Such was the story of Dido which Venus related to AEneas and Achates. Having concluded, she inquired in her turn who they were, from what country they had come, and whither they were going. In reply AEneas gave a brief account of his wanderings since the fall of Troy. Then the goddess directed him to go into the city and present himself before the queen, and she pointed to an augury in the sky—twelve swans flying above their heads—which, she said, was a sign that the ships they had supposed to be lost were at that moment sailing into the harbor.
So saying Venus turned to leave them, when suddenly a marvelous change took place in her dress and appearance, so that AEneas knew she was his mother, and he cried to her to permit him to touch her hand and speak with her as her son. The goddess, however, made no answer, but she cast over Aeneas and his companion a thick veil of cloud so that no one might see or molest them on their way. Thus rendered invisible, they went towards the city. When they reached it they found a great many men at work, some finishing the walls, others erecting great buildings of various kinds. In the center of the town was a magnificent temple of Juno.
Enriched with gifts, and with a golden shrine;
But more the goddess made the place divine.
On brazen steps the marble threshold rose,
And brazen plates the cedar beams enclose;
The rafters are with brazen coverings crowned;
The lofty doors on brazen hinges sound.
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK I.
Entering this temple, AEneas was astonished to find the walls covered with paintings representing scenes of the Trojan war.
He saw, in order painted on the wall,
Whatever did unhappy Troy befall;
The wars that fame around the world had blown,
All to the life, and every leader known.
He stopped, and weeping said: "O friend! e'en here!
The monuments of Trojan woes appear!"
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK I.
Amongst the pictures, AEneas recognized one of himself performing deeds of valor in the thick of the fight. While he and his companion, both still invisible, were gazing with admiration upon those scenes Queen Dido came into the temple, attended by a numerous train of warriors, and took her seat upon a high-raised throne. Presently there appeared a number of Trojans advancing towards the queen, and AEneas rejoiced to see that they were some of his own people belonging to the ships that had been separated from him during the storm. They had been cast ashore on a different part of the coast, and not hearing of the safe arrival of AEneas, they were now come to beg the help and protection of Dido. Having heard their story, which Il-i'o-neus, one of their number, briefly related, the queen bade them dismiss their fears, promising that she would give them whatever assistance they needed, and send out messengers to search the Libyan coasts for their leader AEneas. But at this point the mist that encompassed AEneas and his companion suddenly vanished and the hero stood forth, beheld by all, his face resembling that of a god.
The Trojan chief appeared in open sight
August in visage, and serenely bright.
His mother-goddess, with her hands divine,
Had formed his curling locks, and made his temples shine,
And given his rolling eyes a sparkling grace,
And breathed a youthful vigor on his face.
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK I.
AEneas now made himself known to the queen and thanked her for her kindness to his people. Dido was astonished at the sudden appearance of the hero, of whom she had already heard much. Her father, Belus, she said, had told her of the fall of Troy and of the name of AEneas, and having herself suffered many misfortunes, she had learned to have pity for the distressed.
"For I myself, like you, have been distressed;
Till heaven afforded me this place of rest;
Like you, an alien in a land unknown,
I learn to pity woes so like my own."
DRYDEN, AEneid, BOOK I.
Then she invited the hero into the royal apartments where a grand banquet was prepared in his honor. She also caused a supply of provisions to be taken to his people on the shore—twenty oxen, a hundred swine, and a hundred fat lambs. Meanwhile AEneas sent Achates to bring his son Ascanius to the city, bidding him at the same time to take with him presents for the queen, costly and beautiful things that had been saved from the ruins of Troy—a mantle embroidered with gold, a scepter which had belonged to I-li'o-ne, King Priam's daughter, and a necklace strung with pearls.