Aeneas’ visit to the underworld

Aeneas wants to visit his father’s ghost by going down to the underworld. Thus, he asks sibyl for help in getting there. The Sibyl informs Aeneas that to gain entry into Dis with a hope of returning, he must collect a golden bough from a special tree. This bough will grant him access to the underworld.

He feels disappointed looking at the size of the forest, but after he says a prayer, a pair of doves descends and guides him to the desired trees. Aeneas realizes that it is his mother, Venus, who has sent these doves to help him find the golden bough.

After collecting the golden bough, he returns to the sibyl. Deiphobë guides Aeneas to the entrance of the underworld. Aeneas makes a sacrifice to the gods of darkness at the threshold of a deep cavern. Once the sacrifice is made, a vast chasm opens up and Aeneas follows the Sibyl.

Aeneas makes his way into the route to Hades accompanied by the Sibyl. They descend through a gloomy region haunted by bodiless and dreadful spirits and monsters and eventually arrives at Acheron, one of the rivers of the underworld.

After arriving at the bank of the river, Acheron, Aeneas sees Charon, the ancient boatman who ferries spirits of the dead across the river. At first, Charon is reluctant to ferry Aeneas, a living man, across the river Acheron, but when the Sibyl shows him the golden bough, he changes his mind and grants Aeneas safe passage.

On the other side of the river lives Cerberus, the snaky, three-headed watchdog. Sibyl feeds Cerberus tranquilizer-soaked meet, which allows her to slip past the gate.

As Aeneas and the sibyl disembark on the other side of the shore, they find themselves surrounded by the wailing souls of dead infants. As they moved forward, they encountered the souls of those who were executed for crimes they did not commit, and then they come across the spirits of those who took their own lives. Eventually, they arrive at the Fields of Mourning, a place for those who died of love. Here, Aeneas meets the ghost of Dido. Knowing that Dido killed herself because of his abandonment, he tries to justify himself to her, saying that he left her unwillingly. Unforgiving, Dido’s ghost turns away from him and turns to the spirit of her husband, Sychaeus, with whom she has now been reunited for comfort.

Both Aeneas and Deiphobe come to the fields where the spirits of men who have won battles reside. There they meet the Trojans and Greek warriors.

As Aeneas travels along the road to Tartarus, he sees the punishments for disobeying the gods and committing sins against men. After that, he and Deiphobe enter the Elysium field, where Aeneas is received by his father, Anchises.

Anchises talks about the idea of rebirth or reincarnation, and, then, shows Aeneas his Roman descendants. The scene ends up with a tragic vision of the funeral of Marcellus, who was Augustus’ nephew and son-in-law. He died prematurely. Aeneas returns to the earth through the Gate of Ivory, which symbolizes false dreams. 

The relationship between Aeneas and Dido in The Aeneid

In the epic, The Aeneid, both Venus and Juno contribute to the union between Aeneas and Dido. When Aeneas is blown to Carthage by a storm, Venus appears to him in disguise and advises him to enter the city and speak with the queen. To ensure the safety of her son in this new land, Venus sends her other son, Cupid, to fill Dido with passion for Aeneas. Venus does this to protect Aeneas and his son, fearing that Dido might otherwise be cruel to them. 

Juno harbors animosity towards Aeneas due to Paris’ judgment in a divine beauty contest, where Paris favors Venus over her. Consequently, Juno desires their destruction. However, both Venus and Juno collaborate to make Dido fall in love with Aeneas, each for her own reasons. Juno hopes that Dido’s love will prevent Aeneas from reaching Italy, while Venus seeks solace for the shipwrecked and hopeless Aeneas. To achieve this, they use Cupid to instill Dido with a deep affection for Aeneas.

Things become complicated due to the interference of the two goddesses. Their actions create a storm that drives Dido and Aeneas to seek shelter in a cave, where they engage in an unofficial “marriage” and most likely make it complete by getting intimate.

Aeneas is presented to Dido in a way that makes their love seem reasonable and realistic. When Aeneas narrates his story, he represents himself as a hero, which makes Dido even more infatuated with him. They also find many things in common, as both Aeneas and Dido have fled their homelands.

In the epic poem The Aeneid, Anna, Dido’s sister, proposes a marriage between Dido and Aeneas for two main reasons. First, if Dido marries Aeneas, it would strengthen Carthage as the Trojan warriors follow him. Numerous African tribes surround Carthage, posing a constant threat of attack. This is a political reason. However, emotional reasons outweigh the political ones. Dido tells Anna that she desires Aeneas and is willing to break her promise to her deceased husband, which was to remain faithful to him. Before Aeneas arrives in Carthage, Dido has received marriage proposals from African tribal leaders and her own people, but she has rejected them due to her promise. Upon meeting Aeneas, she falls in love with the Trojan hero.

The gods are also involved in the separation of Aeneas and Dido. When Jupiter, the king of the gods, learns of their affair, he sends Mercury to Carthage to remind Aeneas of his duty to leave for Italy and found another Trojan city.

Mercury reminds Aeneas that his future lies somewhere else and that he must leave for Italy. This message shocks Aeneas, who feels he has no choice but to obey the gods’ command. Unsure how to inform Dido of his departure, he tries to prepare his fleet to set sail in secret. However, the queen suspects his plan and confronts him. In a rage, she insults him and accuses him of betraying her honor, begging him to stay. In response, Aeneas asserts that he was never truly her husband and loves his destiny more sthan he loves her. He explains that he is going to Italy not of his own will but because Jupiter commands it. As a final effort, Dido sends Anna to persuade the Trojan hero to stay, but Aeneas remains unmoved by the pleas of both Dido and Anna and continues his preparations.

The moment Dido sees the fleet leaving, she rushes to the courtyard, climbs upon a pyre, and ends her life by falling onto Aeneas’ sword.