Dido: A Traditional Ancient Roman Female Character

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Stereotypes inundate the world. Whether one thinks that all people in Texas ride a horse to work, or that all British people drink tea, they infiltrate many aspects of one’s life on a daily basis. Stereotypes are nothing new, as seen with the problem of slavery in America during the Nineteenth Century. Conventions such as these go back even further than that, however. They are a basic part of human existence. As such, they show up in literature from all time periods, including that of Ancient Rome. During the time period when Virgil was writing, the female character typically fell under a stereotype. Virgil, however, bucked these trends and created a strong female character, Dido. Dido is eventually forced into a more stereotypically girly role by the gods in an attempt to hinder Achilles, but her true nature is the exact opposite of a traditional Ancient Roman female character.
Dido, to some, has been portrayed as a lovesick girl who falls too easily for a man. This would be an oft-followed formula for a female character in Ancient Rome. Consumed by love, she makes rash decisions and ends up paying a steep price for her foolishness brought on by the blindness from love. At first glance, Dido falls nicely into these parameters. A closer examination yields a different result. Looking at her life before Aeneas came and brought an Olympian Feud with him, she was a doing just fine without a man by her side. She had singlehandedly “[planned] her escape,” including those who followed her, and led them to safety (Book One, Line 438). After doing this, she instructed them and helped them build an enormous city, which would eventually become one of the most important cities in the ancient world. She led them well without the help of a man...

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...f his fate to found Rome. Dido is not simply this hysterical, clingy girlfriend who overreacts to her boyfriend breaking up with her, she is forced into that hysterical love by the gods.
Dido’s role in the Aeneid is a somewhat complicated one. At first glance, she appears to simply be a stereotypical female, playing the role of potential spoiler to Aeneas completing his journey. Looking more deeply reveals the truth, that she functions as an example of the power the gods wield over humanity, and she actually is a strong, independent woman who leads a successful city. Virgil somewhat tricks his reader into believing that her role is what they expect, while showing that a female character can truly hold a great role in an epic novel. It is as if he provides a cloaked, small example of a strong-willed, powerful female character for posterity to look at and expand upon.

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