Editing Dido (section)

==Later Roman tradition==

=== In Ovid ===
Letter 7 of [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Heroides]]'' is a fictional letter from Dido to Aeneas written just before she ascends the pyre. The situation is as in Virgil's ''Aeneid''. 

In the ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' (3.545f) Ovid introduced a kind of sequel involving Aeneas and Dido's sister Anna. See [[Anna Perenna]].

=== In Silius Italicus ===
Dido's figure influences the plot of [[Silius Italicus]]’s poem ''[[Punica (poem)|Punica]]'', a retelling of the events of the [[Second Punic War]] which draws from the mythological roots of the conflict. In Book 1, Silius recounts Dido's founding of Carthage, ascribing the city's enmity with Rome to the conquering aspirations of its patron goddess Juno. In a temple on the site of Dido's suicide, a young [[Hannibal]] learns about this history from his father [[Hamilcar Barca|Hamilcar]]. Hannibal then swears his famous oath that he will oppose Rome in war to "Elissa [Dido], by your shade." In this book, Silius also traces the ancestry of the Barcid family to a younger brother of Dido.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italicus, Silius (c. 28–c. 103) - Punica (The Second Carthaginian War): Book I |url=https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/ItalicusPunicaBKI.php |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.poetryintranslation.com}}</ref> 

In Book 8, the spirit of Dido's sister Anna is sent to Hannibal by Juno. Anna tells not only of Dido's suicide and a ghostly visit from her sister, but her own wanderings from [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]] to Italy, where she is ultimately deified as a river. Anna’s tale, as well as her prophecy of Hannibal’s future triumph in the [[Battle of Cannae]], rouses the Carthaginian general to battle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italicus, Silius (c. 28–c. 103) - Punica (The Second Carthaginian War): Book VIII |url=https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/ItalicusPunicaBKVIII.php |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.poetryintranslation.com}}</ref> 

=== Other ===
The ''[[Augustan History]]'' ("Tyranni Triginta" 27, 30) claims that [[Zenobia]], queen of [[Palmyra]] in the late third century, was descended from [[Cleopatra]], Dido and [[Semiramis]].