Aeneas is the king of the Trojans, who is also the son of Anchises and Venus. His destiny is that he will build the country of Rome. This fate is tested by the intervention of the gods, Juno in particular. Juno is the queen of the gods and held in high esteem in the city of Carthage. As Juno desires to “establish Carthage as the ruling city, [she] opposes destiny itself, which ordained that the descendants of the Trojans should conquer Carthage and rule the world” (Syed, 108). The one who led the descendants of Troy who would build Rome was Aeneas. This created Juno's disgust in him and did everything in his power to stop Aeneas from fulfilling his destiny of building Rome. However, this is only one of many reasons why Juno strives to stop Aeneas' fate. Originally from Phoenicia, Dido was exiled from this city after her husband was killed by his brother. Although Dido exiled herself 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 affect the direction in which love should be directed, but these are the ones who are most affected by any influence from that direction of love. love. From the beginning of “The Aeneid” by Virgil, we notice that love becomes a major theme throughout this epic poem. It is also noted that love should not be directed towards a certain individual but towards the prosperity of one's country. In “The Art of Love” written by Ovid, love is described as being great and wonderful and something that should be experienced by every man. In contrast, "The Aeneid" describes the love that is guided towards an individual as tragic and painful, but if it focuses on one...... middle of paper ...... e is chosen . If Aeneas had chosen to stay with Dido, then his future would have resembled that of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. If Dido had chosen her wish towards Sychaea, her future would not have been marked by an unhappy, painful and tragic love story. It may not have also involved his suicidal death. Works Cited Gransden, KW and S J. Harrison. Virgil: The Aeneid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print. Ovid and Rolfe Humphries. Loves, 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.