Okay, I promise, I really don't hate Aeneas. But if I could ask Dante one question right now, I might very well ask him why he put Aeneas in with the virtuous pagans (well, maybe not, there are probably better questions I could ask).
It seems strange to me that Queen Dido is stuck forever being whirled about in a dark, stormy wind while Aeneas gets to prance about happily in some nice meadows, eat biscuits with Homer, and play hide and seek in that gigantic castle—or whatever else it might be that ancient Trojan warriors would do in their infinite free time in Hell.
Aeneas has one thing going for him—he founded Rome. Well, actually, he technically didn't, but he did play an instrumental role in laying the foundations for Rome to be later founded. That's great, Aeneas. It's awesome that you led your people and fulfilled your destiny, seriously, and I'm sure Dante was very pleased that you did so. But isn't that not really...well, fair?
Because Dante condemns Dido for her lustfulness, when in truth, if you read the Aeneid, it often seems like Dido is more on the "love" side of the scale and Aeneas is more on the "lust" side of the scale, if one had to choose. Other than this one mistake of falling in love with Aeneas, Dido is pretty cool. She founds Carthage and wisely leads her people, and for a really long time she remains faithful to her dead husband, refusing to take another lover (according to actual Greek mythology, she never did). So Dido and Aeneas both basically do the same thing: they fall in love/lust and begin to neglect their duties to their people.
Okay, sure, Dido is a little more neglectful since she commits suicide after Aeneas' departure. But then shouldn't she be in the seventh circle, in the Wood of Suicides? Why is it that her defining characteristic is falling in love with Aeneas, yet Aeneas seems to escape any accusations of excess lust relatively unscathed?
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2 comments:
I was thinking this as well, Ally. Dido really does get a bad rap in history/mythology. First of all, she went through a lot and was subject to the men around her for a good part of her life. Because of her brother, Pygmalion, she was left a widow and then forced to leave her hometown to escape him. Then, Aeneas shows up to Carthage, and they fall in love. Of course, Aeneas is able to abandon her to found his city, but he never thought about her role as queen of her city. When they're together, they both forget about their duties, Aeneas with his travels and Dido with her royal duties. However, Dido is the one that is viewed throughout history as weak and fickle; whereas, Aeneas is thought of as as strong and courageous leader. Moreover, I think it's unfortunate that people have forgotten that Dido was put under a love spell by Cupid (Aeneas' half brother) as a plot created by Venus (Aeneas' mother). Not only is this another example of her being subject to the men around her but also this shows that Dido had no control over her feelings of lust/love. Surely she can't be punished for eternity for a sin that she didn't even really commit?
There were two authors that influenced the writers of the Middle Ages. One was Dyctis Cretensis' diary "Journal of the Trojan War" who wrote about Aeneas being a traitor to Troy. I think Dante did not place him in the circle of Traitors in consideration of Virgil who had written the Aeneid, making Aeneas pious. Likewise, Dido should have been in a lower circle, as killing oneself was considered a horrible sin.
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