Miseris Succurrere Disco

In the epic Aenid, Virgil (70-19 B.C.) depicts Dido receiving the protaganist Aeneas, with the words "Non ignara mali, miseris succerrere disco," meaning, "Not myself being unacquainted with difficulty, I learn to succor the distressed."

Virgil's Aenid

The Vestal Virgins of Rome begin the tale with Aeneas, the Trojan Warrior, describing the end of Troy. The Greek General, Odysseus, comes up with a plan to build a wooden horse. Fifty Greek soldiers hide in the horse while the treacherous spy Sinon convinced the Trojans to accept it. That night the Greeks sacked the city, and Aeneas managed to escape with his father, Anchises, his son, Ascanius, and the other Trojans out of the city and set sail. They attempted twice to establish a city, but were driven away by plagues and bad omens. The gods told them to make a city in Italy, but they were cursed by many, including the Harpies. But they were befriended by others. After the death of Anchises, they were blown off course and land in Carthage. There, they befriended the Queen, Dido, and explained their tale. Dido herself was away from her homeland, and fell in love with Aeneas. But, the gods warned Aeneas that he still had a quest, so he left Dido, who committed suicide out of heartbreak. Aeneas eventually landed in Sicily, where the women and some of the other refugees were beginning to lose hope. Aeneas is visited by his father in a dream, and set sail again for Italy. There, he visited the prophetess, Sibyl of Cumae who takes him to the Underworld. There he is shown the history of Rome, the very land that shall be founded where he lands. The Trojans continue further up the coast to Latium. The King of Latium, Latinus, accepts Aeneas hoping he is the prophesied one to marry his daughter, Lavinia. But the queen, Amata, wished Lavinia to marry the suitor Turnus. Amata and Turnus plan to cause chaos for the Trojans and are given the chance when Aeneas' son, Ascanius, hunts a stag that is a local's pet; Turnus, using this, begins a war. Tibernius, the River God, recommends Aeneas to travel northward to get military support of the neighboring villages, while Aeneas' mother, Venus, gives him weapons forged by Vulcan. When he returns, Aeneas finds that Turnus has attacked the Trojans. Pallas, the son of Aeneas' new ally Evander, is slain in battle by Turnus, and this causes the rage of Aeneas to give life and cause the deaths to others. They eventually come to a truce so they could bury the dead; they decide that to spare the lives of others, that Aeneas and Turnus would fight each other for the hand of Lavinia, which is strangely similar to the dual between Menelaus and Paris over the hand of Helen. But like the dual in the Iliad, this peace is not kept long and because of a quarrel between the sides, everybody attacks again. Aeneas is wounded in the thigh, but the Trojans began threatening the city. Turnus comes to the battle to defend the city, but Aeneas wounds him badly; Aeneas was about to spare Turnus, but the memory of Turnus mercilessly killing Pallas, made him kill Turnus on the spot. And after this, Aeneas is married to Lavinia.