Dido In Virgil's The Aeneid

In Virgil’s The Aeneid, the reader is introduced to the character Dido. Beginning with the influence of Cupid, this vulnerable Queen of Carthage was a malleable mortal; predetermined to suffer the hardships of life and the outside influences of fate. By introducing this character, one may question the motives the author intended for the reader to form based off of the facts presented about the queen in relation to the Roman morals during Virgil’s time. Was Dido a great leader who simply could not avoid the strengths of fate and the gods, thus gaining sympathy from the reader? Or was she selfish in her actions, seeking to fulfill her own contempt by lusting after Aeneas, resulting in condemnation by the reader? By presenting these speculative …show more content…
They both shared many of the same characteristics and ultimately had the same goals. However due to the influence of Cupid, Dido quickly falls in love with Aeneas and is no longer in control of her own actions and is set on her path towards a pre-determined fate. By exposing her to these outside forces, Virgil makes the once great queen “a wounded doe caught all off guard by a hunter” (129). By comparing Dido to a doe, one can only feel sympathy for the character as the doe or Dido is unknowing to the outside actions the hunter or fate has planned. Dido cannot change the already predetermined decision and must endure the suffering forced upon her much like the “winging steel” that the doe must endure. Dido was struck by the arrow of Cupid and the cruelties of fate while being manipulated like waves upon the shore “by the craft of two gods” (130). However, Dido willingly gave into the influences of the gods, turning her duty and responsibility into lust. Perhaps the influence of Cupid was an obstacle that the queen was supposed to overcome in order to reach her destiny of ruling what could have been the great city of Carthage. Perhaps Virgil wanted the reader to interpret her willingness to give into love as weakness in order to show that she lacked the traits required to be a ruler by abandoning her people for this new outsider. As a …show more content…
Virgil compared Aeneas; a prime leader of Roman virtues, to Dido which was a flawed character. The reader cannot help but support the fate that Dido suffers. This leads one to think that Virgil’s motives were to condemn Dido to prevent similar behavior in the Roman way of life. A true Roman like Aeneas would exemplify traits of loyalty to his people, acted in a rational manner, and showed honor and respect to the gods. Dido displayed a lifestyle that neglected indisputable duties, behaved in a careless and unreliable manner, and showed doubt and mockery towards the gods and fate; resulting in her ultimate