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
Philaethria dido dido" is often confused with "Siproeta stelenes". They have a similar coloration, but their wing shapes are different and whereas "P. dido" flies high in the canopy, "S. stelenes" is often to be seen in forest clearings and open secondary forest. Three subspecies are recognized. "Philaethria dido chocoensis" is found only on the western side of the Andes, its range extending from Ecuador to the Chocó region in northwestern Colombia. "Philaethria dido dido" inhabits tropical rainforests of South America east of the Andes, from Colombia to Bolivia. "Philaethria dido panamensis" lives only in Panama, from San Blas to Chiriquí "Philaethria