Dido  Dido ( ; , ), also known as Alyssa or Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage, located in modern Tunisia. Known only through ancient Greek and Roman sources, most of which were written well after Carthage's founding, her historicity remains uncertain. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, located in modern Lebanon, who flees her tyranny to found her own city in northwest Africa. Details about Dido character, life, and role in the founding of Carthage are best known from the account given in Virgil's epic poem, the "Aeneid," which tells the legendary story of the Trojan hero Aeneas. Dido is described as a clever and enterprising woman who flees her ruthless and autocratic brother, Pygmalion, after discovering that he was responsible for her husband's death. Through her wisdom and leadership, the city of Carthage is founded and made prosperous. Dido remains an enduring figure in popular culture, featured in plays, artworks, and other media into the 21st century. Her legacy is especially strong in Tunisia, whose women are sometimes called the "Daughters of Dido", and where she is regarded as a national symbol, even being previously featured on its currency. Many names in the legend of Dido are of Punic origin, which suggests that the first Greek authors who mention this story have taken up Phoenician accounts. One suggestion is that "Dido" is an epithet from the same Semitic root as "David", which means "Beloved". Others state Didô means "the wanderer". According to Marie-Pierre Noël, "Elishat/Elisha" is a name repeatedly attested on Punic votives. It is composed of the Punic reflex of *ʾil- "god", the remote Phoenician creator god El, also a name for God in Judaism, and "‐issa", which could be either "ʾiš" (𐤀𐤎) means "fire", or another word for "woman". Other works state it is the feminine form of El. In Greek it appears as "Theiossô", which translates Élissa: "el" becoming "theos". This understanding of the chronology related to Dido and her company resulted in the following dates for Dido and her immediate relations, as derived from F. M. Cross and Wm. H. Barnes:   The person of Dido can be traced to references by Roman historians to lost writings of Timaeus of Tauromenium in Sicily (c. 356–260 BC).