  When introducing the calculus of variations, we may invoke Dido's problem to
illustrate the most fundamental variational problem: to find the curve of given
perimeter which bounds the greatest area. This type of problem led
mathematicians to invent solution methods of maxima and minima, and the genesis
of variational calculus as a distinct branch of analysis. Dido's problem was
inspired by the mythical tale of the foundation of Carthage (ancient city in
North Africa) by a Phoenician princess as told independently by Roman poet
Virgil, and by Latin historian Justinus in the first two centuries BC.
Historians have debated the facts surrounding Carthage's birth; however,
contemporary mathematicians have accepted the vague events described by Virgil
in his Aeneid, adding details to Dido's story to extrapolate a few verses and
use as a basis for the isoperimetric theorem. Was Leonhard Euler or Lord Kelvin
who first interpreted Virgil's poem as Dido's problem of variational calculus?
In this article I attempt to resolve a question of historical attribution to
identify who first defined Dido's problem.

History and Overview