“The Fame of Her Great Virtue”: The Values of Marriage in Classical Literature 

What do the marriage relationships portrayed in classical literature reveal about the societal views and values of marriage in antiquity, and what can they teach modern audiences about this special social relationship? Two examples of marriages portrayed in classical literature are the marriage between Odysseus and Penelope in Homer’s “The Odyssey” and the turbulent relationship between Dido and Aeneas, portrayed in Virgil’s “The Aeneid”.