Virgil's Aeneid details the trials and tribulations of Aeneas and the Trojan people traveling to Italy from Troy. The journey parallels the epic adventures of the Homeric hero Odysseus. Virgil borrows Homer's narrative style and frames a story that pays homage to the founding of Rome. Like that of Ulysses, Aeneas' story is full of difficulties and misadventures. Aeneas is subject to the forces of destiny and the will of the gods. Furthermore, like his counterpart in the Odyssey, Aeneas encounters several women on his journey who are crucial to the protagonist's progress in leading his people to Rome. His portrayal of female characters allows Virgil to explore "gender politics". The women of the Aeneid are neither exclusively virtuous nor entirely vicious. Instead, each of Virgil's women displays a combination of these traits in different proportions throughout the epic. However, these women's behavior ultimately proves to be "problematic" and "undesirable." Their transgressions interfere with the protagonist's attempt to fulfill his destiny. Furthermore, every woman's misdeeds lead to her inevitable downfall. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Virgil introduces Dido, the main heroine of the epic, in Book I of the Aeneid. The queen of Carthage is compared to Diana, the goddess of the moon. “In her walk she seems taller, taller than anyone else… so Dido looked, with such joy as she moved among her people, exulting in the toil of a kingdom in the making.” (I.682-685). This initial depiction of the queen evokes a truly majestic image. As ruler, Dido is poised, powerful, and in command of her burgeoning domain. The queen "gives [her subjects] judgments and sentences, divides the work fairly, [and] assigns some tasks by lot" (I.690-692). Under Dido's leadership, Carthage thrives in the hustle and bustle of a city in the making. Virgil's description of the city parallels Homer's depiction of the island of Phaiakia in the Odyssey. Both Carthage and Phaiakia represent an idyllic and utopian refuge. Additionally, Phaiakia is ruled by a joint male/female monarchy. When Odysseus arrives on the island, he is told to turn to Queen Arete, rather than King Alcinous, for assistance. Likewise, when he arrives in Carthage, Aeneas asks Dido for help. Dido is in tune with the difficult situation of the Trojan people: "My life was a life of hardship and forced wanderings like yours, until in this land fortune finally let me rest. Through the pain I learned to comfort the suffering men" (I .857-861). Dido is the female counterpart of the fearless and heroic Aeneas. Like the epic protagonist, the queen is the leader of a people in exile. When her brother Pygmalion, king of Tyre, murdered her husband Sichaeus, Dido fled her homeland for Carthage. The queen brought with her a treasure of gold and silver and "all those who hated the tyrant [Pygmalion], all gripped with a fear as bitter as his" (I.468-504). Dido prevailed and successfully founded a homeland for her people. The portrayal of Dido as a strong and impartial ruler is called into question in Book IV. Despite herself, Dido falls in love with Aeneas and her passion triggers a chain of disastrous events. Encouraged by her sister Anna, Dido breaks her vow of chastity and succumbs to her desire for Aeneas. Instead of devoting herself to her duties as queen, Dido thinks only of her desire. Thus, the growth of Carthage was arrested: "The towers, half-built, no longer rose... The projects were interrupted, superimposed, and the enormous walls menacingwith motionless cranes they stood against the sky" (IV.121-126). Aeneas's presence has distracted the queen beyond the point where she can manage and supervise the advancement of her dominion: indeed, "[the lovers] celebrated everything the winter forgetful of the kingdom, prisoners of lust" (IV.264-265). This depiction of the lovers parallels Homer's depiction of the love between Helen and Paris in the Iliad. Throughout the epic, Paris is found among the hugs Helen when he should be on the battlefield. At the end of Book III, Paris is carried into Helen's bed in the midst of a duel with Menelaus (Iliad.III.440-461), Hector reprimands his brother for having repeatedly fled the battle to go to sleep with Helen: "The people are dying around the city... and it is for you that this war with its clamor has broken out around our city" (Iliad .VI.327-331) . Apparently, Dido's love for Aeneas is paramount to her love for Carthage. In contrast, Aeneas ultimately demonstrates that he values ​​nostos above all else, including his love for Dido. Bringing a message from Jupiter, Mercury convinces Aeneas to consider the future of his race if he does not abandon Carthage. After a long love affair, Aeneas decides to leave Dido to lead his people home to Italy (IV.361-390). Aeneas plans to escape under the cover of night, but Dido "[senses] some plot afoot...for who deceives a woman in love?" (IV.403-404). Always a strong-willed lover, Dido confronts Aeneas with passionate anger. His composure and self-control are absent when the queen hurls hateful insults and accusations at Aeneas. Dido begs Aeneas to have mercy on her and blames him for abandoning her after she sacrificed everything for him. "Because of you the Libyans and nomad kings detest me, my Tyrians are hostile to me. Because of you I have lost my integrity" (IV.417-455). Dido is rightfully furious, but her behavior is impulsive and extreme. The queen wishes Aeneas rough seas and restless wanderings. She stops in the middle of her impassioned tirade and "[runs] sickly from his sight and the light of day" (IV.505-540). After their final exchange, the queen is desolate, heartbroken, and unable to sleep. Convinced that she has no other choice, she decides to commit suicide. Book IV, aptly titled “The Passion of the Queen,” ends with Dido tragically impaling herself. In her final soliloquy, the queen curses the "cold Trojan on the high seas" (IV.904-922). News of his passing spreads quickly. With the death of Dido, Carthage is in total chaos. Addressing her sister's lifeless body, Anna laments the death that Dido has imposed not only on herself but on all of Carthage (IV.942-945). The depiction of Dido in Book IV suggests that Virgil has reservations about the legitimacy of female sovereignty. Although she is initially portrayed as a strong and dignified queen, Dido is ultimately impulsive and driven by her passions. Faced with extraordinary circumstances, the queen initially reacts as any rejected lover would. She is bitter, angry and heartbroken. However, his decision to commit suicide is, to say the least, extreme. Driven by passion, Dido does not consider the potential consequences of her death on Carthage. This contrasts sharply with Aeneas's conscientious decision to forgo happiness with Dido to fulfill his destiny. Despite his love for Dido, Aeneas ultimately takes on the responsibility of leading his people home. On the other hand, Dido succumbs to her weakness, her passionate desire for Aeneas, and allows him to destroy her kingdom. The end of Book IV suggests that the queen's death ushers in an era of decline for Carthage. Virgil further explores "female transgression"in Book VII, with its portraits of Juno, Allecto and Queen Amata of Lazio. Frustrated by their good fortune after landing in Latium, Juno enlists one of the Furies to devastate the Trojans. Juno tasks Allecto with inciting civil war between the Trojans and the Latins. “You [Allecto] can arm to fight brothers of one soul with each other, twist the houses with hatred, bring in your whips, O brands of death” (VII.458-461). In turn, Allecto appears before Amata in the night and takes possession of her body. Under the spell of the Fury, Beloved appeals to her husband Latinus to break off his daughter Lavinia's engagement to Aeneas. When she fails to persuade Latinus, Beloved loses touch with reality and "wanders about the city with mad abandon" (VII.495-520). Virgil further describes Beloved as "feign[ing] Bacchic possession (IV.209)." In her crazy revelry, the queen incites countless Loreto women to join her in protesting to postpone the wedding of Lavinia and Aeneas. Amata's frenzy parallels Queen Agave's madness in The Bacchae. In Euripides' tragedy, Agave is controlled by a spell of unconsciousness imposed by Dionysus. In his intoxicated state, the leader of the Maenad cult mercilessly kills his son Pentheus. Like Dido at the moment of her death, Beloved is a victim of passion and impulsiveness. Of course, the Latin queen is possessed by the wrath of the Furies when she rampages through her domain. In this way Beloved's tragic end is different from that of Dido. The queen of Lazio is at the mercy of an external force, which drives her to uncontrollable madness. Likewise, Dido is driven to ruin by passion and love, forces that were beyond her control. The "problematic behavior" of both queens highlights the Aeneid's underlying caution that a woman in power is not entirely desirable. Virgil's message is a moderate version of Aeschylus's view in the Eumenides. In his tragedy, Aeschylus suggests that the notion of female sovereignty is not ideal. Athena explicitly states the message of the tragedy: patriarchy and male leadership are supreme (Eumenides, 735-743). Virgil further explores a woman's transgression in power in Book XI, with Camilla, the warrior queen of the Volscians. Like Dido in Book I, Camilla is strong, composed and regal. Book XI of the epic is essentially Camilla's Oresteia, a catalog of her glorious and heroic moments. “Amidst the carnage, like an Amazon, Camilla rode exultantly, one breast bared to fight nimbly, the quiver on her back…” (XI.880-883). The virgin queen easily kills many enemies. Her heroic exploits parallel those of numerous male counterparts. Book V of the Iliad is a famous oresteia of the Achaean warrior Diomedes, whose murderous fury strikes down countless enemy Trojans. Virgil keenly emphasizes Camilla's purity and chastity throughout Book XI of the epic. Unlike Dido, the warrior queen is not corrupted by unchaste passions. Camilla is powerful because she is pure and therefore unhindered by weakness. Dido, however, commits suicide because she is a slave to passion. Before Aeneas arrives, Dido is in full control of her kingdom. Therefore, Carthage prospers under his leadership. The arrival of a love interest damages Dido's regal behavior. He becomes distracted and his leadership is flawed in the presence of Aeneas. Likewise, Camilla is the model of purity and power until she encounters her weakness on the battlefield. Her warrior skills rival those of the great epic heroes Achilles, Diomedes, and Hector of the Iliad. However Camilla inevitably succumbs to her weakness. After slaying countless enemy warriors, the warrior queen encounters magnificently adorned Arrun on the battlefield..