In Greek mythology, Canace was a daughter of Aeolus, king of Thessaly, and his wife Enarete. She is best known for her ill-fated relationship with her brother Macareus, which led to her death. The story was made famous by the lost Euripidean tragedy Aeolus and later given its fullest surviving treatment in Ovid's Heroides, where the two versions differ sharply on whether the union was forced or mutual.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Canace" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Early Mythological Tradition
According to the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, Canace was one of the children of Aeolus and Enarete. The Bibliotheca attributed to Apollodorus lists her brothers as Athamas, Cretheus, Deioneus, Magnes, Perieres, Salmoneus, and Sisyphus, and her sisters as including Alcyone, Calyce, Peisidice, and Perimede.
By Poseidon she became the mother of several sons, among them Aloeus, Epopeus, Hopleus, Nireus, and Triops.
II.Canace and Macareus
Euripides made the story famous through his tragedy Aeolus, produced in Athens during the 420s BCE. The play itself is lost, but reconstructions indicate that Canace is raped by her brother Macareus and becomes pregnant while feigning illness. When Aeolus discovers the truth, he sends her a sword, which she uses to take her own life; Macareus then does likewise. The play was parodied by Aristophanes and Antiphanes, and the Euripidean version became the definitive treatment for later authors.
Ovid's treatment in the Heroides preserves the longest surviving ancient account. His version differs significantly: Canace falls in love with Macareus rather than being raped, and the relationship is portrayed as romantic rather than purely a tale of incest. She writes her final letter to Macareus while holding the sword, recounting how she concealed her pregnancy and how the child was exposed.
III.In Ancient Art
A Lucanian red-figure hydria of about 415-410 BCE depicts Canace's death, showing her with a sword while Macareus stands nearby with his head lowered. A Roman wall painting in the Vatican Library, discovered at Tor Marancia near Rome, identifies her by an inscription and shows her holding a sword. Pliny the Elder attributes to Aristides of Thebes a painting depicting a woman dying from love of her brother.
IV.In Later Literature
The story persisted through the medieval and Renaissance periods. John Gower included the tale of Canace and Machaire in his Confessio Amantis (c. 1390). Renaissance Italy produced at least three new tragedies on the subject: by Giovanni Falugi (c. 1529), Sperone Speroni (1542, published 1546), and Carlo Tebaldi-Fores (1820).