Now searching for a new home, Dido and her party first stopped on the island of Cyprus, where a group of local stragglers joined her crew. Pygmalion, thinking the gold was lost forever, made no attempt to pursue Dido or her party. After setting sail, Dido declared the gold to be an offering to the spirit of her dead husband, and had the bags of sand thrown overboard into the sea. In order to deceive Pygmalion, Dido ordered the servants to load bags filled with sand on to the upper decks, to be used as decoys. After quietly loading the ships with bags of gold from Acerbas' hoard, Dido set her plan in motion. Agreeing to her trip, Pygmalion provided Dido with a small fleet of ships and various servants to help her prepare for the journey. In order to keep from arousing her brother's suspicions, Dido told Pygmalion she wished to travel the world, with the intention of sending tribute and gifts back to Tyre. It was the careful formation of her plan to escape Pygmalion's grasp that provided history's first glimpse of the clever nature for which Dido was best known. The ghost of Acerbas himself is said to have appeared before her one night and warned her to flee the kingdom, while at the same time revealing the location of his hidden gold. Although accounts vary, Dido eventually became aware of her husband's death at the hands of her brother. King Pygmalion, knowing of this wealth, had Acerbas murdered in hopes of claiming the gold that would rightfully go to his sister. Acerbas is said to have been possessed of considerable wealth, which he concealed by burying his treasures underground. Not long after, Dido was married to a priest named Acerbas, who, by some accounts may have been her uncle. Despite her father's intention for her to share the throne with her brother, Pygmalion was recognized as King of Tyre, and Dido was left with little authority. Named joint-ruler with her brother, Pygmalion, Dido's rule was not widely accepted by the people. Dido, who was often referred to as "Elissa" in the ancient historical records, was heir to the throne of Tyre following her father's death, sometime around 800 BC. The Kingdom of Tyre was part of the ancient Phoenician civilization, geographically located in what is today modern Lebanon. Retold through the words of Roman historians and later the esteemed poet Virgil in his epic the Aeneid, Dido's tale begins with her life as the daughter of King Mattan of Tyre. The story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, is, as most legends are, filled with intrigue and deception. However, this success was not without consequences, as Carthage eventually drew the ire of both Greece and Rome, and the ensuing conflicts with these intimidating rivals became the stuff of legend. Ideally situated along the northern coast of Africa, Carthage became an increasingly crucial center of trade along the Mediterranean throughout the 1st millennium BC. The ancient kingdom of Carthage, founded by fabled queen Dido, grew from a small settlement of exiles to a powerful civilization that rivaled the great and formidable Roman Empire.
0 kommentar(er)
