Comparing Dido To Virgil

Virgil presents many 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 embodies the virtue of temperance. Initially, Virgil invests in Dido and Camilla the potential to be great leaders. Dido is a great stateswoman while Camilla is a great warrior. However, they both are overcome by passions which they cannot repress. Dido, blinded by her love for Aeneas, sacrifices herself, while Camilla, blinded by her lust for the spoils of war, does not notice the spear fatally flying in her direction. Virgil proves what it

Virgil describes Camilla as a “princess warrior” (Aen. 7.960) who is not trained in “women’s work” (Aen. 7.961) which demonstrates her masculine traits. Camilla does not adhere to the normal gender roles for women. She is a powerful, divine-like warrior. Camilla rides into battle baring one breast with a quiver at her back and she is persistent during battle. On the battlefield, she commands every man’s respect, but she is reckless. Much like Dido, Camilla’s passion leads to her demise. During battle, Camilla “noticed neither air nor sound” (Aen. 11.9.57) as she plundered her way through the battlefield. She is so blinded by her anger and passion that she does not see Arrun’s spear coming straight for her breast. Arrun is not all consumed by the lustful passion that affects Camilla. Camilla’s death brings her gender back to life. She is no longer a masculine warrior, but a reckless, unstable woman whose brain can’t compete with her heart and this is shown as her spirit leaves her body on the

Camilla is given a god-like status and the difference between her and other mortal women becomes more evident as the epic poem advances. Virgil does this by paralleling Camilla to the divine and the mythical. Camilla’s words. True to her masculine nature, Camilla calls to Acca and asks her to inform Turnus of her death so he can take over for her. This last show of masculinity is contrasted by the long, delicate description of her soul leaving her body. Just before her death, Camilla releases her weapons as “her soul fled resentfully down to the shades” (Aen. 11.997). Both women have honorable deaths. Although Dido took her own life, her suicide was honorable. If she hadn’t stabbed herself, she would have had to “beg for a marriage among the Nomads” (Aen. 4.624) or “follow the Trojans’ fleet and be subject to their every command” (Aen. 4.626-27). Dido was smart enough to know that the people of Carthage would soon forget everything she has done for city and she would be ruined. She believes she deserves to die in a way that preserves who she was before Aeneas: a great and powerful queen. Becoming a “slave in a conqueror’s bed” (Aen. 3.375) was worse than