History of Tunisia for centuries assigned its foundation to a queen of Tyre, Elissa, also called Dido. The Roman historian Pompeius Trogus, a near contemporary of Virgil, describes a sinister web of court intrigue which caused Queen Elissa (Dido) to flee the city of Tyre westward with a fleet of ships. The Roman poet Virgil (70–19 B.C.) portrays Dido as the tragic, admirable heroine of his epic the "Aeneid", which contains many inventions loosely based on legendary history, and includes the story about how the Phoenician queen acquired the Byrsa. By the middle of the sixth century B.C., Carthage had grown into a
HMS Dido (1784) of her guns burst. "Dido" was the only ship of the Mediterranean Fleet to exchange fire with French ships during Martin's cruise of 1794, but was unable to prevent the French escaping into Gourjean Bay. "Dido" captured "Révolution", a French vessel possibly a navy corvette, on 8 October 1794 off Porto Mauruzio between Nice and Genoa. "Dido" captured the xebec "Témėraire" on 14 March 1795. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS "Temeraire", later renamed to HMS "Transfer". Admiral Hotham sent "Dido" under Captain George Henry Towry and , a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate under Captain Robert Middleton, to