SparkNotes: The Aeneid: Book IV The Aeneid page 1 of 2 Summary The flame of love for Aeneas that Cupid has lit in Dido’s heart only grows while she listens to his sorrowful tale. She hesitates, though, because after the death of her husband, Sychaeus, she swore that she would never marry again. On the other hand, as her sister Anna counsels her, by marrying Aeneas she would increase the might of Carthage, because many Trojan warriors follow Aeneas. For the moment, consumed by love, Dido allows the work of city building to fall by the wayside. Juno sees Dido’s love for Aeneas as a way to keep Aeneas from going to Italy. Pretending to make a peace offering, Juno suggests to Venus that they find a way to get Dido and Aeneas alone together. If they marry, Juno suggests, the Trojans and the Tyrians would be at peace, and she and Venus would end their feud. Venus knows Juno is just trying to keep the Trojans from Italy but allows Juno to go ahead anyway.

One day when Dido, her court, and Aeneas are out hunting, Juno brings a storm down upon them to send the group scrambling for shelter and arranges for Aeneas and Dido to wind up in a cave by themselves. They make love in the cave and live openly as lovers when they return to Carthage. Dido considers them to be married though the union has yet to be consecrated in ceremony. Anxious rumors spread that Dido and Aeneas have surrendered themselves entirely to lust and have begun to neglect their responsibilities as rulers. When Jupiter learns of Dido and Aeneas’s affair, he dispatches Mercury to Carthage to remind Aeneas that his destiny lies elsewhere and that he must leave for Italy. This message shocks Aeneas—he must obey, but he does not know how to tell Dido of his departure. He tries to prepare his fleet to set sail in secret, but the queen suspects his ploy and confronts him. In a rage, she insults him and accuses him of stealing her honor.

While Aeneas pities her, he maintains that he has no choice but to follow the will of the gods: “I sail for Italy not of my own free will” (IV.499). As a last effort, Dido sends Anna to try to persuade the Trojan hero to stay, but to no avail. Dido writhes between fierce love and bitter anger. Suddenly, she appears calm and instructs Anna to build a great fire in the courtyard. There, Dido says, she can rid Aeneas from her mind by burning all the clothes and weapons he has left behind and even the bed they slept on. Anna obeys, not realizing that Dido is in fact planning her own death—by making the fire her own funeral pyre. As night falls, Dido’s grief leaves her sleepless. Aeneas does sleep, but in his dreams, Mercury visits him again to tell him that he has delayed too long already and must leave at once. Aeneas awakens and calls his men to the ships, and they set sail. Dido sees the fleet leaving and falls into her final despair. She can no longer bear to live.

Running out to the courtyard, she climbs upon the pyre and unsheathes a sword Aeneas has left behind. She throws herself upon the blade and with her last words curses her absent lover. As Anna and the servants run up to the dying queen, Juno takes pity on Dido and ends her suffering and her life. 1 Dido Dido Bookmark this page Manage My Reading List Dido is the queen of Carthage. Virgil portrays her as Aeneas's equal and feminine counterpart. She is an antagonist, a strong, determined, and independent woman who possesses heroic dimensions. Like Aeneas, Dido fled her homeland because of circumstances beyond her control. She leads her people out of Tyre and founds Carthage. She embodies the qualities of a leader that Aeneas respects and hopes to employ when he founds Rome. She rules the Carthaginians fairly and justly, thereby maintaining order. Like Aeneas's character, Dido's character represents the best of her race. Because Juno and Venus manipulate Dido and Aeneas, Dido becomes infatuated with Aeneas.

She neglects the building projects that are underway in Carthage and the city's defense is not maintained. Virgil warns that love out of control can cause disorder, both physically and emotionally. He notes, "What good are shrines and vows to maddened lovers? / The inward fire eats the soft marrow away, / And the internal wound bleeds on in silence." Dido proves Virgil's comment when she lashes out at the gods. She lacks faith in the gods and in destiny — portraying symptoms of psychological madness. Unfortunately for Dido, her relationship with Aeneas is fated to end tragically, partly because Juno and Venus interfere and partly because Aeneas must continue on his journey to fulfill his destiny. In Book IV, Dido knows that her relationship with Aeneas is fated to fail. She realizes that her love/lust for Aeneas is her downfall; however, she is unable to change the course of events. She asks herself, "What am I saying? Where am I? What madness / Takes me out of myself?

Dido poor soul, / Your evil doing has come home to you." Virgil compares Dido's uncontrolled passion to a consuming fire that can not be extinguished: "The queen, for her part, all that evening ached / With longing that her heart's blood fed, a wound / Or inward fire eating her away." Later, when she discovers that Aeneas plans to leave Carthage, she becomes "all aflame / With rage." Fittingly, Dido dies on a pyre used for burning corpses in funeral rites by committing suicide with Aeneas's sword. Her suicide, an act of courage, proves she is a tragic, as well as a romantic heroine. The Aeneid Summary The Aeneid Summary NEXT How It All Goes Down After the destruction of Troy, the Trojan prince Aeneas leads a small band of survivors in search of a new home in Italy. Unfortunately, as they sail on their way, they get spotted by the goddess Juno. Juno hates the Trojans because of an old grudge, and because they are destined to become the Romans, who will destroy Carthage, her favorite city.

Conspiring with the god of the winds, Juno whips up a storm, forcing the Trojans to take refuge in – you guessed it – Carthage. Luckily, Aeneas has connections. In fact, his mom, Venus, is the goddess of connections. She introduces him to Dido, the beautiful queen of Carthage, who is recently widowed. Venus gets Amor, the personification of love, to make Dido fall madly in love with Aeneas. That night, at a banquet in his honor, Aeneas tells Dido the story of how Troy was captured, and how he escaped, carrying his father, Anchises, on his back, and leading his son, Ascanius, by the hand. (His wife, Creusa, died in the chaos – making Aeneas single, too.) Next, Aeneas recounts he and his fellow refugees' wanderings over the sea, including their close encounters with various weird mythological creatures. Aeneas's story ends with the death of his father, Anchises. Aeneas and the Trojans end up wintering in Carthage, and he and Dido become an item.

Then Jupiter gets worried that Aeneas is abandoning his destiny of founding a new city. He sends the god Mercury down to tell him to get moving. Aeneas does as he's told, and Dido kills herself. A storm forces the Trojans to land in Sicily – at the exact place where they buried Anchises a year before. While the Trojans hold athletic contests in the old man's honor, Juno convinces the Trojan women to set fire to the ships. Realizing that not everyone is as jazzed about going to Italy as he is, Aeneas leaves some people in Sicily and sails on to Italy with his A-team. Their first stop is Cumae, in the Bay of Naples, where they visit the Sibyl, a prophetess. She leads Aeneas down to the underworld, where he sees a lot of spooky stuff, talks with his father Anchises, and sees the spirits of future Roman heroes, waiting to be born. He also encounters Dido. He tries to talk to her but she rejects him. Fired up by what he has seen in the underworld, Aeneas sails to Latium.

As it happens, Latinus, the local king, has received an oracle saying his only child, Lavinia, must marry a foreign husband; he offers her to Aeneas in marriage. The problem is that Amata, Latinus's wife, wants their daughter to marry the local prince Turnus. Seeing her opportunity, Juno sends a Fury down to make both Amata and Turnus crazed with rage. Then she tricks Ascanius to shoot a stag kept as a pet by Latinus's gamekeeper. This provokes a war between the Italians and the Trojans. While the Italians are gathering allies, the god of the River Tiber appears to Aeneas in a dream and tells him to make an alliance with the Arcadian King Evander who lives upriver. Aeneas does as he's told and Evander lends him some troops, including his own son, Pallas. He also tells Aeneas to join forces with the Etruscans. After Aeneas sets out to speak to them, Venus comes down and gives him some armor made by the god Vulcan. It is decorated with scenes from the glorious future of Rome.

Meanwhile, in Aeneas's absence, Turnus and his men attack the Trojan fort, but are unable to capture it. That night, two Trojan warriors, Nisus and Euryalus, try to break through the Italian lines to reach Aeneas, but end up being killed by an Italian patrol. Two days later, Aeneas arrives with his Arcadian and Etruscan allies. In the battle that day, Turnus kills Pallas. The next day, Aeneas and the Italians agree on a twelve-day truce to bury their dead, but it is broken three days later. The ensuing battle leads to the death of Camilla, a warrior queen allied with Turnus. That evening, Turnus decides to fight Aeneas one-on-one for Lavinia and the kingdom. Unfortunately, the next day, when they are about to fight their duel, the nymph Juturna (Turnus's sister) provokes one of the Italians to throw a spear at the Trojans, starting a new battle. After much fighting, Aeneas finally comes head-to-head with Turnus and wounds him with his spear.

As Turnus begs for mercy, Aeneas considers sparing him – until he sees that Turnus is wearing a belt he stole from Pallas. Enraged, Aeneas kills Turnus with his sword. Study Guide: The Aeneid Study Guide Book 1: Aeneas encounters a storm and is cast ashore at Carthage. Book 2: The hero tells Dido of his escape from Troy. Book 3: The wanderings of Aeneas: Harpies, meeting with Helenus. Death of Anchises. Book 4: Dido's passion for Aeneas. At Jupiter's command, Aeneas departs. Dido kills herself. Book 5: Aeneas reaches Sicily. Funeral games for Anchises. Book 6: Aeneas with the Sibyl at Cumae. He meets Anchises in the Underworld. Book 7: Aeneas lands in Latium. Latinus promises Lavinia. Juno and Allecto stir up war. Catalogue of Italian heroes. Book 8: Aeneas secures the help of Evander and the Etruscans. Story of Hercules and Cacus. Armor from Vulcan.

Book 9: Turnus attacks the Trojan camp. Nisus and Euryalus. The camp is hard pressed. Book 10: Council of gods. Tuscan catalogue. Turnus kills Pallas. Juno saves Turnus from raging Aeneas. Aeneas kills Mezentius. Book 11: Burial of Pallas. Diomedes' refusal. Council: Drances abuses Turnus. The Trojans attack. Death of Camilla. Book 12: Single combat arranged, but treachery provokes a general engagement. Trojans attack the city. In single combat, Aeneas kills Turnus. Gods and Goddesses: Roman Religion (curiously, to us!) took over wholesale many of the Greek gods. They adopted most of the functions and characteristics, though usually having also some Roman flavor to their divinity. Thus we can produce a table of equivalences between the gods you're familiar with from Homer, and those who turn up in the Aeneid.

(Latin name :: Greek name) Apollo is still Apollo, but often (as also in Homer) called "Phoebus" Also, two heroes have important changes of name: Ulysses (Ulixes) ~ Odysseus Hercules ~ Heracles Book 1 Aeneas encounters a storm and is cast ashore at Carthage. Dryden's summary: The Trojans, after a seven years' voyage, set sail for Italy, but are overtaken by a dreadful storm, which Aeolus raises at Juno's request. The tempest sinks one ship, and scatters the rest. Neptune drives off the winds, and calms the sea. Aeneas, with his own ship, and six more, arrives safe at an African port. Venus complains to Jupiter of her son's misfortunes. Jupiter comforts her, and sends Mercury to procure him a kind reception among the Carthaginians. Aeneas, going out to discover the country, meets his mother in the shape of a huntress, who conveys him in a cloud to Carthage, where he sees his friends whom he thought lost, and receives a kind entertainment from the queen.

Dido, by a device of Venus, begins to have a passion for him, and, after some discourse with him, desires the history of his adventures since the siege of Troy, which is the subject of the two following books. [Summaries taken from book introductions to John Dryden's classic translation of the Aeneid: spelling is regularized to modern conventions, and an occasional phrase or piece of syntax as well.] Principal episodes: The storm. Note the procession of focus from one god to the next: Juno, then Aeolus, then Neptune, then Jupiter. What does this development suggest? What prediction does it coincide with? Aeneas and companion (Achates) meets up with mother Venus in disguise. What about the theme of the hunt? What associations do we have with hunting and goddesses? does that fit Venus? why does Vergil do this? (Note esp. the entrance of Dido: to which goddess is she compared?) Aeneas and Achates see scenes of Troy on the temple of Juno which the Carthaginians are constructing; Aeneas presents himself to Dido Think through what events in this book remind you of events in Homer, esp.

in the Odyssey Principal new characters: Juno, wife of the head god Jupiter, Roman equivalent of Hera: hostile (still!) to the Trojans Aeolus, god of the winds Neptune, god of the sea, Roman equivalent to Poseidon Venus, goddess of love, and mother of Aeneas, Roman equivalent to Aphrodite Aeneas, our hero, and son of Venus Cupid, another, very different son of Venus: inspires love in Dido Ascanius or Iulus, son of Aeneas, for whom Venus substitutes Cupid in the meeting with Dido Dido, queen of Carthage, who falls in love with Aeneas Carthage: a city in North Africa, historically the great rival of Rome in the critical period of the third and second centuries B.C.: defeat of Carthage marked the end of serious opposition around the Mediterranean to Roman power, and led to the consolidation of power we know as the "Roman Empire" Troy, the home of Aeneas Tyre, the original home of Dido, before she fled her brother Pygmalion (who murdered her husband Sychaeus) Book 2 The hero tells Dido of his escape from Troy Dryden's summary:

 Aeneas relates how the city of Troy was taken, after a ten years' siege, by the treachery of Sinon, and the strategem of a wooden horse.

He declares the fixed resolution he had taken not to survive the ruins of his country, and the various adventures he met with in the defense of it. At last, having been before advised by Hector's ghost, and now by the appearance of his mother Venus, he is prevailed upon to leave the town, and settle his household gods in another country. In order to do this, he carries off his father on his shoulders, and leads his little son by the hand, his wife following him behind. When he comes to the place appointed for the general rendezvous, he finds a great confluence of people, but misses his wife whose ghost afterwards appears to him, and tells him the land which was designed for him. Principal episodes: Story of the wooden horse. The actions of Laocoon; the story of Sinon; Laocoon and the sea serpents. Hector appears to Aeneas as a ghost. The battle in Priam's palace: Cassandra dragged away; tale of Priam's death; Helen. Aeneas flees Troy, carrying Father Anchises and with little Ascanius by the hand; wife Creusa is lost along the way.

Principal new characters: Cassandra, daughter of Priam, prophetess who will never be believed Creusa, Aeneas' wife Book 3 The Wanderings of Aeneas: Harpies, meeting with Hellenus. Death of father Anchises. Dryden's summary: Aeneas proceeds with his story: he gives an account of the fleet with which he sailed, and the success of his first voyage to Thrace. From thence he directs his course to Delos, and asks the oracle what place the gods had appointed for his habitation. By a mistake of the oracle's answer, he settles in Crete; his household gods give him the true sense of the oracle, in a dream. He follows their advice, and makes the best of his way to Italy. He is cast on several shores, and meets with very surprising adventures, till at length he lands on Sicily, where his father Anchises dies. This is the place which he was sailing from, when the tempest rose, and threw him upon the Carthaginian coast. Principal episodes: Polydorus in Thrace: bloody shoots from the spears that killed him. Encounter with the Harpies.

(what does this tell us about Aeneas' journey? how does it compare for "heroic" flavor with Odysseus' journey?) Visit with Helenus and Andromache in Epirus (Buthrotum) (what does this tell us about the Trojan fate? what does the fact of the "Toy Troy" H. builds imply about Aeneas' mission?) Aeneas and his men skirt Scylla and Charybdis, meet up with a lost companion of Odysseus (Achaemenides) on the island of the Cyclops, and escape Polyphemus (again, how does this compare with Odysseus' travels? why is Aeneas' journey different in these ways?) Anchises dies in Sicily, at the land of Acestes.

Principal new characters: Polydorus, son of Priam murdered in Thrace Calaeno, Harpy who prophesies that the Trojans will starve to the point that they eat their tables Helenus, Trojan seer and inheritor of the kingdom of Pyrrhus Andromache, former wife of Hector, then slave of Pyrrhus, now wife of Helenus Acestes, friendly king of a land in Sicily Book 4 Dido's passion for Aeneas. At Jupiter's command, Aeneas departs. Dido kills herself. Dryden's summary: Dido reveals to her sister her passion for Aeneas, and her thoughts of marrying him. She prepares a hunting match for his entertainment. Juno, by Venus's consent, raises a storm, which separates the hunters, and drives Aeneas and Dido into the same cave, where their marriage is supposed to be completed. Jupiter dispatches Mercury to Aeneas, to warn him from Carthage. Aeneas secretly prepares for his voyage.

Dido finds out his design, and, to put a stop to it, makes use of her own and her sister's entreaties, and reveals all the variety of passions that are incident to a neglected lover. When nothing would prevail upon him, she contrives her own death, with which this book concludes. Principal episodes: Dido, inflamed by love for Aeneas, consults sister Anna, who advises her of the advantages of marriage with Aeneas Juno and Venus plot to get the two together, and the "marriage" is consumated in a cave in the midst of a hunt (note hunting imagery!) Jupiter sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his duty, and the hero departs, despite the passionate complaints of Dido (how much of Aeneas' emotions do we see either in the "falling in love" section or in this section, where he decides to leave? how much, in contrast, do we see of Dido's emotions? why is there this difference?) Dido commits suicide, a death "neither fated nor deserved" (!). Principal new characters: Proserpina (=Persephone in Greek), queen of the Underworld Book 5 Aeneas reaches Sicily.

Funeral games for Anchises. Dryden's summary: Aeneas, setting sail from Africa, is driven by a storm on the coasts of Sicily, where he is hopitably received by his friend Acestes, king of part of the island, and born of Trojan parentage. He applies himself to celebrate the memory of his father with divine honors, and accordingly institutes funeral games, and appoints prizes for those who should conquer in them. While the cremonies were performing, Juno sends Iris to persuade the Trojan women to burn the ships, who, upon her instigation, set fie to them; which burnt four, and would have consumed the rest, had not Jupiter, by a miraculous shower, extinguished it. Upon this, Aeneas, by the advice of one of his generals, and a vision of his father, builds a city for the women, old men, and others, who were either unfit for war, or weary of the voyage, and sails for Italy. Venus procures from Neptune a safe voyage for him and all his men, excepting only his pilot Palilnurus, who is unfortunately lost.

Principal episodes: As Aeneas and men sail away, a violent storm prevents their course for Italy, and they land again in Sicily, where they are welcomed by Acestes Funeral games for Anchises: ship race, foot race (Nisus and Euryalus), boxing (Dares and Entellus), archery contest; omen of Acestes' arrow, which catches fire (note similarities -- and differences! -- between these and the Homeric antecedents) Trojan women, inspired by Iris (who is sent by Juno), fire the Trojan ships (why do they do this? how does the "divine motivation" work? Principal new characters: Euryalus, young "toy boy" friend of Nisus Nisus, friend of Euryalus (you'll see this pair again!) Book 6 Aeneas at Cumae. He meets Anchises in the underworld. Dryden's summary: The Sibyl foretells Aeneas the adventures he should met with in Italy.

She attends him to hell; describing to him the various scenes of that place, and conducting him to his father Anchises, who instructs him in those sublime mysteries of the soul of the world, and the transmigration; and shows him that glorious race of heroes which was to descend from him, and his posterity. Principal episodes: Death of Palinurus Preparations for the descent into the Underworld: meeting with the Sibyl at Cumae; search for golden bough (what are the pictures on the temple doors? why these?) Journey into the Underworld: Rivers, Styx, the ferryman Charon, the dog Cerberus; Limbo (the untimely dead: infants, unjustly condemned, unhappy lovers-- where A. meets Dido-- and then the area for warriors -- where A. meets Deiphobus); Tartarus, the place of everlasting sinners; the fields of Elysium, for the blessed (where A. finds Anchises). Note esp.

meetings with Palinurus (what Odyssey character does this remind you of?) Dido (ditto: why the reference to Ajax?) Deiphobus (note how this account differs from that of either Helen or Menelaus in the Odyssey: why?). Revelation of the future: Anchises shows to Aeneas the waiting souls of the future, who turn out to be kings and leaders of the Roman race, stretching down to Vergil's day: note especially Romulus, Julius Caesar, "Caesar" (that is, Augustus Caesar = Octavian), Marcellus. Two gates of Sleep, horn and ivory: Aeneas and the Sibyl exit by the ivory gate (!).

(what is the meaning of the horn and ivory gates?) Principal new characters: Palinurus, the helmsman Sibyl, the priestess of Apollo at Cumae, who acts as Aeneas' guide down into the Underworld Deiphobus, the Trojan who wed Helen after Paris' death, for which his body was mutilated by the Greeks Styx, main river of the Underworld Lethe (means "forgetfulness" in Greek), river in the Underworld where souls drink to forget their past lives before returning to the world above Romulus, legendary first king of Rome itself, nurtured with his brother Remus by a she-wolf, and thus emblematic of Rome's hardy beginnings. Marcellus, nephew and presumed heir to Augustus, who died unexpectedly in 23 BC, shortly before this passage was written. Book 7 Aeneas lands in Latium. Latinus promises Lavinia. Juno stirs up war. Catalogue of Italian heroes. Dryden's summary: King Latinus entertains Aeneas, and promises him his only daughter, Lavinia, the heiress of his crown.

Turnus, being in love with her, favored by her mother, and stirred up by Juno and Allecto, breaks the treaty which was made, and engages in his quarrel Mezentius, Camilla, Messapus, and many others of the neighboring princes; whose forces, and the names of their commanders, are here related in a catalogue. Principal episodes: Story of Latinus and daughter Lavinia: omens of bees, fire in Lavinia's hair (rather like a fairytale, isn't it? why?) The Trojans land and in their hunger "eat the table" (that is, the bread they are using to hold the wild fruits and veggies they're devouring: Ascanius's adolescent joke, but also the fulfillment of the prophecy by the harpy Calaeno)-- the first Roman pizza! Latinus receives the Trojans, and offers his daughter, Lavinia (!) (Note the importance of omens in determining the action here, and the frequency of important omens generally in this part of the epic.) Allecto, a Fury sent by Juno, stirs madness in (1) Amata, (2) Turnus, (3) the Italian farmers and folk.

Note that the Italian folk are initially stirred by, of all things, Iulus/Ascanius killing the tame deer of Silvia. (Another hunting motif!) Catalogue of Italian warriors. Principal new characters: Allecto, a Fury Latium, the kingdom of Latinus, where the Latins live, and where Aeneas will eventually found Lavinium Latinus, king of Latium Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, and destined to be the wife of Aeneas, and his fellow ruler over Lavinium (named after her) Turnus, ruler of the Rutulians, and principal foe of Aeneas Mezentius, godless ruler of the Etruscans, another principal foe (we'll see more of him later, esp. book 10) Camilla, an Amazon-like female warrior, another of Turnus' principal allies Book 8 Aeneas secures the help of Evander and the Etruscans. Story of Hercules and Cacus. Armor from Vulcan. Dryden's summary: The war being now begun, both the generals make all possible preparations. Turnus sends to Diomedes.

Aeneas goes in person to beg aid from Evander and the Tuscans (=the Etruscans). Evander receives him kindly, furnishes him with men, and sends his son Pallas with him. Vulcan, at the request of Venus, makes arms for her son Aeneas, and draws on his shield the most memorable actions of his posterity. Principal episodes: Aeneas goes upstream with divine assistance and visits Evander. Evander promises the help of the Etruscans. Evander tells the story of Hercules and Cacus. Venus asks Vulcan to make Aeneas armor. The shield contains images of the many famous wars fought by Aeneas' descendants, culminating in the battle of Octavian over Marc Antony at Actium (31 BC).

(Note how Aeneas is linked back to Hercules -- the earlier, heroic generation, and then forward to the "present" time of Octavian/Augustus.) Principal new characters: Evander, local king (of Pallanteum) who sides with Aeneas against the Latins, and suggests the Etruscans as allies Pallas, the son of Evander (he will become a Patroclus-like figure: watch for this!) Cacus, a man-eating, fire-breathing monster defeated and killed by Hercules for stealing his cattle Vulcan, husband of Venus, maker of the arms Cyclops, helpers of Vulcan at the forge (note how different from Homer's Cyclopes!) Actium, 31 BC, the critical victory of Octavian (soon to be Augustus) Caesar over the opposing forces of Marc Antony (=Antonius in your text) and Cleopatra: this is the central scene in Aeneas' shield Book 9 Turnus attacks the Trojan camp. Nisus and Euryalus. The camp is hard pressed. Dryden's summary: Turnus takes advantage of Aeneas's absence, fires some of his ships (which are transformed into sea nymphs), and assaults his camp.

The Trojans, reduced to the last extremities, send Nisus and Euryalus to recall Aeneas; which furnishes the poet with that admirable episode of their friendship, generosity, and the conclusion of their adventures. Principal episodes: Turnus and allies attack the Trojan camp (which is remarkably like a Roman fortification of the first century!) and try to fire the ships, but Cybele descends and turns the ships into sea nymphs (why this crazy, surreal image here? what does it do to our interpretation of the divine intrusions into the conflict?) Nisus and Euryalus go forth on a raiding expedition (what sort of warrior and warrior relationship is this striking episode a model of?) The "aristeia" of Turnus: like a lion let loose in the sheep fold, he rages within the Trojan camp before finally being pushed out by overwhelming numbers Principal new characters: Nisus and Euryalus revisited: review their appearance earlier, in book 5 Book 10 Fight continues. Tuscan catalogue. Turnus kills Pallas. Juno saves Turnus from raging Aeneas. Aeneas kills Mezentius.

Dryden's summary: Jupiter, calling a council of the gods, forbids them to engage in either party. At Aeneas' return there is a bloody battle: Turnus killing Pallas; Aeneas, Lausus and Mezentius. Mezentius is described as an atheist; Lausus as a pious and virtuous youth. The different actions and death of these two are the subject of a noble episode. Principal episodes: Council of the gods (what do we find here about who is responsible for what has happened to the Trojans? what does Juno say?

what does Jupiter say?) Death of Pallas (what does Turnus take as a prize?) Deaths of Lausus and Mezentius (why the contrast between this father-son pair, the one pious, the other impious?) Principal new characters: Pallas, son of Evander (to what Iliadic figure does he seem to compare?) Lausus, the virtuous son of Mezentius Mezentius, former king of the Etruscans (=Tuscans), so evil that the Etruscans drove him out and fight against him alongside Aeneas; a godless man Book 11 Burial of Pallas. Diomedes' refusal. Council: Drances abuses Turnus. The Trojans attack. Death of Camilla. Dryden's summary: Aeneas erects a trophy of the spoils of Mezentius, grants a truce for burying the dead, and sends home the body of Pallas with great solemnity. Latinus calls a council, to propose offers of peace to Aeneas; which occasions great animosity betwixt Turnus and Drances.

In the meantime there is a sharp engagement of the horse; wherein Camilla shows herself remarkable; is killed; and the Latin troops are entirely defeated. Principal episodes: Council of the Latins (what exactly is Drances' argument against Turnus? what is Turnus' reply?) Aristeia and death of Camilla, an Amazon-like maiden warrior (why this female figure here?) Principal new characters: Drances, Latin elder who does not fight, but is an enemy of Turnus and an advocate of peace with the Trojans Camilla, an Amazon-like Volscian maiden warrior, ally of Turnus Book 12 Single combat arranged, but treachery provokes a general engagement. Trojans attack the city. In single combat, Aeneas kills Turnus. Dryden's summary: Turnus challenges Aeneas to a single combat: articles are agreed on, but broken by the Rutuli, who wound Aeneas. He is miraculously cured by Venus, forces Turnus to a duel, and concludes the poem with his death.

Principal episodes: Single Duel between Aeneas and Turnus; Breaking of the truce; Wounding and miraculous cure of Aeneas (what book in the Iliad does this resemble? [Book 3, duel between Menelaus and Paris: thus what roles do Aeneas and Turnus play?]) Death of Turnus (in what ways is this like, in what ways different from Achilles' slaying of Hector?) Principal new characters: Dido, Queen of Carthage: Themes in the Play Dido, Queen of Carthage Themes in the Play Marlowe's Imprint The main subject matter and some of the basic themes within Dido, Queen of Carthage are of course inherited from Virgil's source, which Marlowe adheres to closely for the basic story-line. The main interest for the Marlovian scholar is why Marlowe should have picked this story to adapt for the stage, and then to examine the changes and additions that the playwright has made in his dramatisation in the hope that it might tell us something about Marlowe's ideas. It is, of course, very difficult to answer the first question.

Perhaps may have familiarity with the source played a part, but at a high level the concept of God(s) and their relationship with Man is an idea that clearly interested Marlowe, and is one that plays a key role in Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus. If we could be more certain as to the dating of the play, and perhaps who Marlowe was writing the play for, then we might be able to make some better inferences regarding his choice of material. In contrast, the close relationship to the source of the play, Virgil's Aeneid, allows us to see in some detail exactly what Marlowe has added and what he has changed. Oliver very well sums up the essential themes of the story, and the slant that Marlowe brings to his play.

"The theme of the play is not so very different from that of Book IV of the Aeneid: betrayal in love as the price paid for obeying the behest of the Gods; and the difference is, of course, that Marlowe is much less sympathetic to the behests of the Gods, so that humans are less the dignified agents of divine wisdom and more the victims of the politics of Olympus." 1 The Petty Gods Marlowe subtly depreciates the importance of the Gods. Twice Jupiter dispatches his messenger Hermes to remind the mortal Aeneas of his important mission, namely the founding of Rome. His love for Dido must not distract him. "Why cousin stand you building cities here / and beautifying the empire of this queen?" ( V.1 .27-8) asks Hermes. And yet at the start of the play (in a scene which is solely Marlowe's creation) we see Jupiter, King of the Gods no less, completely infatuated by Ganymede and consequently oblivious to the fact that Aeneas' mission has quite literally been blown of course as a result of Juno's plotting.

It takes Venus' intervention to inspire Jupiter to action, and later it is perhaps only Iarbus' prayers that again bring the God's attention to the dallying Aeneas. The vengeful soliloquy by Juno, who, after finding Ascanius hidden in the grove, muses on murdering the child, is also Marlowe's work. There is a deep enmity between Juno and Venus, but the playwright accentuates the Machiavellian pact formulated by the two Goddesses to raise the storm that will lead Aeneas into the cave with Dido; the expected outcome is in the interest of both Juno and Venus. The scene in which Cupid somewhat cruelly touches the nurse with his dart, and inspires the eighty year old woman to start dreaming of love and taking a husband, is another scene ( IV.5 ) added by Marlowe. Cupid's childish amusement, as well as the opening scene in which "Jupiter has been seen cajoling a cheeky, teasing Ganymede", suggest to Steane that "these Gods are petty childish humans who have all the worlds to play with.

In other hands, the gods as dramatis personae in such a context would be darkening powers, baleful and menacing; but with Marlowe they are merely part of the exuberant power-play." 2 Marlowe Challenging Convention Marlowe's has also added substantially to the solitary example of unrequited love in Virgil's Aeneid. As well as Dido's ultimately fruitless passion for Aeneas, Marlowe introduces four other 'victims' of unreturned love: Jupiter besotted with Ganymede; Anna's failed pursuit of Iarbus, who in turn is continually rejected by Dido, and finally and most bizarrely the old nurse's sudden desire for the young boy, Cupid. Sarah Munson Deats sees Marlowe challenging and inverting convention through these additional relationships. "Lovers [in Dido] rarely conform to conventional codes of behaviour: men pursue boys, females woo males; and old crones seek to seduce pink-faced lads.

Of the five amours, only one - Iarbus' rather drab suit to Dido - adheres to conventional sex/gender etiquette." 3 Marlowe's ambiguous moral framework, as in his other plays, has inspired a wide range of responses. Romantic or Moralistic? But perhaps it is the core of Marlowe's play that has sparked the most debate, the "ambiguous treatment of the two protagonists," Dido and Aeneas, which "has aroused diverse, even antipodal responses". 4 Is Marlowe taking sides? "There have been many different attitudes to Marlowe's portraits of Dido and Aeneas. These interpretations differ so much that they cannot all be in accord with Marlowe's intention." 5 The two main conflicting interpretations, the "romantic, pro-passion," and the "moralistic, pro-duty" reading are again well summarised by Sarah Munson Deats, who also cites examples of commentators in each camp 6 . In the former case, Marlowe is sympathising with Dido, the tragic and eponymous heroine, whilst simultaneously lowering our opinion of Aeneas through his portrayal.

The Trojan swears his love to Dido, but betrays that promise via his (intended) departure from Carthage (not once as in Virgil, where no vow was ever made, but twice). His excuses after the first failed attempt to leave are particularly weak. His account of the fall of Troy also raises question marks about Aeneas' honour towards women (his failure to save his wife Creusa, Cassandra and Polyxena) and anticipates his desertion of Dido. Also, through his portrayal of the Gods as exhibiting human flaws, Marlowe is implicitly undermining Aeneas' ultimate justification for his eventual departure to Italy. A pro-duty interpretation rather cites the comic or farcical aspects of the play (Jupiter's "dandling" of Ganymede, Dido's reaction to being struck by Cupid's dart, likewise the Nurse's reaction, and the anti-climactic triple suicide) as Marlowe deliberately undermining the tragic nature of the play. Dido's love is not real, but rather artificially induced by Cupid, and thus Aeneas is ultimately right to decide in favour of his duty.

Rather than callously betraying his promise to Dido, Aeneas is instead the victim of a moral dilemma, and his return to Dido after his first abortive departure rather demonstrates his integrity in this no-win situation. Perhaps, as Deats concludes, Marlowe did in fact consciously offer up these "two antithetical interpretations" 7 . Marlowe could be provoking his audience into considering both sides of the story, debating apparently opposing standpoints as his University training may well have taught him to do, but without actually providing a decisive resolution. Dido, Queen of Carthage: Dramatis Personae Dido, Queen of Carthage Jupiter: (Jove) In Roman mythology, Jupiter is the king of the Gods, and the God of the sky. Juno is both his sister and his wife. Jupiter was the grandfather of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, and thus venerated in Roman religion. In the opening scene of Marlowe's play, Jupiter is "dandling" Ganymede on his knee and offering him his wife's marriage jewels (he has made Ganymede cup-bearer to the Gods at the expense of Juno's daughter Hebe).

Confronted by Venus concerned for her son's life, Jupiter agrees to quell the storm that endangers Aeneas , and affirms that his ultimate fate is unaltered: to re-establish Troy in Italy through the founding of Rome. Jupiter is thus pitted against his wife Juno on two fronts. Ganymede: In Greek mythology, Ganymede was a Trojan prince and the most handsome among mortals, which is why Zeus abducts him in the form of an eagle to serve as immortal cupbearer to the gods. Jupiter is the equivalent of Zeus in Roman mythology, and a similar legend exists. In poetry, Ganymede was often used as a symbol for idealised beauty of youth and also for homosexual love, sometimes contrasted with Helen of Troy in the role of heterosexuality. In the opening to Marlowe's play, Ganymede is being "dandled" on Jupiter's knee, whilst bemoaning Juno's wrath towards him (he has usurped her daughter Hebe as cup-bearer). A clearly smitten Jupiter reminds Ganymede that all the Gods are at his command, and even offers him Juno's wedding gems.

This opening scene is introduced by Marlowe (it is not in Virgil's Aeneid), and serves to underline the resentment between Jupiter and Juno. Mercury: (Hermes) The winged messenger of the Gods. Dispatched by Jupiter to instruct Aeolus to quell the storm, and later to remind Aeneas of his Italian destiny (again at the behest of Jupiter). Cupid: Son of Venus and half-brother of Aeneas , Cupid is the God of love and erotic beauty in Roman mythology. He is able to make a person fall in love with another, and is often shown with a bow and arrow as the means by which he achieves this. In both Virgil's Aeneid and Marlowe's play, Venus arranges for Cupid to be substituted for Aeneas's son Ascanius (whilst in the care of Dido ) in order that he may make Dido fall in love with Aeneas and guarantee his safety. The later scene involving Cupid and Dido's nurse is wholly Marlowe's invention. Juno: Roman goddess, daughter of Saturn, sister and also wife of the chief God Jupiter .

She is the main antagonistic character in Virgil's Aeneid, resentful towards the Trojans and determined to thwart Aeneas' mission to found a new Troy in Italy. Juno is angry, because she was not chosen in the judgement of Paris against Aeneas' mother Venus , and also because her favourite city Carthage will be destroyed by Aeneas' descendants. The opening of Marlowe's play finds Ganymede bemoaning his treatment by Juno to a sympathetic Jupiter. Ganymede, a Trojan prince, was chosen to be the god's cup bearer, replacing Juno's daughter Hebe. Juno bribes Aeolus, ruler of the Winds, to blow up a storm that forces the Trojan fleet heading towards Italy back across the Mediterranean Sea onto the North African coast in Carthage (modern day Tunisia). Later, Juno makes an opportunistic pact with Venus, the two goddesses putting their enmity temporarily aside in order to hatch a plan that will lure Aeneas into marrying Dido , an outcome that suits both their aims. Venus: The Roman goddess associated with love, beauty and fertility, she is mother to both Aeneas and Cupid .

At the opening of the play, she is concerned for her son's life in the storm created at Juno's behest, and berates Jupiter for not saving him. Venus arranges for her other son Cupid to replace Aeneas's son Ascanius and cause Dido to fall in love with Aeneas to ensure the safety of her son against Juno's wrath. Later, Venus makes an opportunistic pact with Juno, as mentioned above. Aeneas: Aeneas is a Trojan hero, son of Anchises and the goddess Venus , and related to the Trojan king Priam. In Homer's Iliad, he is leader of the Trojan allies, the Dardanians, and his mother frequently comes to his aid in battle. However, it is Virgil in his Aeneid who builds on this minor character from Greek mythology and turns him into the full-blown hero who eventually founds Rome. Marlowe, of course, uses Virgil as his source. The play opens with Aeneas' and the Trojan fleet having escaped the fall of Troy and heading for Italy to fulfil their heaven-decreed fate.

But after Juno has caused their ships to wash up in Carthage, Aeneas initially falls in love with a Cupid-struck Dido , subsequently battling at some length with his conscience before eventually succumbing to destiny and setting off once again for Italy. Marlowe's sympathy is perhaps slightly more with Dido than was Virgil's. The title of his play perhaps suggests this, but Marlowe also adds some minor tweaks to the narrative that paint Aeneas in a less sympathetic light. Ascanius: Aeneas and Creusa's son, also known as Iulus (or Julius). The young boy is substituted by Cupid for much of the play. He travels on to Italy with his father, and eventually founds Alba Longa there, becoming the first of a long line of Kings. Achates: In Roman mythology, Achates is Aeneas' close and faithful friend who accompanies him throughout his journeys, most notably leading him to the Sibyl of Cumae where Aeneas descends to the underworld. In Marlowe's play, his main dramatic role is to repeatedly persuade Aeneas that he should depart Carthage to resume his original mission to Italy.

Dido: Queen of Carthage. Marlowe's tragedy is perhaps more sympathetic to his eponymous heroine than Virgil. According to Roman historians, Dido (also known as Elissa), Phoenician princess of Tyre, founded Carthage (modern day Tunisia, on the North African coast) in about 814 B.C. and subsequently a powerful Carthaginian (or 'Punic') civilization that rivalled Rome. Her brother, King Pygmalion of Tyre, had arranged the murder of her rich husband Acerbas (a.k.a. Sichaeus, as he is named by Virgil and Marlowe). But Elissa had found out and chose to flee with a party of loyal followers, eventually settling in Carthage. She chooses to stay true to the memory of her husband, but after declining the marriage proposal of Iarbus , king of Mauritani, who otherwise threatened to make war on Carthage, Elissa creates a ceremonial pyre and sacrifices herself on it.

In both Virgil's Aeneid and Marlowe's Dido, the Queen of course falls in love with Aeneas , angering Iarbus (King of the Gaetulians) whose offer of marriage was previously spurned by Dido. These tragedies both end with Dido similarly sacrificing herself on a self-made pyre, in despair at the loss of Aeneas who has finally sailed for Rome. Nurse: Dido's elderly and widowed nurse, who is instructed to take Aeneas' son to her house in the country by the Queen as a means of keeping the Trojan in Carthage. But it is Cupid still masquerading as Ascanius , and the nurse is soon consumed with thoughts of love. This scene ( IV.5 ) is Marlowe's own invention. A nurse appears briefly in the Aeneid to help Dido build her pyre. Iarbus: King of Gaetulia in Virgil's Aeneid, and just one of Dido's many suitors. However Roman historians record Iarbus variously as King of Maxitani or Mauritani, who demanded the hand of Dido in marriage or he would wage war on Carthage.

The Queen wished to stay faithful to her first husband (murdered back in Tyre) and on pretence of creating a ceremonial pyre in preparation for marriage, instead sacrifices herself on it. In Marlowe's Dido, Iarbus is rather the Queen's only jealous suitor, angered when Dido falls for Aeneas after his advances have been spurned. Virgil Study Guide WORLD LITERATURE I (ENG 251) Virgil Study Guide Dr. Diane Thompson, NVCC , ELI VIRGIL'S LIFE -- (70-19 BC) -- A First Century Roman Citizen Not much is known about Virgil's life. He was born in 70 BC and raised in a rural area near Mantua, Italy; he was well educated; his family farm was seized as a political spoil. From his thirty-first year on, Virgil lived either in Rome or near Naples, associated with his patron, Maecenas, Octavian's minister of internal affairs. Virgil was a court poet, whose well-being depended on pleasing powerful members of the ruling class.

He evidently did this quite well, since Maecenas and other wealthy patrons supported him financially, allowing him to spend his life writing poetry. VIRGIL'S LATIN A brief example of Virgil's Latin from the opening sentence of the Aeneid shows how the words are arranged more like a mosaic than in the linear fashion we are used to nowadays: Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris ARMS THE MAN AND I SING, OF TROY WHO FIRST FROM COASTS Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit TO ITALY BY FATE EXILED LAVINIAN AND CAME litora SHORES Or, in normal English word order: Arms I sing and the man who first from the coasts of Troy, exiled by fate, came to Italy and Lavinian shores. In the Latin original, each word has a meaning that may not become clear until several more words have been read. This is an elegant, complex, literary language that does not end itself to translation.

ROMAN DEITIES IN THE AENEID (and their Greek parallels, if any) Allecto a Fury who instills the poison of irrational rage into her victims, especially Amata and Turnus Apollo (same name in Greek) sun god; son of Jupiter and Latona; the god of prophecy; brother of Diana Cupid (Eros) son of Venus Diana (Artemis) goddess of the moon, the hunt and the woods; daughter of Jupiter and Latona; sister of Apollo Iris rainbow goddess; Juno's messenger Juno (Hera) wife and sister of Jupiter; daughter of Saturn; god of marriage; chief goddess of Carthage; hates Trojans because of Judgment of Paris Jupiter (Zeus) chief deity; husband and brother of Juno; son of Saturn Lares household, hearth-centered, ancestral gods, which Aeneas brings along with the Penates from Troy to Italy; these, along with the Penates, are small enough for Anchises to carry while Aeneas carries him Penates household gods or gods of the state; Aeneas brings the Trojan state gods with him from Troy to Italy Mars (Ares) god of war; son of Jupiter Mercury (Athena)-godd

ess of wisdom, battle and household arts such as weaving Neptune (Poseidon) god of the sea; brother of Jupiter; helped build the walls of Troy, but King Laomedon, Priam's father, refused to pay him, so he became an enemy of Troy Saturn (Chronos) previous chief god; father of Jupiter, who deposed him Venus (Aphrodite) mother of Aeneas and of Cupid; goddess of love; she constantly worries about her son Aeneas, despite Jupiter's assurances that he will be fine Vulcan GREEK CHARACTERS IN THE AENEID: (few and nasty) Pyrrhus son of Achilles, also named Neoptolemus; during the destruction of Troy, he killed a son of Priam and Hecuba in front of their eyes, and then killed Priam at his own altar; he also captured their daughter Andromache, Hector's widow, as his concubine Sinon a deceitful Greek who pretended to flee from the Greeks to the Trojans, told lying tales about the Trojan Horse and how, if it were taken into Troy, Troy could not be taken; he then released the soldiers from inside the Trojan Horse to destroy Troy Ulysses (Od

ysseus)- the treacherous fellow who devised the Trojan Horse that destroyed Troy; a brilliant, cruel, self-seeking manipulator TROJAN CHARACTERS IN THE AENEID: Aeneas Trojan prince, son of Venus and Anchises, father of Ascanius, lover of Dido, ancestor of the Roman people Anchises Aeneas' father; carried by Aeneas from fallen Troy Andromache widow of Hector, captured at fall of Troy by Pyrrhus; eventually married Helenus Ascanius (also Iulus) son of Aeneas and Creusa Camilla female warrior, ally of Turnus in Latium Creusa Aeneas' wife who dies during the flight out of Troy Euryalus Trojan warrior; friend of Nisus; killed during a brave sortie with Nisus after killing many Latin enemies; Nisus and Euryalus became a model of loyal, brave friendship Hecuba queen of Troy, wife of Priam Helenus a son of Priam; a prophet; eventually married the widowed Andromache and became king in Epirus Laocoon Trojan priest; tried to warn the Trojans about the Trojan horse by thrusting a spear against it; killed by ser

pents Nisus Trojan warrior; friend of Euryalus; killed during a brave sortie with Euryalus after killing many Latin enemies Priam king of Troy; killed by Pyrrhus Polydorus Trojan who was treacherously killed by the king of Thrace; buried under a bush which bled when Aeneas tried to tear off a branch; his ghost warns Aeneas to flee from Thrace TYRIAN CHARACTERS IN THE AENEID: Anna Dido's sister; encouraged Dido in her affair with Aeneas Dido queen and founder of Carthage, widow of Sychaeus; falls in love with Aeneas; kills herself when he leaves; also called Elissa Sychaeus OTHER CHARACTERS IN THE AENEID ( in Italy): Amata queen of Latium; wife of Latinus; mother of Lavinia; wanted Turnus to marry Lavinia Evander a good Greek; Aeneas' ally; founder of Pallanteum; father of Pallas Latinus king of Latium, husband of Amata, father of Lavinia Lavinia daughter of Amata and Latinus; loved by Turnus; destined to be Aeneas' wife to join

 the two warring peoples (Trojans and Latins) in peace Pallas young warrior, son of Evander, ally of Aeneas, killed by Turnus Sibyl Apollo's priestess; guides Aeneas into the Underworld where he meets his dead father and learns the future of the Roman race Turnus king of the Rutulians; heads opposition to Aeneas in Italy; wants to marry Lavinia; kills Pallas; killed by Aeneas top THE STORY Virgil deliberately patterned the Aeneid on the Odyssey and the Iliad.

The first half of the Aeneid (books 1-6) adapts the plot of the Odyssey: the fall of Troy, hostile gods, lengthy wandering, woman troubles, the underworld, seeking home. The second half (books 7-12) mirrors the wrath and warfare of the Iliad. Book 1: Aeneas, a prince of Troy is struggling to find his ancestral homeland, but Juno opposes him. She hates the Trojans because of the Judgment of Paris, which insulted her beauty, the theft of Helen, which violated Juno's position as the goddess of marriage, and the future fall of Carthage, her favorite city. After seven years of confused wandering, Aeneas has gotten near his goal of Italy, but Juno interferes. She arranges for a storm to drive him toward North Africa and Carthage. Dido, founder and queen of Carthage welcomes Aeneas and his companions. Although Jupiter assures Venus that her son Aeneas will prevail and found the Latin race in Italy, Venus is a worrier, so she sends Cupid to poison Dido with love for Aeneas, so she will not harm him.

Book 2: Dido is gracious to Aeneas and his companions and interested in the story of the fall of Troy. Aeneas tells her how the Greeks created the deception of the Trojan Horse and how the gods confused the Trojans when a priest, Laocoon, struck the Trojan Horse with his staff and was promptly devoured by serpents. A treacherous Greek, Sinon, released the Greeks from the Horse, now inside the city of Troy, and the slaughter began. Aeneas relates the final battle, and his furious fighting until his mother Venus revealed to him that the gods themselves were destroying Troy and instructed him to leave Troy with his father (Anchises), son (Ascanius) and the household gods of his family and of Troy. While fleeing Troy, Creusa, Aeneas' wife was parted from them and killed. Book 3: Aeneas tells Dido how his band of Trojans searched for a new Troy. First they went to Thrace where they encountered the Trojan Polydorus in the form of a bleeding bush that warns them of treachery. They perform funeral rites for Polydorus and quickly leave Thrace.

Next they travel to an island where a prophetic voice advises them to "seek out your ancient mother." However, they don't know for sure where that is. Anchises thinks it's Crete, where they try to found a city, but soon they start dying of pestilence. The household gods appear to Aeneas to tell him that Italy is their true ancient mother. Then they encounter the horrid Harpies in the Strophades. Caelano, a Harpy prophetess of sorts, warns them that when they get to Italy, they'll be so hungry they'll eat their plates. Next they land at Actium in N.W. Greece, where they hold Trojan Games. After this, they sail to Buthrotrum, where the Trojan Helenus, Apollo's priest, directs them to Italy, but first Aeneas must go to the Cumaean Sybil and the Underworld. They safely pass through the Sicilian Ulyssesland: Cyclop's island, Skylla and Charybdis. But before they can reach their goal of Italy, Anchises dies and then the storm, concocted by Juno, drives them to Africa. So here they are in Carthage.

Book 4: The Dido Affair. Dido had been married to a Tyrian, Sychaeus, who was treacherously killed by her brother. Dido fled Tyre with a band of followers and came to North Africa, where she acquired land to found the city of Carthage. Poisoned by Cupid, Dido fell madly in love with Aeneas, which conflicted with her vow to her dead husband Sychaeus to remain faithful to him. Juno and Venus cooperate, each thinking to further her own cause. Juno wants to keep Aeneas from founding Rome, which will eventually conquer Carthage; Venus wants to keep her son safe from Dido's potential treachery. So, Juno and Venus set up the "marriage." Dido and Aeneas are out hunting, there is a storm, they seek refuge in a cave. Here they mate, while Juno sets off lightning and nymphs cry out. Dido calls it marriage; Aeneas does not. The lovers are negligent of their duties; Dido ceases working on her city; Aeneas forgets his destiny.

Finally, Jupiter sends Mercury to chide Aeneas about his neglected duty to his son and their future descendants in Italy. Immediately dutiful to the will of the gods and Destiny, Aeneas secretly arranges his departure. When Dido discovers that he is leaving, she begs him to stay. He cannot, will not, so she raves and rages, curses the Trojans and kills herself on a pyre heaped with Aeneas' belongings and items of witchcraft. Meanwhile, Aeneas and the other Trojans are in their boats sailing away. Book 5: This book is the prelude to the world of the dead. First, Aeneas goes back to Sicily where he arranges Memorial Games for Anchises, who has been dead for a year. Here, Aeneas displays his skills as a leader, carrying out rituals, presiding at the games, encouraging his men, restraining anger, preventing injuries. Meanwhile, Juno has been biding her time. She sends her messenger, Iris, to inflame the Trojan women with fury, encouraging them to burn the Trojan ships so they will not have to travel any further. A torrential rain saves all but four of the ships.

Aeneas leaves the reluctant behind; the remaining Trojans continue on toward Italy and the underworld Book 6: The Cumaean Sibyl gives prophecies about Aeneas' future in Italy and leads Aeneas into the underworld. Unlike Homer's dim and wretched Hades, Virgil's Hades is a place of remediation and rebirth, where the lifetime deeds of the dead are examined and judged. They are chastised, as need be, punished and purged until they are purified. Then these cleansed souls can wander happily in Elysium, the groves of blessedness, until after a thousand years it is time to be reborn. Aeneas meets the shade of his father Anchises in Elysium, where Anchises tells him about the World Soul and rebirth, and shows Aeneas a procession of his descendants over twelve centuries, culminating in Augustus. Aeneas now knows his Destiny--to found the Roman people. top The second half of the Aeneid, Books 7-12, tells the story of the escalating wrath inspired by Juno that forces Aeneas to go to war in Italy.

Book 7: Aeneas finally arrives in Latium, where he is welcomed by King Latinus, whose only child is Lavinia. A powerful neighbor, Turnus, King of the Rutulians, wants to marry Lavinia, but omens and oracles have foretold that a stranger would become her husband, so Latinus is willing to marry his daughter Lavinia to Aeneas. Juno is not ready to give up her struggle against Destiny, although she knows she cannot win. She fetches the Fury Allecto from the underworld and urges her to stir the Latins into frenzy. Allecto instills poisonous rage into Amata, Lavinia's mother and into Turnus, Lavinia's suitor. Then she sets up Ascanius (Iulus) to shoot a pet deer belonging to Sylvia, a local peasant girl; Allecto blows her hellish horn, stimulating the local farmers to attack the Trojans. Latinus tries to avoid the conflict, but Juno opens gates of war. Lines of alliance are drawn and the troops start to gather. Book 8: Aeneas travels to the king of the Arcadians, Evander, seeking alliance.

Evander welcomes him, introduces him to the ancient rural piety of the region, and offers Aeneas troops led by his own son Pallas. Meanwhile, Venus persuades her husband Vulcan to make new armor for Aeneas. The shield portrays critical moments when Rome was saved. At the center of the shield is the Battle of Actium. As in the underworld, where the procession of descendants leads from Aeneas to Octavian, the shield connects the beginning of Roman history in Aeneas to its culmination in Octavian's decisive battle at Actium that finalized the Augustan peace. Book 9: Here, the battle goes on at Trojan Camp; Aeneas has not yet returned from seeking alliances. Two best friends, Nisus and Euryalus, foray into the sleeping enemy camp and slaughter many before being killed themselves. Ascanius gets his first real taste of battle and kills his first man, Numanus. Turnus gets into the Trojan stockade and rages furiously, slaughtering men. Finally the Trojans rally and Turnus, exhausted, jumps into the river and escapes.

Book 10: Jupiter wants peace, but Juno and Venus are still bickering, so he lets the battle continue, since "the Fates will find their way." Finally Aeneas returns with numerous allies. Turnus and Aeneas both rage in battle. Pallas fights bravely, but is finally killed by Turnus, who strips off Pallas' heavy decorated belt as a trophy. Juno recognizes by now that it's about over, but begs Jupiter to let her spare Turnus' life for a little while. He agrees and Juno fashions a phantom resembling Aeneas which lures Turnus out of the battle onto a ship which then drifts away carrying the bewildered Turnus to safety while the battle continues without him. Book 11: Aeneas learns that Pallas has died, and he prepares to send him back to his father for his funeral. Both sides bury their dead. The Latins hold a quarrelsome council over whether or not to sue for peace. King Latinus wants to make peace and share his land and rule with the Trojans. Turnus is in favor of continuing the war, which resumes.

Camilla, a woman warrior ally of Turnus, enters the fray, fights bravely, and is killed. Book 12: Turnus challenges Aeneas to a duel that will settle the war. Meanwhile, Juno tells the nymph Juturna, Turnus' sister, to help him if she can, because Turnus is no match for Aeneas in single combat. Juturna provokes the Latins into general battle. Aeneas seeks Turnus, but Juturna, disguised as Turnus' charioteer, races around, not letting Turnus stop and fight. Aeneas is now furious. He starts to burn down King Latinus' city, to root out the resistance once and for all. Queen Amata hangs herself. Turnus tells his sister to stop interfering, because fate has won, and he wants to fight Aeneas honorably before he dies. Turnus and Aeneas begin to duel, and Jupiter holds up his scales to confirm their fates. Turnus' sword breaks; he panics and runs away, Aeneas pursuing. However, gods are still interfering.

Juturna hands the fleeing Turnus a sword, while Venus pulls Aeneas' spear free from a tree it had lodged in. Jupiter is fed up by now and confronts Juno, who finally gives up, asking only that the ensuing people be called Latins and the Trojans lose their identity. Jupiter agrees to create a single Latin race from the two warring peoples. Jupiter sends two Furies to chase Juturna away from Turnus, and Aeneas throws his spear, wounding Turnus. Turnus begs for his life, but Aeneas sees the belt of dead Pallas on Turnus and, enraged, kills Turnus. End of story. top AENEAS--A NEW KIND OF HERO Aeneas' dominant trait is piety. Piety for Aeneas did not mean faith so much as obedience and careful attention to the will of the gods, especially Jupiter, so that he could do the right thing in the right way. This piety expressed itself in right relations to the gods, to ones family, and to the state, as well as in carrying out rituals in a correct, thoughtful manner.

Aeneas is: Pious Aeneas carries his household gods from Troy to Italy; he holds Memorial Games for Anchises; he immediately obeys Mercury's message to leave Dido. Steadfast top THE DIDO PROBLEM:: Passion and Politics Dido is not just a nice lady who has hard luck with love. Not only does Virgil explain that Cupid poisons Dido with love, but he also gives us plenty of hints about Dido's potential for danger to Aeneas, such as her fury when she is about to kill herself: And could I not have dragged his body off, and scattered him piecemeal upon the waters, limb by limb? Or butchered all his comrades, even served Ascanius himself as banquet dish upon his father's table? [IV 826] This sinister echo of how Atreus fed Thyestes' children to him does not suggest that poor Dido is merely upset over her disappearing lover. Indeed, Dido's funeral pyre itself is chock full of elements of witchcraft, not approved practice in Roman court circles.

However, Virgil also portrays Dido's love for Aeneas with such sympathy that readers appreciate her love, hate Aeneas for leaving her, and mostly ignore the negative undertone. Dido is largely modelled on two ancient, very bad women--Cleopatra and Medea in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius. Cleopatra was the Egyptian queen who fought alongside Roman Mark Antony against Octavian at the Battle of Actium. Virgil presents her as the epitome of the decadent, treacherous Orient (as opposed to the noble Roman West). She and Antony are part of the center of the shield of Aeneas, with their barbarian troops and barbaric gods, opposing the true leaders of Rome and the household gods brought to Italy by Aeneas. At one level, Aeneas' affair with Dido is the crossing point--he has left the Orient (Troy), and is delayed by one last Oriental experience (decadent passion), before going forth to become the Latin ancestor of the Roman people.

Medea, in the Argonautica, fell quickly and madly in love with Jason and betrayed her father to please Jason, helping him through trickery and witchcraft to acquire the Golden Fleece. Afraid of her father's anger, Medea ran off with Jason; she also lured her half-brother Apsyrtus to Jason who killed him. This was just part of her notorious career as a passionate woman and a witch. A Roman reader would have recognized unpleasant echoes of Medea in Virgil's Dido. top OTHER NEGATIVE PASSIONATE CHARACTERS The other passionate characters in the Aeneid are mostly deplorable. The list is headed by the raging goddess Juno and the raging warrior Turnus. It includes the Harpies, Allecto, Amata, the Trojan Women burning their ships, and the Latins in general when in battle frenzy. Even Aeneas is touched by passionate fury twice: during the sack of Troy and during the battle in Latium, especially at the final moment when he kills Turnus. Passion spreads like a virus. Venus uses Cupid to infect Dido with the passion of love.

Juno uses Allecto to infect Amata, Turnus and the Latin masses with the passion for war. In every case except for, perhaps, Aeneas' final passionate killing of Turnus, passion opposes the will of Jupiter, Destiny and Fate. This alone shows us how little Virgil approved of such intense emotion. top GODS, THE WILL OF JUPITER, DESTINY/FATE Jupiter knows and affirms fate. But there is also Destiny, the notion that there is a necessary future to strive towards. This is the fate that Jupiter upholds, a pattern that is not a simple working out of conflicts. Juno and Venus act in opposition to the necessary path of the fates. They know perfectly well what must come to pass, because Jupiter tells them, but each has her own passionate agenda, one the irrational, intense love of a mother for her son, the other raw frenzied hatred of the Trojans whose descendants will destroy Carthage. They must both lose, but gracefully, as goddesses lose, finally accepting the will of Jupiter. Similarly, on a human level, Dido, Amata and Turnus resist the fates, acting counter to the will of Jupiter.

They must be destroyed, just as Octavian destroyed Antony and Cleopatra. Aeneas, who spends his life trying to do what he should, not only has many painfully confusing experiences as he misinterprets omens and follows wrong leads, but his final cooperation with fate leads him to relinquish every shred of personal happiness. He lost his beloved wife, his city, almost everything he cared about at Troy. He left his comfortable liaison with Dido. He will marry a woman he does not choose, whose people he has slaughtered; he will create the foundation for the next twelve hundred years of Roman history, but die still outside the promised land of Rome.

Question: In Virgil's Aeneid, who was the Queen of Carthage who fell in love with Aeneas?
Answer: DIDO