Sacchi Andrea's The Death of Dido
According to Greek, and some Roman sources Dido was the founder, and Queen of Carthage. She is most known for her portrayel by Virgil in the Aeneid. Some sources cite her name as being Elissa. Dido most likely lived some time in the 800s BC.
The Legend[]
The story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, is, as most legends are, filled with intrigue and deception. Retold through the words of Roman historians and later the esteemed poet Virgil in his epic the Aeneid, Dido's tale begins with her life as the daughter of King Mattan of Tyre. The Kingdom of Tyre was part of the ancient Phoenician civilization, geographically located in what is today modern Lebanon. Dido, who was often referred to as "Elissa" in the ancient historical records, was heir to the throne of Tyre following her father's death, sometime around 800 BC. Named joint-ruler with her brother, Pygmalion, Dido's rule was not widely accepted by the people. Despite her father's intention for her to share the throne with her brother, Pygmalion was recognized as King of Tyre, and Dido was left with little authority.
Not long after, Dido was married to a priest named Acerbas, who, by some accounts may have been her uncle. Acerbas is said to have been possessed of considerable wealth, which he concealed by burying his treasures underground. King Pygmalion, knowing of this wealth, had Acerbas murdered in hopes of claiming the gold that would rightfully go to his sister. Although accounts vary, Dido eventually became aware of her husband's death at the hands of her brother. The ghost of Acerbas himself is said to have appeared before her one night and warned her to flee the kingdom, while at the same time revealing the location of his hidden gold. It was the careful formation of her plan to escape Pygmalion's grasp that provided history's first glimpse of the clever nature for which Dido was best known.
In order to keep from arousing her brother's suspicions, Dido told Pygmalion she wished to travel the world, with the intention of sending tribute and gifts back to Tyre. Agreeing to her trip, Pygmalion provided Dido with a small fleet of ships and various servants to help her prepare for the journey. After quietly loading the ships with bags of gold from Acerbas' hoard, Dido set her plan in motion. In order to deceive Pygmalion, Dido ordered the servants to load bags filled with sand on to the upper decks, to be used as decoys. After setting sail, Dido declared the gold to be an offering to the spirit of her dead husband, and had the bags of sand thrown overboard into the sea. Pygmalion, thinking the gold was lost forever, made no attempt to pursue Dido or her party.
Now searching for a new home, Dido and her party first stopped on the island of Cyprus, where a group of local stragglers joined her crew. Eventually they made landfall along the coast of northern Africa, and began negotiating a price with the local chieftain for a small piece of land on which to found their new settlement. As the agreement went, Dido could have as much land as she could encompass with a single ox hide, with the local leader believing he was getting quite a deal. The quick-witted Dido conceived of another angle on the proposal; by cutting the ox hide into thin strips, then into even smaller fibers, she created a length of rope long enough to encircle a wide area including a prominent hill nearby. Thus, the city of Carthage was founded, and Dido's legacy as a crafty and capable leader was sealed.
Dido ruled Carthage as its first queen, and, as the legend continues, was eventually the object of several suitors, including the Trojan prince Aeneas. In Virgil's account, Aeneas was brought to Carthage through the manipulative workings of the Greek gods. Dido and Aeneas became lovers, and when Aeneas left Dido to continue on his journey, Dido was so distraught that she committed suicide.
Conflicting Accounts, and question of Historical Existance[]
In 1976, Micheal Grant, in Roman Myths proposed that Dido-Elissa was a goddess who was given Human form by the greeks some time in the 5th century BC. However his case is opposed by such accounts as Menander of Epheus, who wrote a history of Tyre in which the line of kings are traced down to Dido's father, and brother. In this account Menander states in a mere single sentence in a comentary on the rule of Pygmalion that; "Now, in the seventh year of his [Pygmalion's] reign, his sister fled away from him and built the city of Carthage...."
Some have come to question that a woman as intellegent, and independent as Dido would commit suicide. Maurus Servius Honoratus's commentary includes a citation from Varro which states that it was Dido's sister, Anna who fell in love with Aeneas, and killed her self. The work cited is no longer in known existence.
Portrayel[]
Dido has appeared as a character, often the main character, in a number of works;
Operas[]
1641 : La Didone by Francesco Cavalli
1656 : La Didone by Andrea Mattioli
1689 : Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell
1693 : Didon by Henry Desmarets
1707 : Dido, Königin von Carthago by Christoph Graupner
1724 : Didone abbandonata by Domenico Sarro
1740 : Didone abbandonata by Baldassare Galuppi
1747 : Didone abbandonata by Niccolò Jommelli
1762 : Didone abbandonata by Giuseppe Sarti
1770 : Didone abbandonata by Niccolò Piccinni
1783 : Didon by Niccolò Piccinni
1823 : Didone abbandonata by Saverio Mercadante
1860 : Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz
Plays[]
This legend also inspired the drama Dido, Queen of Carthage by Christopher Marlowe.
Video Games[]
Dido appears as a leader in Sid Meier's Civilization II, and Civilization V as leader of the Carthaginians.
Misc.[]
Dido's story, as told in the Aeneid is said to forshadow the fall of Carthage.
In Facsist Italy she was demonized for her Seminite heritage, sense of feminism, and her connection to African heritage. When the streets of Italy were renamed in honor of virgil's Aeneid, she was left out of the list of possible street names. A minor example of the despize generated towards her as all things unroman, but an example none the less. In a tragic flip to this the British would issue Dido Class cruisers against the Italian navy in World War II.