Dido and Aeneas In a poem of about 1686, Tate alluded to James II as Aeneas, who is misled by the evil machinations of the Sorceress and her witches (representing Roman Catholicism, a common metaphor at the time) into abandoning Dido, who symbolises the British people. The same symbolism may apply to the opera. This explains the addition of the characters of the Sorceress and the witches, which do not appear in the original "Aeneid". It would be noble, or at least acceptable, for Aeneas to follow the decree of the Gods, but not so acceptable for him to be tricked by ill-meaning
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