions Rhodopeia, a form by which he indicates Phyllis. The note to the verse specifies that Phyllis was daughter of the king of Thrace, a region of Mount Rhodope, whence the epithet «Rhodopeia Phyllis» used by Ovid in the Heroides. The figure is recalled as the lover of Demophon, son of Theseus, who promised to marry her before departing for Athens; not seeing him return at the agreed time, Phyllis took her own life believing herself deceived. The adjective «deceived» translates the Latin «decepta» of Heroides II 65. Together with Dido and with Hercules in love with Iole, Rhodopeia is cited as an example of an amorous flame driven to the point of death.