Mythological accounts constantly transform across cultures and over time, but there are two versions of the story of Dido and Aeneas, one by a shy, serious, sponsored poet by the government; the other by an often carefree author, a future exile, demonstrate that even among contemporaries living in the same city, an author's sensitivity can shape an ancient story. Virgil's tale of Dido and Aeneas, which forms the most memorable part of the Aeneid, resonates with both players and ultimately serves the poem's goal of revealing the toil and tears that went into founding an empire by Aeneas. Ovid's letter from Dido to Aeneas, however, is part of the Heroides, a work in tune with the women whose imaginary letters it contains, and subverts the themes of the epic on which it is based. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Dido of Vergil appeals to Aeneas' promises to detain him. It is unclear whether these promises ever existed, but in Dido's mind "her right hand engaged" (IV.307), "[their] marriage" (IV.316), and "marriage songs undertaken" (IV.316 ) should be enough to bind Aeneas to her. Aeneas swears that he "never made a marriage pact with Dido" (IV.338-9); from their point of view both characters are right. For Virgil, this domestic scene has universal implications; whether Aeneas stays or goes will decide the fate of an empire, and the gods themselves are involved in the struggle. Juno, protector of Carthage and Venus, mother of Aeneas, organized the marriage of Dido and Venus, but neither of them did it in good faith. Venus "felt that Juno had spoken [of the marriage] with a feigned intention of diverting the Italian kingdom towards the Libyan coasts" (IV.105-6), and indeed Juno suggests, "'let Dido be permitted to serve a Phrygian husband and for you Venus to be entrusted as a dowry to the Tyrians'” (IV.103-4). Aeneas and the Carthaginian queen are excellent pawns of the divine plan. could marry Lavinia and bring about peace between the Teucreans and the Latins. Although Aeneas's departure is his destiny, Dido accepts the fact with less grace than he does. We see the entire development of Dido's passion: his initial love, her fears of infidelity to Sychaeus, her acceptance of Aeneas and, here, her rejection of him We see that she has every right to be angry, and angry she is; cruelty of the gods, saying: “'no doubt this work comes from the gods; this worry disturbs the quiet ones'" (IV.378). He wishes that Aeneas "drinks to the punishments among the rocks" (IV.383) and anxiously awaits his death. We know little of Aeneas' emotions, as he tries to be a good Stoic, but Virgil tells us about the hero's regret, who "wishes to calm the grieving woman by consoling her and putting her worries aside with words, he complained a lot and was shaken in his soul by her love" (IV.393 -5). We are also allowed to glimpse the emotions of the secondary characters, such as Iarba's jealousy and Anna's faithful sorrow. Ovid, however, has Dido write in the first person and focuses entirely on her emotions. Where Virgil provides a section of the epic that runs from Aeneas' shipwreck on the coast of Libya to Dido's rejection of her former love in the underworld, Ovid's tale focuses on Dido's feelings immediately after Aeneas's departure. Since Ovid based his tale on Virgil's, he must have felt that there was something to gain by narrowing and concentrating his range, making his version not an epic thematically.