In the Aeneid, Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης, "good, faithful Achates", fidus Achates as he was called) was a close friend of Aeneas;Ovid, Fasti 3.603 his name became a by-word for a very intimate companion.
Mythology Achates accompanied Aeneas throughout his adventures, reaching Carthage with him in disguise when the pair were scouting the area, and leading him to the Sibyl of Cumae. Virgil represents him as remarkable for his fidelity, and a perennial type of that virtue. However, despite being Aeneas's most important Trojan, he is notable for his lack of character development. In fact, he has only four spoken lines in the entire epic. Aeneas, surrounded by only a shadowy cast of allies, is thus emphasised as the lone protagonist and at the same time cut off from help on his quest.R. Deryck Williams, Aeneas and the Roman Hero
Virgil, Aeneid
Gallery
Legacy after Antiquity The expressions fidus Achates and "faithful Achates" appear in literature, notably in the works of Proust, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Proudhon, Walter Scott, James Joyce, and Sheridan Le Fanu.
Antoine Coypel, Aeneas and Achates Appearing to Dido (1715–1717). Musée Fabre, Montpellier.
In James Joyce's Ulysses, Episode 6, "Hades", Buck Mulligan is suggested as Stephen Dedalus's fidus Achates, while Leopold Bloom takes on that role at the beginning of Episode 16, "Eumaeus".
The Jupiter trojan asteroid 5144 Achates, discovered on 2 December 1991, was named in his honor.
Notes
References
Publius Ovidius Naso, Fasti translated by James G. Frazer. Online version at the Topos Text Project. Publius Ovidius Naso, Fasti. Sir James George Frazer. London; Cambridge, MA. William Heinemann Ltd.; Harvard University Press. 1933. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneid. Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Publius Vergilius Maro, Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.