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In Greek mythology, Dido was the founder and queen of Carthage, a city on the northern coast of Africa. She was the daughter of Belus (or Mutto), a king of Tyre in Phoeniciaancient maritime country located in an area that is now part of Lebanon, and the sister of Pygmalion. Dido is best known for her love affair with the Trojan hero AeneasTrojan hero who founded Rome; son of Aphrodite (Venus) and the Trojan Anchises.

King Belus had wanted his son and daughter to share royal power equally after his death, but Pygmalion seized the throne and murdered Dido's husband. Dido and her followers fled from Tyre, landing on the shores of North Africa. There a local ruler named Iarbas agreed to sell Dido as much land as the hide of a bull could cover. Dido cut a bull's hide into thin strips and used it to outline a...