Dido and Aeneas has been one of the most compelling and durable of the great classical myths. The material the story offers has led artists, authors and musicians throughout the centuries to appropriate - and misappropriate - the story for both artistic and political ends.

Ten distinguished contributors from the fields of Fine Art, History, English Literature, Classics and Music examine the myth itself and the way in which it has been re-interpreted by later authors. The volume opens with a consideration of the theatrical aspects of Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, the character of Dido and the appearances of Mercury, while later interpretations discussed include the way the image of the Queen has been used in art, a play by Marlowe, operas by Cavalli and Purcell, and seventeenth-century English satire.

Michael Burden - the Editor of this stimulating volume - was Lecturer in Music at New College, Oxford, from 1989, and since1995 has been Fellow in Opera Studies at New College. His research interests are centred on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music, particularly English opera.