The Queen of Carthage

Publius Vergilus Maro (Octocber 15, 70 B.C- September 21, 19 B.C), called Vergil, is known as the Rome’s greatest poet and the father of many famous nation epics. His work has a wide and deep influence on Western literature. One of the best inspirational masterpieces of Vergil is “The Aeneild”, with the main character is Aeneas, a hero Trojans. “The Aeneild” is considered as a splendid seminal epic from ancient Rome to the present. Throughout “The Aeneild”, Vergil successfully describes many different characters; several of them are women, each with a unique perspective. Dido, the reader’s favorite female character, plays crucial role in Aeneas’ life. Dido is first met as a widow. Her husband, Sychaeus, the richest man of Tyre, is murdered by Dido’s brother, Pygmalio, the vilest and greedy man. As a result of Sychaeus’s murder, Dido has to flee from Tyre, her home land, to North Africa to build up her own city, Carthage. In Book I, Dido is portrayed as a strong, determined and independent woman who possesses heroic dimensions. She is a strong leader who plans her escape and leads her followers to arrive in a new land. “Driven by all this, / Dido plans her escape, / collects her followers fired by savage hate of the tyrant or bitter fear” (437-439). “- and they bear it overseas and a woman leads them all” (441-442). Also, as a leader, Dido and the Tyrians purchase land as large as a bull’s-hide and cut into tiny strips surrounded the land. She builds up and supervises the building of the great new city of Carthage. Even though her fledgling kingdom is surrounded by enemies on all sides, she determines to hold against all the odds. Dido is such a bravery and intelligent leader. More, in order to show the reverence to gods, Dido builds erecting scared temples in the city, “Here Dido of Tyre was building Juno a mighty temple, / rich with gifts and the goddess’ aura power” (538-539). Dido is not only a strong leader but also a strong and respected ruler,