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Highway to Heartbreak // Abigale Bell

 


The Romans had a very structured idea of what the underworld looked like. It seems that for them, the cause of death and honor of the body played a major role in determining one's eternal destination. There are separate places for the souls of different people. Their locations seem to progress (digress? since we're in the underworld) in order of how noble the Romans saw the death. First, Aeneas encounters the crowds of those who were not given a proper burial. They are doomed to be stranded on the other side of the river Styx until their bodies are buried. This is the least noble way to die; no recognition; no honor. Next encountered, are the souls of children, those condemned by judge and jury, and those who commit suicide. Past this place, are the Fields of Mourning where wander the souls of those whose passionate love was rejected. Here, Aeneas encounters Dido. 

I find it intriguing that Aeneas does not find Dido in the place for those souls who took their own lives. Instead, he finds her in the Fields of Mourning where "...here are those whom pitiless love consumed/ With cruel wasting, hidden on paths apart..." (Virgil, 596). She seems to be breaking the rules. The souls here are doomed to spend eternity alone; to continue to live in love which cannot be returned. It seems that the Romans saw death by one's own hand to be less noble than death by someone else's. Maybe this leads to the idea that they didn't consider Dido's death to be a suicide. Could it have been a murder, indirectly, by Aeneas' hand? Or maybe Dido's passionate love for Aeneas, which ended in heartbreak, overshadowed the circumstances surrounding her death. 


Commented on Isabelle's and Kaitlyn's posts.

Comments

  1. Jamie PetersNovember 16, 2020 at 10:08 PM

    I think that in her mind, Dido was killed by Aeneas. Remember that although she purposefully stabbed herself, it was with Aeneas's sword (4.898-899). I think that it mattered a lot what their thoughts on their honor was as they died; Agamemnon is also listed as one of the fallen warriors alongside the Trojans who had died (6.658).

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  2. Hailey MorganNovember 17, 2020 at 12:24 AM

    Not only was Dido found in the fields of mourning, but so too was her husband. His appearance in this area is still a mystery to me as his love did not go unrequited. In fact, if Dido is now in the fields with him, then shouldn’t this man be placed elsewhere? It’s not like he’s still being adequately “punished” anymore.

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  3. Haylee LyndNovember 17, 2020 at 8:29 AM

    I love this post! I did not even think about this. It is so interesting. Her husband is also in the Fields of Mourning so Dido is able to turn to him, so she's to truly spending eternity alone. I think Dido should have ended up in the place for those who commit suicide for that is what she did. However, she does do it in a very "Juliet-like" way so I can see how her passion for Aeneas might overshadow her death.

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