Why does aeneas leave dido

Is it about being true to yourself, or is virtue something more? When Hamlet confronts his mother, she pleas that she only followed her desires, and that to do otherwise would naturally be hypocritical.

This is not to say that the self is not important. In a very real sense, you cannot find yourself until you deny yourself.

After all, who would Aeneas be if the poem ended in the middle of the fourth chapter? If he had stayed—been true to himself—then who would he be? Certainly not the Aeneas that has inspired the Western world for over 2, years.

That Aeneas, the true Aeneas, is the one we only see when the book and all its trials are complete. Dido was a real woman; an ideal woman. She was a person of the communal interest; a great military and political figure for that. Reality, however, hardly favours the deserving individual. The Gods would not allow such a marriage; the Gods would not allow the destiny of Aeneas to be denied. If Aeneas indeed stayed with Dido; he would have to give up his destiny as an even greater ruler of Latium.

How tragic it is for Aeneas to once again give up his own personal desires, his own needs, his own wants, projects, goals, hopes, aspirations, and sense of worth; for his destiny. Destiny is seen as the greater goal; so great as to give up love itself? This seems too cruel a reality. He had to leave his bride, Dido; who is so perfect a woman. Truly it is a great personal tragedy; adding to his own loss of his nation. But the mindset of Aeneas overlooked that as he embraced his destiny….

It seemed that this hope that he had, this belief in realising the future, in bringing the events that destiny decreed by means of his own hand; made him overcome the loss of his beloved father, and wonderful Dido. I am yet to understand how Aeneas could truly overcome the loss of Dido. How tragic, for Dido, to lose her heart, and her nation. How tragic for Aeneas to lose his love to gain greatness; Aeneas seemed to be content with realising his destiny. For years I used to think how amazing Aeneas was to overcome his problems and realise and actualise a destiny, a brilliant future, from the ashes of his old home, he sowed the seeds of a great Empire.

The attitude imbued by Anchises, Aeneas father, as they entered the underworld to see the catalogue of heroes; inspired me. But now, I feel saddened by the loss of Dido.

Dido considers them to be married though the union has yet to be consecrated in ceremony. Anxious rumors spread that Dido and Aeneas have surrendered themselves entirely to lust and have begun to neglect their responsibilities as rulers.

This message shocks Aeneas—he must obey, but he does not know how to tell Dido of his departure. He tries to prepare his fleet to set sail in secret, but the queen suspects his ploy and confronts him. In a rage, she insults him and accuses him of stealing her honor.

As a last effort, Dido sends Anna to try to persuade the Trojan hero to stay, but to no avail. Dido writhes between fierce love and bitter anger. Suddenly, she appears calm and instructs Anna to build a great fire in the courtyard. There, Dido says, she can rid Aeneas from her mind by burning all the clothes and weapons he has left behind and even the bed they slept on.

Anna obeys, not realizing that Dido is in fact planning her own death—by making the fire her own funeral pyre.