Proceedings o f the Virgil Society 26 (2008) Copyright 2008 Achates: Faithful Friend or Poetic Fraud? A paper given to the Virgil Society on 22 October 2005 [Halsey] became, in Weaver’s phrase, [Margaret Thatcher’s] fidus Achates - her faithful companion - accompanying her on visits to schools and conferences, trusted completely and with whom she could relax. John Campbell 1 chates’ reputation, as the quotation above suggests, has stood the test of time remarkably well. If a political biographer writing at the start of the third millennium can find a reference Ato Achates sufficiently meaningful to be worth mentioning to his readers, then the character might well be considered a success. Scholars too have succumbed to the charms of Achates. In his preface to The Cambridge Companion to Virgil, Martindale conceives of the book as a fidus Achates2 And yet on anything but the most superficial examination, there is a strong suspicion that Achates’ much vaunted reputation is undeserved. He is described as fidus, fortis and magnus, yet a survey of the evidence reveals that he does remarkably little, and says even less, to justify these epithets. He is presented as Aeneas’ friend and confidant, yet he takes very little part in the action, is spoken to by Aeneas only twice and himself speaks only once (a speech of four lines). We discover very little of what he is thinking, feeling or doing, and neither Aeneas nor any other character pays much attention to him. It is hard to avoid the thought that Achates amounts to a lot less than he is made out to be, that he is a literary impostor, a trick played on a trusting (and perhaps complacent) audience. DOUBTS ABOUT ACHATES’ FIDELITAS Critics have had their doubts. Williams calls Achates ‘a very colourless figure’ .3 Lee says he is “so dimly sketched by Virgil as almost to be Aeneas’ shadow”.4 For Weber, he is the least characterized figure for the number of appearances he makes in the whole poem. He has no separate destiny like Palinurus or Misenus, no independence like Ilioneus, no significance as a forefather like Mnestheus or Sergestus. 66 S tephen M o o rby - A c h a t e s : Fa ith fu l F riend o r Po etic F r a u d ? He has no past, no heredity. His social position remains unclear. We are not told what he looks like or how old he is. He has no personal history whatever.5 There is also a striking imbalance between his appearances in Book 1 and in the rest of the poem. This imbalance is heightened since his biggest scene (the arrival of Aeneas at Dido’s court), and the only one in which he speaks, takes place in Book 1. For the rest of the poem, he plays an entirely peripheral part. Even when he is wounded, it is only a light wound (10.344). A brief inspection of a list of Achates’ appearances (see appendix) soon reveals how desperately thin his role is. He is mentioned 11 times in Book 1, and only nine times in the remaining 11 books (Book 3, once; Book 6, twice; Book 8, three times; Book 10, twice; and Book 12, twice). He is described as fidus five times, fortis once, and magnus once.6 He is spoken to, by Aeneas, twice (1.459-63 and 10.333-5), and he speaks once only, to Aeneas (1.582-5). He makes his entrance at 1.120 where, along with three fellow captains, Ilioneus, Abas and Aletes, his ship is being buffeted by Juno’s storm. He is given the epithet fortis but otherwise is not introduced. When the Trojans land on the Libyan shore 50 lines later, he lights a fire (1.174) and shortly after is on hand to provide Aeneas with a bow and arrows. When Aeneas sets out to explore the place, he takes Achates with him. They meet Venus, who provides them with a protective cloud, and then proceed to Carthage, where they come across the Temple of Juno. Gazing at the story of the fall of Troy depicted within the temple, Aeneas shares his sorrowful thoughts with Achates (1.459-63), the only time, apart from 10.333-5, that he is directly addressed. Dido then makes her entrance and Aeneas and Achates are overjoyed to see, from their cloud, their friends arrive at court (1.513). Seeing the warm welcome they receive, Achates, in the only speech (a mere four lines) Virgil gives him, urges Aeneas to quit the cloud and reveal himself (1.582-5). After an exchange of greetings, Aeneas sends Achates back to the ships to fetch Ascanius and gifts for Dido (1.643-44) and he returns, 40 or so lines later, with Cupid in the guise of Ascanius (1.695). The next mention of Achates is at 3.523, when he is credited with being the first Trojan to sight Italy after their long wanderings. He then disappears until Book 6, where at 6.34 he arrives with the Sibyl as the Trojans admire the Temple of Apollo at Cumae. Then, at 6.158, he is shown leaving the cave of the Sibyl with Aeneas as they discuss who the dead comrade might be of whom the Sibyl has spoken. His next appearance is in Book 8 when he accompanies Aeneas on his visit to King Evander at Pallanteum. He is mentioned three times (8.466, 8.521 and 8.586). He then disappears again until re-surfacing by the side of Aeneas in the middle of the fighting in Book 10. At 10.332, Aeneas asks him to pile up javelins, and a few lines later, at 10.344, he is wounded when an arrow aimed at Aeneas misses its intended target. His next and final appearance is at 12.384, where he kills Epulo, a total unknown. ACHATES DEFENDED Faced with this sort of difficulty, various critics have rallied to the cause of defending Achates. While conceding that his role may be limited, Eubanks argues that he is nevertheless an important character who plays the sympathetic companion to a rather lonely Aeneas and who elicits our sympathy for the hero. Where Aeneas is pius, Achates is fidus: “His actions are minor. But he is the faithful companion who is with his friend at important moments.”7 Speranza claims that he is an inseparable companion/ confidant who always appears at decisive moments.8 Lossau sees Achates as a symbolic companion figure, a complement to Palinurus. Palinurus is the Odyssean element, drifting, representing the sea. Achates is Iliadic, representing land - he conquers and stays.9 Revesz suggests that Achates may stand for Agrippa and that his role may have been limited at Augustus’ request.10 Lee, while conceding the shadowiness of the character, speculates that 67 T he Pr o c eed in g s o f th e V irgil S o ciety V o lum e xxvi 2 0 0 8 The mysterious Achates may be Virgil’s equivalent to that companion given heroes in stories the world over, always dutiful (Patroclus), often silent (Pylades), usually of inferior social standing (Sancho Panza) or intelligence (Dr Watson).. .Though in almost every case the companion is of little practical help to the hero, his traits are complementary.11 Weber makes the most extensive defence of Achates. He argues that Aeneas and Achates are an archetype of the ‘pair’. Roman history is not the history of one leader but of a pair. Aeneas and Achates prefigure the duality of the consulship. They are older than Romulus and Remus and their harmony, unlike the disharmony of Romulus and Remus, makes them the archetype of a true duality. The Res Romana started peacefully, and recalling that original harmony validates the Augustan set-up. It is no coincidence thatfides is a significant Augustan term for restoring old values. Achates is a sympathetic figure and that sympathy rubs off on Aeneas. He is everyman and so the reader identifies with him. As a witness of events, the reader becomes the companion of Aeneas. He educates the reader through his actions. He is a good example, who stands by his leader during the painful and difficult exercise of leadership. In turn, for the leader, he represents the led and the interests of the led.12 Achates can also be seen to stand in for Virgil himself, as faithful servant and witness.13 PROBLEMS FOR THE DEFENCE The argument that Achates is present at important moments fails on two counts. First, he is in fact absent at many important moments. He is given no role in the story of the Fall of Troy in Book 2,14 he is not turned to for advice or support when Aeneas is struggling with his destiny in Book 4, and he takes no part in the funeral games of Book 5. Second, when he is present, in the Dido scenes in Book 1, for instance, or in the embassy to Evander in Book 8, or in the battle scenes in Books 10 and 12, his presence is a tenuous one. Throughout the poem, he does and says nothing of any significance and nothing of any significance happens to him. Indeed, he is barely present at all. Arguments for his roles as elicitor of sympathy for Aeneas, witness of the action, and stand-in for audience or poet fall before the same objection. How can he be said to fulfil these roles given his absence as a character? Lossau’s suggestion of a symbolic role alongside Palinurus also fails to convince.