Anna was the sister of the Carthaginian queen Dido. When Dido, unable to bear the departure of her beloved Aeneas, committed suicide, Anna was by her side until the last minute.
The Numidians lived not far from Carthage, and their king wanted to marry Dido, but she resolutely refused him. Having learned about the death of Dido and the reason for her death, the Numidian king became angry and decided that if he could not enter the wedding chamber of the Carthaginian queen as a husband, he would enter it as an enemy. The Numidians attacked Carthage and captured it.
Anna was kicked out of the royal palace. Sorrowful, she came to Dido’s grave. She again shed tears over her sister’s ashes and cut off the hair from her head in memory of her. After this, Anna gathered several companions, who also decided to flee from the defeated Carthage, and sailed to the island of Melita, hoping to find refuge with the Melite king Battus.
Butt received Anna and her companions in a friendly manner. And they lived quietly on Melita for three years. The king of the Phoenician city of Tyre, Pygmalion, brother of Dido and Anna, learned about this. At one time, it was precisely because of the atrocities of her brother that Dido and Anna fled from Tire, and Dido founded Carthage, becoming its queen. Now Pygmalion, threatening war, demanded that Butt hand over his sister. Butt, who hated war and feared the mighty Tyrian king, reported Pygmalion’s demand to Anna. The same one, fearing her brother more than the stormy sea, decided to again surrender herself to the will of the sea waves.
Butt provided Anna with a ship, which immediately went to sea. Anna did not want to settle far away, but fate opposed this. While sailing, the wind suddenly died down, there was complete calm, and the travelers had to lower the sail and row. But as soon as the sail was removed, a powerful squall instantly hit. Huge waves, rising from all sides, tossed the fragile ship from side to side. Even the most experienced helmsman would not be able to cope with the monstrous and sea waves. All that remained was to pray to the gods and cry out to them for salvation. Anna remembered her sister and invoked her memory, calling her happy, simply because she did not die in the depths of the sea. Anna also remembered other dead women, considering them all happier than herself. Apparently, the gods heard her prayers, and the waves threw the ship onto the coastal cliffs of Latium. As soon as Anna and the sailor got to land, the ship immediately crashed and its remains sank. Anna was left on the shore, thoroughly wet, without things and money.
At this time, Aeneas had already defeated Turnus, married Lavinia and became king of Latium after the death of his father-in-law. One day he left the city of Lavinia, as he called his capital, taking with him only his faithful comrade Achat. They walked along the sea coast and suddenly noticed Anna sitting on the shore. Aeneas could not believe his eyes and froze in amazement. Akhat exclaimed: “Look, it’s Anna!” Hearing her name, the unfortunate woman looked up and saw Aeneas and his companion in front of her. She remembered her sister and her fate, the culprit of which was Aeneas. All these years, Anna was sure that it was Aeneas who brought misfortune into their lives, that he was her ardent enemy. That's why she was terribly scared and wanted to run away. But she had nowhere to run. Aeneas first asked Anna about the reasons for her sudden appearance in Latium, and then, having learned about the troubles that befell her and understanding Anna’s feelings, he assured that he was not guilty of the death of Dido, that, leaving Carthage, he obeyed the divine will and now asks Anna to accept his hospitality. Willy-nilly Anna was forced to agree.
Aeneas brought Anna to his palace. He told Lavinia about her and asked his wife to accept the rescued Anna and love her as her own sister. Lavinia submitted to the will of her husband, but rage raged in her heart. She was jealous of her husband both for the late Dido and for Anna, who unexpectedly appeared. Aeneas, to console Anna, presented her with rich gifts. Lavinia, seeing all their luxury, decided that there were even more valuable gifts that Aeneas gave Anna secretly from her, Lavinia. This filled her soul with anger, and she decided to take revenge on the Carthaginian by killing her.
One night, the ghost of Dido with bloody hair appeared to Anna. She told Anna to immediately leave the ominous house, where inevitable death awaited her. Waking up in horror, Anna, as she was, in only her shirt, without even tying it up, jumped out of a low window and began to run. She passed the field and ran to the Numicium River. Having rushed along the shore, Anna, not understanding what she was doing, jumped into the water, hoping to find salvation there. And she was not mistaken. The river god accepted Anna and made her his wife, the nymph of this river.
In the morning, having learned about Anna's escape, Aeneas ordered the servants to find her. They rushed to search and followed the tracks to the shore of Numicium. Suddenly the river flow calmed down, and soft words were heard. It was Anna who informed everyone that she had now become a river nymph and should be called Anna Perenna. In her honor, the Romans celebrate a holiday on March 15th.
There is another story about Anna Perenna. When the plebeians left Rome for the Sacred Mountain, they very soon felt hungry, for the supplies they had brought with them had run out. In the suburbs, not far from the Sacred Mountain, lived a poor old woman, Anna. Seeing the torment of the plebeians, she began to bake pies for them. Early in the morning Anna got up and, having prepared the pies, immediately took them, still hot, to the Sacred Mountain. By this she saved the plebeians, who thanked the dear old lady from the bottom of their hearts. When harmony was restored in Rome and the plebeians returned to the city, they erected a statue of Anna and named her Perenna.
One day Mars himself approached Anna Perenna with a request. He told her that he loved Minerva dearly and asked Anna to convince the goddess to share his feeling, because she could easily obey the old woman. As a reward, Mars promised to share the month of March with Anna Perenna for worship. Anna jokingly agreed to fulfill God's request, although she understood that she could not do this. For a long time she tormented Mars with hope. And then, having agreed on everything not only with Minerva, but also with Venus, she decided to play an even more cruel joke on Mars. Anna said that she had already done everything and Minerva bowed to her persuasion and was ready to come to the palace of Mars at night. Mars rejoiced. He prepared the bridal chamber, decorating it magnificently. And then, late at night, a woman enters this palace, covering her face with a veil, like a bride. Mars rushed to her, hugged her and was ready to kiss the desired one, but, throwing back the covers, he suddenly saw that in front of him was not Minerva, but old Anna. The god recoiled in anger, filled with rage and shame at having been so fooled. And Minerva and Venus laughed merrily at him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru