The Aeneid: Frequent Human Interaction

Frequent human interaction creates a large part of a person’s sanity. People interact with each other throughout the entire day, they just do not think about it. But if that human interaction is taken away by loneliness or loss, it has a major effect on our sanity. Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, was born in 70 B.C. near Mantua, Italy. Born into a peasant family, Virgil had many hardships faced early on in his life, which he reflects in his many poetic works. His most notable work was the epic poem, the Aeneid. Book IV of this epic poem introduces Aeneas, our epic hero, to Dido, Queen of Carthage. Dido, struck with grief over her husband, has become captivated with Aeneas. Unwilling to let go of him because of her frequent loss and loneliness in her kingdom, she slowly starts to lose her sanity.
Although Dido was Queen of Carthage, she
“Human beings are social beings. Everything we have is related with personal relationships. We constantly need each other, and whatever we do will always have an impact on others. Since we cannot live and be happy except through relationship with others, we must learn to relate.” This means that, as human beings, we need human interaction and relationships with other humans. Dido refused to really socialize with anyone besides her sister after her husband’s death, but when she found Aeneas, she was desperate for human interaction. Jiménez also says that, “A specific trauma that leads people to depression is the loss of love. We all need affective bonds to sustain the vigor of our bodies.” Dido’s loss of her husband, along with her later loss of Aeneas, caused her to flow over the edge of sanity, and she could not take it anymore. The point when Queen Dido lost her loved ones, is the point when she gave up on