Dido and Camilla - Leaders Blinded by their Passions in...

Dido and Camilla - Leaders Blinded by their Passions in the Aeneid In Book I of Virgils Aeneid, Aeneas observes a depiction of the female warrior, Penthesilea, on the walls of Didos temple. As Aeneas is looking at this portrait, Dido enters the temple. Later in Book XI, as Camilla walks through the carnage of battle, she is likened to an image of Penthesilea returning home victorious. Virgil presents many such similarities in his portrayals of Dido and Camilla because it is through them, the only two female leaders in his work, that he illustrates the destinies of rulers who fall victim to their passions. To Virgil, a great leader is one who practices restraint, represses all passions, and†¦show more content†¦She also had commanding power. Venus describes how Dido was the captain of the entire escape venture. Thus, it is Dido who is behind the founding of Carthage, a nation hard to fight against in war. (I, 463) From a ridge above the city, Aeneas observes Didos Carthage for the first time: Marvelous buildings, gateways, cobbled ways, And din of wagons. There the Tyrians Were hard at work: laying courses for walls, Rolling up stones to build the citadel, While others picked out buildings sites and plowed A boundary furrow. Laws were being enacted, Magistrates and a sacred senate chosen. Here men were dredging harbors, there they laid The deep foundation of a theatre. (Book I 577-585) Carthage is a place of progress. Didos subjects are engaged in building her citys future political and defense systems. Under Didos command, Carthage is to be untyrranical and unconquerable. Dido and her subjects are creating Carthages potential future greatness. As Dido is engaged in the building a great temple planned in Junos honor, she is initially a pious Queen who does not forget to make rich offerings to the gods. When Dido first appears in the work, as she is walking towards her temple, Virgil compares her to a goddess. The queen paced toward herShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Women of the Aeneid1745 Words   |  7 PagesThe Roman epic of Virgils Aeneid describes the hardship and misadventures of Aeneas and the Trojans quest from Troy to Italy. Like Homer’s famous epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s narrative style and structure portrays similar attributes in the finding of Rome. Aeneas encounters several women on his journey who play a significant role throughout this epic in assisting or destroying his journey to Rome. His representation of female characters provides the readers with a better understanding