Aeneas and Dido

“This vision stunned Aeneas, struck him dumb;

His terror held his hair erect; his voice

Held fast within his jaws. He burns to flee

From Carthage; he would quit these pleasant lands,

Astonished by such warnings, the command

Of gods. What can he do? With what words dare

He face the frenzied queen? What openings

Can he emply? His wits are split, they shift

Here, there; they race to different places, turning

To everything. But as he hesitated,

This seemed the better plan: he calls Sergestus

And Mnestheus and the strong Serestus, and

He asks them to equip the fleet in silence,

To muster their companions on the shore,

To ready all their arms, but to conceal

The reason for this change;…”

In Aeneid by Virgil, Aeneas who is fated to found Rome becomes distracted by his own interests when he meets and falls for Dido of Carthage. After receiving reminders of his responsibilities, Aeneas is troubled about what to do. He can either stay in the comfort of Carthage where he has someone he loves and a well-suited living situation, or he can sacrifice his own personal desires and fulfill his destiny of founding Rome. As he makes this decision, Aeneas is conflicted as the poem says that he has to choose between “[quitting] these pleasant lands” of Carthage or stay for his own satisfaction. He, however, finally decides, though still hesitant, that he has to leave in order to fulfill his role as a hero who is to found Rome. His relationship with Dido depicts a couple that differs strongly in many ways. Dido, when choosing between her own desires and what would be for the benefit of Carthage, would choose to satisfy herself. She chooses to live for herself and her happiness, forgetting about the progress of the city when she falls in love with Aeneas. On the other hand, Aeneas, who loses track of his destiny, once reminded, decides to do what he must do and chooses to leave Carthage and abandon his own personal desires. This depiction of the couple shows that Dido lives in the moment while Aeneas lives in the past and future. Dido enjoys life for herself and though she is queen of Carthage, would forget about the benefit of the city if she is satisfied with her own life. When Aeneas chooses to leave her in order to go on with his journey, she chooses to kill herself rather than forgetting about him and continue the progress of her city. Dido does not care about how the city will survive without her and suicides for her own benefit and to avoid suffering from heartbreak. Aeneas, in contrast, lives in the past and future as he tries to connect the two: he lives in the past, thinking about his home yet unable to return to it because he is working towards the future that is Rome. He is unable to live life for himself because he feels that he is obligated by the prophecy to found Rome. Thus, he abandons Dido in Carthage and continues on with his journey towards building up Rome.