# Dido explained — Bulfinch’s Mythology

> Chapter companion for Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch.

## What happens

Aeneas and his Trojan exiles arrive at Carthage, where Queen Dido, a Tyrian refugee herself, welcomes them with hospitality. Dido falls deeply in love with Aeneas, and he seems content to remain with her, forgetting his destiny to found Rome. Jupiter sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his mission, and he departs. Dido, heartbroken and dishonored, builds a funeral pyre and stabs herself, dying in the flames.

## Themes in this chapter

### Hospitality and Its Violation

Dido extends generous hospitality to Aeneas and his Trojans, but the relationship ends in betrayal and tragedy when Aeneas abandons her.

### Fate and Free Will

Aeneas is torn between his personal desire to stay with Dido and his fated mission to found Rome, ultimately obeying divine command.

### Love and Transformation

Dido's passionate love for Aeneas transforms her from a capable queen into a despairing lover, leading to her tragic suicide.

## Character check-ins

### Dido

Queen of Carthage, daughter of Belus, sister of Pygmalion; widow of Sichaeus; hosts Aeneas and falls in love with him; commits suicide after he leaves.

### Aeneas

Trojan hero; arrives at Carthage, accepts Dido's hospitality, and delays his journey to Italy until Jupiter commands him to leave.

### Jupiter

King of the gods; sends Mercury to recall Aeneas to his destiny.

### Mercury

Messenger of the gods; dispatched by Jupiter to command Aeneas to resume his voyage.

### Pygmalion

King of Tyre, brother of Dido; murdered her husband Sichaeus for his wealth.

## Key lines

> Not unacquainted with distress, I have learned to succor the unfortunate.

Having experienced suffering myself, I know how to help those in need.

_Dido expresses empathy for the Trojans based on her own hardships._

> Trojan or Tyrian should make no difference to her.

She declared that it did not matter to her whether the winner was Trojan or Tyrian.

_Dido's impartiality during the games reflects her fair-minded hospitality._

> Unhappy, Dido, was thy fate In first and second married state! One husband caused thy flight by dying, Thy death the other caused by flying.

Dido's misfortune in marriage: her first husband's death forced her to flee, and her second lover's departure caused her death.

_An epigram summarizing Dido's tragic marital history._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/dido
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters