Dido and Aeneas: Who's to Blame?

Virgil: Aeneid

In this course, we explore several aspects of Virgil’s Aeneid – looking in particular at the following issues: first, Dido and Aeneas, and who we should blame for what happens; second, Augustus, and his influence on the Aeneid; third, Aeneas, and what kind of hero he is; fourth, the importance of cities in the epic; fifth, what we should make of Aeneas’ trip to the Underworld; and sixth, the presentation of the native Italians in the second half of the poem.

Dido and Aeneas: Who's to Blame?

In this module, we think about the relationship between Dido and Aeneas, and who is to blame for the tragedy of Dido. In particular, we focus on the literary sources that Virgil seems to have drawn on when creating this episode – including Homer’s Odyssey, Greek Tragedy, and Apollonius’ Argonautica.