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 (37) surrendered. From Taranto, "Dido" went to Sorrento where she took part in the shelling to support troops. October and November 1943 saw "Dido" back in Alexandria for another refit. On return to service, "Dido" spent time in Malta and Taranto before taking part in a diversionary action off Civitavecchia in support of the landing at Anzio. August 1944 saw "Dido" supporting the Allied landings in France. In September 1944, "Dido" returned to the UK. In October 1944, "Dido" escorted a convoy to Russia before supporting carrier strikes off Norway. In April 1945, "Dido" escorted , , and to the North