When we first meet Dido, she is busy leading her people to build a great city. She is a strong leader and is loved by her fellow citizens. Through the eyes of Aeneas, we see that she is beautiful, intelligent and not afraid of hard work. Last but not least, Dido is loyal, loyal to her people and to the memory of her deceased husband. All of these traits add up to describe a woman that I admire and would strive to be. Imagine my surprise when Dido becomes mad and commits suicide for, of all things, a man. How does she go from this strong, loyal, intelligent and heroic woman to a crazed lovesick person that takes her own life in the name of love? In this paper I will try to answer this question and better understand this drastic action as we take a look at the life of Queen Dido.
             To better understand Dido, one must know two things; of her life before she met Aeneas and an understanding of what Virgil was trying to accomplish by including this character. Virgil was tasked with writing a piece that brought back pride to Roman citizens. By creating the character of Dido, Virgil makes an "emphatic statement of the sacrifice which the Roman ideal of duty demands."(The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, pg. 471) Most of us could have never left the one we love as much as Aeneas loves Dido. Because of her, we can see what it means to be a Roman soldier and the extreme sacrifices called for. It was his duty and obligation to leave her, no matter the personal cost.
             Before Aeneas and becoming Queen, Princess Dido lived in a place known as Tyre. She was married to Sychaeus, a man of great wealth and high position among the Phoenicians. However, Dido's brother Pygmalion, a wicked tyrant, held the kingdom. Because he was greedy and wanted the gold, he murdered Dido's husband. He kept this murder secret for a long time and cheated his sister's hopes with lies of her husband's death. Sychaeus' ghost appears to Dido whi...