In his commentary on Aeneid IV, Servius remarks that the style of the book is totus paene comicus, a prima facie puzzling definition. This paper argues that Servius correctly identifies the essence of ‘comic style’ in the pervasive importance of deception in the Dido narrative. The generative link between deception and ‘comicity’ is established in the first book of the poem, and in turn connects the Aeneid with Lucretius’ exploitation of comic topoi as he develops his strictures against the deceitful nature of erotic attachment.