Aeneas is the king of the Trojans, who is also the son of Anchises and Venus. His destiny is to build the land of Rome. This fate is tested by the interference of the gods, Juno in particular. Juno is the queen of the gods and is held in great respect in the city of Carthage. Because Juno wishes to “establish Carthage as a ruling city, [she] goes against fate itself, which ordained that the descendants of the Trojans conquer Carthage and rule the world” (Syed, 108). Aeneas led the descendants of Troy who would build Rome. This has created Juno's disgust in him and he does everything in his power to stop Aeneas from fulfilling his destiny of building Rome. However, this is only one of the many reasons why Juno strives to stop Aeneas' fate. Originally from Phoenicia, Dido was exiled from this city after her husband was killed by her brother. Even though Dido was exiled from her homeland, she excelled and built Carthage, where she reigns as queen. There are many other characters mentioned and discussed in the "Aeneid" who influence the direction in which love should be oriented, but these are the ones who are most affected by any influence of that direction of love. From the beginning of Virgil's "Aeneid", it is evident that love becomes an important theme throughout this epic poem. It is also evident that love should not be directed towards a particular individual but something that should be directed towards the prosperity of one's country. Within “The Art of Love” written by Ovid, love is described as great and wonderful and something that should be experienced by every man. In contrast, “The Aeneid” describes love that is directed at an individual as tragic and painful, but if focused on one…half of the paper…it is singled out. If Aeneas had chosen to stay with Dido, his future would have been similar to that of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. If Dido had chosen to vote for Sichaeus, her future would not have held an unhappy, painful, tragic love story. It may not have also involved his suicide death. Works Cited Gransden, KW and S J. Harrison. Virgil: The Aeneid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.Ovid and Rolfe Humphries. Love, The art of beauty, The remedies of love and The art of love. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 1957. Print.Smith, Alden. The primacy of vision in Virgil's Aeneid. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. Print.Syed, Yasmin. Virgil's Aeneid and the Roman Self: subject and nation in literary discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005. Print. Virgil and Robert Fagles. The Aeneid. New York: Penguin, 2010. Print.