I'm John Batchew with Daisy Don, the classicist, and her new book is the women's history of the ancient world.

It is action-packed, and we don't have much time.

There's attention to the Persian Empire.

There's attention to all the details around getting from one epoch to another.

I'm skipping lots. However, I'm attracted to the Dido story because, again, did she exist?

Who knows? It's such a good story. You don't care. Because Dido, who has, I believe, a Carthaginian name, is the founder of

Carthage. But the story goes that Aeneas, in Virgil's telling of the Iliad, Annius comes to meet

Dido. Where did they meet, and what was their fate? They meet in Carthage,

which is this new city that Dido has built, which is created at having escaped from her native

city of Tyre. And Carthage is in North Africa. And Aeneus has found himself there after escaping from the Trojan War.

He's brought with him some of the survivors of that conflict. And he has a destiny to found a new home for himself, for his son, and for the survivors among his people.

And when Dido meets with him,

she initially hopes that he might settle with her

and helped her to create this new city,

which is still developing,

the city of Carthage.

But it doesn't quite go to plan.

It doesn't go to plan, but Venus intervenes.

Venus shoots an arrow.

Who does the arrow go?

The arrow goes to Dido.

So Venus is lucky because she is the goddess of love,

...