In the underworld, Aeneas meets the spirit of his past relationship, queen
Dido of
Carthage, with whom he tries to reconcile after their tragic separation. Dido doesn't respond to his calling and withdraws in the forest to her first spouse,
Sichaeus. The violent ending of Dido and Aeneas' relationship, mythical founders of Carthage and
Rome respectively, is used by Virgil to explain the long rivalry and
wars between the two polities. Among the souls that Aeneas meets in the fields of sorrow are several princesses and mythical figures, including
Eriphyle, who is seen to bear the wounds inflicted by her son, and
Phaedra, who caused the death of her love interest,
Hippolytus. Other figures that are mentioned to bide in the fields are
Procris,
Pasiphaë,
Laodamia, and
Caeneus. == See also ==