Glossary
Aeneas
The Trojan hero and protagonist of Vergil's Aeneid, whose divine destiny is to found the city that will become Rome.
Example:
Despite his personal feelings for Dido, Aeneas chooses to fulfill his fated mission, leading to her tragic end.
Anna
Dido's devoted sister, who attempts to comfort her and expresses intense grief upon witnessing Dido's death.
Example:
Anna's frantic rush and violent expressions of sorrow, like tearing her face with her nails, highlight the depth of her love for her sister Dido.
Carthage
The powerful city founded by Dido in North Africa, destined to be Rome's great rival, whose profound lamentations are described after Dido's death.
Example:
The overwhelming grief that engulfs Carthage after Dido's suicide underscores her role as the city's very soul and foundation.
Dido
The tragic Queen and founder of Carthage, who falls deeply in love with Aeneas and ultimately commits suicide after his departure.
Example:
Dido's profound despair and final curse against Aeneas are central to understanding the themes of love, duty, and fate in the Aeneid.
Divine Involvement
The active participation and influence of gods and goddesses in the affairs of mortals, shaping events and outcomes.
Example:
Juno's decision to send Iris to Dido's deathbed is a clear instance of Divine Involvement, highlighting the gods' power over mortal lives.
Fate vs. Free Will
A central theme in the Aeneid exploring the tension between predetermined divine destiny and individual choices and actions.
Example:
Dido's suicide exemplifies the complex interplay of Fate vs. Free Will, as her death is influenced by Aeneas's fated departure yet also by her own emotional decisions.
Iris
The messenger of the gods, specifically sent by Juno to release Dido's struggling soul from her body, as Dido's death was not fated.
Example:
The swift descent of Iris from Olympus signifies divine intervention, bringing a merciful end to Dido's prolonged suffering.
Juno
The queen of the gods and a persistent antagonist to Aeneas throughout the Aeneid, who eventually shows compassion for Dido's prolonged suffering.
Example:
Even the powerful goddess Juno, who had long opposed Aeneas, felt pity for Dido's agonizing and undeserved death.
Mourning Rituals
Traditional practices and expressions of grief observed in classical Roman culture, often involving loud lamentations, tearing of hair, and beating of breasts.
Example:
Anna's violent actions, 'unguibus ora soror foedans et pectora pugnis' (defiling her face with her nails and her breast with her fists), vividly depict ancient Roman mourning rituals.
Onomatopoeia
A literary device where words imitate the natural sounds of what they describe, enhancing the sensory experience of the text.
Example:
Vergil uses onomatopoeia in words like 'ululatu' (wailing) to make the sounds of mourning in Carthage palpable to the reader.
Personification
A literary device where human qualities or actions are attributed to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.
Example:
When the text states 'tecta fremunt' (the buildings roar), Vergil employs personification to convey the city's collective anguish as if it were a living entity.
Proserpina
The goddess of the Underworld, whose role is to claim the souls of the dead by cutting a lock of hair; her absence in Dido's death emphasizes its unusual and premature nature.
Example:
The fact that Proserpina had not yet claimed Dido's soul underscores that her death was not fated but rather a result of her own despair and madness.
Simile
A literary device that compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' (or 'non aliter quam' in Latin) to create a vivid image or emphasize a point.
Example:
The comparison of Carthage's grief to the fall of ancient Tyre is a powerful simile, illustrating the catastrophic impact of Dido's death on the city.
Stygian Orcus
A poetic term referring to the Underworld, specifically associated with the river Styx and the god Orcus (Pluto/Hades).
Example:
Proserpina's failure to condemn Dido's head to Stygian Orcus signifies the unnatural and premature nature of her death, as it was not fated.
Tyre
An ancient Phoenician city, Dido's original homeland, used in a simile to compare the intensity of Carthage's grief to its own potential fall.
Example:
The comparison to the fall of ancient Tyre emphasizes the overwhelming and destructive nature of the grief felt in Carthage, as if the city itself were being destroyed.