Dido holding a dagger in her right hand, left arm outstreched 1505 - 1515

This engraving shows Dido, Queen of Carthage, with dagger in hand, and was made by an anonymous artist on paper. The story of Dido was hugely popular in the Renaissance, often to debate what a 'good' woman was. Here Dido is the tragic lover, abandoned by Aeneas, who chooses death rather than life without him. But the picture also suggests the political consequences of that choice. Her suicide is a founding myth of the Roman-Carthaginian conflict. So is the artist inviting us to see Dido as a victim, or a dangerous enemy of the Roman Empire? Or both? By looking at emblem books and theater productions of the time, we can start to see the different cultural meanings that Dido had at the time. The meaning of art is never fixed; it is constantly being remade within specific social and institutional settings.