Dido and Aeneas Dido and Aeneas Dido and Aeneas (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was composed no later than July 1688, and had been performed at Josias Priest's girls' school in London by the end of 1689. Some scholars argue for a date of composition as early as 1683. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's "Aeneid". It recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for
Parallels between Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey his twin brother Remus with the she-wolf that cared for the twins, and Augustus' victory at the Battle of Actium. The first half of the "Aeneid" mimics the journey of Odysseus in several ways. Though the "Odyssey" takes course over the span of 24 books while the "Aeneid" replicates the happenings in the "Odyssey" in 6 books, there are several comparisons to make. Odysseus and Aeneas are both royalty, Odysseus being the king of Ithaca and Aeneas a Trojan prince. Without the help of divine intervention though, neither hero would have met his destiny, though there were opposing gods who