Dido

Dido (/ˈdaɪdoʊ/ DY-doh; Ancient Greek: Διδώ Greek pronunciation: [diː.dɔ̌ː], Latin pronunciation: [ˈdiːdoː]), also known as Elissa (/əˈlɪsə/ ə-LISS-ə, Ἔλισσα),^[1] was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located in Lebanon) who fled tyranny to found her own city in northwest Africa. Known only through ancient Greek and Roman sources, all of which were written well after Carthage's founding, her historicity remains uncertain. The oldest references to Dido are attributed to Timaeus, who lived in Taormina in Sicily, and died around 260 BC, which is about five centuries after the date given for the foundation of Carthage.

Timaeus told the legends surrounding the founding of Carthage by Dido in his Sicilian History. By his account, Dido founded Carthage in 814 BC, around the same time as the foundation of Rome, and he alluded to the growing conflict between the two cities in his own day.^[2][3]

Details about Dido's character, life, and role in the founding of Carthage are best known from Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, written around 20 BC, which tells the legendary story of the Trojan hero Aeneas. Dido is described as a clever and enterprising woman who flees her ruthless and autocratic brother, Pygmalion, after discovering that he was responsible for her husband's death. A wise leader, she founds Carthage and makes it prosper.

Dido has been an enduring figure in Western culture and art from the early Renaissance into the 21st century. In the early 20th century, she became a national symbol for Tunisia, and Tunisian women can be poetically described as "Daughters of Dido".