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
Creusa of Troy their child and vanishes. Aeneas tries three times to hold her, each time failing to grasp her shade. Pausanias relates that Rhea and Aphrodite rescued Creusa from being enslaved by the Greeks on account of her being the wife of Aeneas (who was a son of Aphrodite). Creusa of Troy In Greek mythology, Creusa (; Ancient Greek: Κρέουσα "Kreousa" "princess") was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was the first wife of Aeneas and mother to Ascanius (also known as Iulus). Creusa's death at the will of the gods is dealt with briefly by Virgil in his "Aeneid". As