Illiad dido notes

'If Aeneas' mission brings suffering to him, it brings both suffering and disaster to others whose lives it crosses'

Camps

1: Venus' Motivation for Poisoning Dido

o Venus poisons Dido out of fear that Juno may act to hinder Aeneas' mission while he lingers in Carthage. Dido is therefore a 'tragic victim' as she suffers through no fault of her own and is presented as collateral damage in Venus and Juno's quarrel over the Trojans' destiny.
o Dido's status as a 'tragic victim' is enhanced by Virgil's vivid description of the poison's debilitating and excruciating effects

2: Dido's Character and Abilities

o The suffering Dido had already experienced prior to reaching Africa enhances her status as a 'tragic victim', as it makes the gods' treatment of her even more callous and cruel o Dido's response to her brother murdering her husband shows her to be a figure of considerable fortitude. The fact that such an admirable quality is completely ignored by Venus adds to Dido's portrayal as a 'tragic victim' who in no way deserves what is about to happen to her ('the woman led the whole undertaking').
o Carthage is presented as a vibrant and flourishing city, and it is made clear that Dido is largely responsible for this. The fact that such a capable, just, and diligent political leader can be incapacitated by Venus as a pre-emptive strike against the plots of Juno adds to the reader's sense that Dido should be seen as a 'tragic victim'.
o Dido's treatment of the shipwrecked Trojans indicates she is a character defined by benevolence and altruism. The fact that such a moral individual is treated by the gods with callous indifference shows Dido as the 'tragic victim' of Camp's analysis

'Dido is a puppet of irresistible forces'.

'at each and every moment in the poem the humans are free to resist.'

-Williams

1: Dido's Resistance

.o It is implied that Dido is 'free to resist' Cupid's poison. Virgil achieves this by describing Cupid, who is referred to as being more powerful than Jupiter earlier in the poem, as having to try and exert his influence on her.
o Dido shows herself 'free to resist' Cupid when she stresses that her oath to Sychaeus will prevent her from acting on her feelings for Aeneas

2: Dido's Resistance Overcome

o Dido's resistance is overcome after Anna legitimises her
sister's feelings for Aeneas.
o Dido's resistance is overcome after she consummates her relationship with Aeneas in the cave.

'Virgil, like the tragedians, makes us ask what, could have been the cause. Her own faults and folly, or the too heavy pressure of accidental and potentially disastrous circumstances, or a tragic mixture of both?'

-Williams

1: Accidental Circumstances:

o Although the Trojans arrive in Africa as a result of the interventions of three gods (Juno, Aeolus, and Neptune) none of the three appear at all concerned about where the wrecked Trojan fleet will wash up. The Trojan's arrival in Africa, and Aeneas' meeting with Dido, is therefore purely accidental.
o Dido's presence in Carthage is also a matter of chance, having fled there from Tyre to escape the villainous Pygmalion. o Although their presence in Africa is a matter of chance, the clear parallels between Dido and Aeneas hint at their romantic compatibility - they are two people with much in common who just happen to be thrown together.

2: Dido's 'Faults and Folly' - the Manipulation of Anna :

o Dido can be seen as manipulative when confessing her feelings for Aeneas to Anna at the start of Book IV. Dido confides in Anna knowing that her supportive sister longs for her happiness, so will most likely provide her with reasons to act on her desire. Such behaviour on Dido's part is not unprecedented - she also manipulates Anna at the close of Book IV, telling her sister that her (funeral) pyre is part of a magic ritual that will purge her of her love for Aeneas.

3: Dido's 'Faults and Folly' - the (Attempted) Manipulation of Aeneas:

o Dido's deluded insistence that her relationship with Aeneas is a 'marriage' can be seen as a manipulative attempt to make Aeneas stay in Carthage.

5: Dido's 'Faults and Folly' - the Annihilation of Carthage in the Punic Wars:

o Dido's curse prophesies the Punic Wars, a series of conflicts fought between Rome and Carthage in the poem's far future - 264 - 146 BC. The Punic Wars ended in Rome's victory and the total destruction of Carthage. Dido's rage therefore condemns not only her city but also her descendants to strife and annihilation.

6: Dido's 'Faults and Folly' - Neglect of Duties to Family/as Leader:

o Anna criticises Dido's abandonment of her, and notes the catastrophic impact her sister's death will have on the Carthaginians .

7: Dido's 'Faults and Folly' - Virgil's Patriarchal Assumptions:

o Virgil's patriarchal perspective criticises Dido's emotional instability. Although we are repeatedly told of the depth of Aeneas' feelings for Dido, as a man, he is able to rationally control them (and so prioritise his duties) in a way that Dido is not.

'forgetting his dignity and his responsibilities, ..., subordinating Roman interests to the ambitions of a foreign queen. '

-Camps

1: Glorification of Augustus:

o Aeneas' relationship with Dido is analogous to Mark Anthony's relationship with Cleopatra - both men become involved with alluring foreign women. However, Aeneas, unlike Mark Anthony, is able to (eventually) detach himself from this emotional entanglement and prioritise his duty to his state, family, and gods. The poem therefore presents Augustus' ancestor (and by implication, Augustus himself) as morally upright in contrast to the weakness and immorality of his opponent at the battle of Actium.