Achates or Acate, from myth to universe
Protesilaus (or Iolaus) is a character in Greek mythology. He was a prince of Thessaly, descended from Poseidon, and grew up to rule Phylace. Protesilaus was one of the Achaean leaders who joined Agamemnon and Menelaus’ forces in the Trojan War, commanding forty ships. Unfortunately, he shared a vessel with the great hero Achilles. Before departing for Troy, an oracle prophesied, “the first Greek to set foot on Trojan soil will be the first to die.” Seeing that none of the Greeks dared to advance, Achilles was prepared to leap ashore, but his mother, Thetis, held him back and pushed Protesilaus forward instead. Protesilaus thus became “the first to set foot in the Troad” and was slain by Hector, son of Priam, King of Troy. His death is only briefly mentioned in the Iliad, with sources differing on his killer, naming variously Euphorbus, Cycnus, or Achates as possible culprits.
The Protesilaus sarcophagus dates probably from 170 CE. Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Clementino, Galleria dei Candelabri, Rome.
Various sarcophagi depict scenes of the myth of Protesilaus and Laodamia. In addition to the one kept at the Vatican museums there is also that which is found in the Church of Santa Chiara in Naples (late 2nd century CE.)
Laodameia was the wife of Protesilaus. When she heard of the death of her husband, she prayed to the infernal gods to be allowed to converse with him only for the space of three hours. The prayer being granted, Hermes conducted Protesilaus for a few hours to the upper world, and when Protesilaus died a second time, Laodameia expired with him.
Looking at the above photo of the sarcophagus in the Vatican Museums, we notice from left the scene which takes place on the beach in front of Troy. The hero is getting off the ship to be killed, a moment later, by Achates who is approaching from the left. Perhaps Protesilaus' hand had a spear, while the right foot rests on the narrow path leading from ship to shore. Achates's shield is decorated with a gorgoneion, and a portion of his spear is still visible on the bas-relief.
In the next scene Protesilaus is dying; behind his body lying on the ground, his standing shadow is carved completely veiled. Close to him there is Hermes with the caduceus leaning on his left arm. The god is represented as Hermes Psychopompos, the conductor or leader of souls in the Underworld. On the ground, between the two characters, the shield of Protesilaus, fallen in battle, is recognizable.
The third scene describes the momentary return of Protesilaus from Hades. Hermes leads back the hero represented as a vigorous and youthful man. His raised right hand expresses astonishment and joy at seeing his house and his bride again.
The next scene depicts the meeting - which in the myth lasts only one day - between Laodamia and Protesilaus. The most important episode of the overall frieze is carved in the center of the frontal panel. Their palace is the backdrop to the scene; similar to that of a temple, the façade emphasizes the meeting between Protesilaus and his wife. Their meeting is conceived and described in a cold and impersonal way: in front of their palace, bride and groom simply shake their hands. The reason for this strictly formal representation is that the two mythical characters had to carry the portraits of the sarcophagus buyers. The woman, who perhaps commissioned the sarcophagus after the death of her husband, wanted to give expression in this way to their intimate connection and her hope to meet her husband again in a future life. Often, according to the Latin word concordia, harmony, this iconographic scheme served to celebrate the marriage blamelessness with "scenes of everyday life" on the sarcophagi's sculptural friezes. The dead man, portrayed as Protesilaus, does not wear the toga; he is represented naked and standing in front of his wife. To a modern observer, the final iconographic result looks curiously «hybrid»: one hand it celebrates the same virile qualities typical of the statues of the Hellenistic rulers portrayed in "heroic nudity", but at the same time maintains the decorum required by dextrarum iunctio. The wife of the deceased, here represented as Laodamia, is instead celebrated for her chastity and modesty: moral qualities enhanced by her long robe and the gesture of her hand holding the mantle.
The next scene shows the moment of farewell. Overcome with grief for the imminent separation, Laodamia lies on a kline. Her groom sat near her is looking away from his wife. He leans the head on his hand with a gloomy and melancholy expression. Laodamia was holding with her (lost) right hand the dagger used to commit suicide after the husband's new departure. The cult tools (dishes, the flute) visible under the bed, as well as the mask and thyrsus inside the small aedicule on the wall point out the funerary ceremonies that Laodamia celebrated in honor of her dead husband. This cult of the dead is openly presented as a Dionysiac cult.
The veiled figure behind Laodamia's bed could be interpreted by analogy with the left half of the frieze as the shadow of Protesilaus again on the way to Hades. According to another hypothesis this shadow could represent the cult-image of Protesilaus venerated by Laodamia. The interpretation of the veiled figure as a cult image of Protesilaus seems to be confirmed by the last scene at the far-right of the frieze, in which the hero appears in human shape: a metamorphosis difficult to explain if the veiled figure of the previous scene was the hero's shadow.
Led by Hermes, Protesilaus greets Charon, who will bring him in the Underworld with his small boat. To right, an arc behind Charon's ship closes the relief in perfect symmetry with the opposite corner. This arch marks the entrance of Hades.
Achates, in classical mythology, was among the most faithful companions of Aeneas, serving as his squire. His name, meaning “good, faithful” in ancient Greek, became synonymous with a close companion. Virgil portrays him as exemplary for loyalty in the Aeneid, where he is consistently at Aeneas’ side, including as captain of one of the ships that carry the Trojans from Troy.
In Book I, he accompanies Aeneas into the woods near Carthage to scout their location. Aeneas even entrusts his weapons to Achates.
In Book VI, Achates leads Aeneas to the Sibyl of Cumae.
During the war between the Trojans and the Latins, Achates again aids Aeneas, notably in Book X, when Aeneas is attacked by seven Latin warriors, all sons of Forcus. Achates is slightly injured by an enemy spear.
In Book XII, Achates kills the Rutulian warrior Epulo by beheading him with his sword.
Achates appears in several artworks, always depicted with Aeneas. Notable examples include:
- Aeneas and Achates on the Libyan Coast (c. 1520) by Dosso Dossi at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,
In 1991, American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker discovered a Trojan asteroid and named it “5144 Achates” in honor of Aeneas’s squire.
Carolyn Shoemaker, Planetary Astronomer and Most Successful 'Comet Hunter' To Date, at the 18 inch Schmidt at Palomar Observatory.
Trojans celestial body
Achates was also the ancient name of a small Sicilian river, the Dirillo, known to the Romans as Acates amnis and to the Greeks as Acathes. It flows near Biscari (Vischiri in Sicilian), which was renamed Acate in 1938 at the suggestion of Carlo Addario, a local writer and scholar, after agate stones were found along the river's upper course, as noted by Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder in the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. These stones are volcanic rocks low in silica, formed from Mount Etna’s eruptions. Another theory for Dirillo’s etymology is its derivation from Acrilla, which left its name to the Dirillo Valley.
Section of an agate stone found along the river Dirillo, Sicily
At Biscari (today Acate town), archaeological excavations have revealed prehistoric human presence, uncovering Bronze Age huts and burial altars. Remnants from the Siculi, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, and Aragonese have also been found in the area.
Map of Acate in Sicily, Italy; the small river Dirillo (Acathes); a Sicilian cart called in dialect carrettu, usciula or vusciula used from the nineteenth century until the second half of the twentieth century; the Church of Saint Vincent (left) and the Castle of the Princes of Biscari (right).
The first reliable historical record of Biscari dates to 1299 when King Charles II of Anjou granted the village to Gualtiero Pantaleone, as noted in the Angevin Register of 1299–1300. Following the Angevins’ defeat and Sicily’s conquest by the Aragonese, the fief passed to Antonio Beneventano and then to the noble Lamia family from Lentini, who held it for about a century.
Beatrice of Provence and Charles II of Anjou - Miniature by The Angelic Bible
However, in 1392, the fief was seized from Ruggero Lamia for opposing King Martin and granted to Giacomo Serra of Syracuse. After Serra's death without heirs in 1396, the fief was granted to Nicolò Castagna, who sold it to Matteo Mazzone, and then to Bernardo Cabrera of the County of Modica. Cabrera faced a legal challenge from Antonio De Castellis, who, as Costanzo Lamia’s son, claimed rights to the fief. He won and was titled Baron of Biscari on April 13, 1416.
In 1493, Biscari entered a period of growth, spurred by a population increase and agricultural expansion under Baron Guglielmo Raimondo, who received authorization to build a castle. His successors included his wife, Elisabetta Viperano, and eventually the noble Castello family, culminating in Ferdinando in 1566, the last of his line. The fief was then inherited by Francesco Castellis, under the condition of adopting the Castello name. After him came Francesco, who died without heirs, leaving the fief to his brother Vincenzo, whose only daughter Maria inherited Biscari and, at eleven, married her uncle Agatino, who became Baron of Biscari.
Agatino Paternò Castello
In 1624, Agatino Paternò Castello became the first Prince of Biscari, appointed by King Philip IV of Spain. He modified the castle and built notable structures, including:
- The Abbey of Saint Joseph (now Saint Vincent’s Church)
- The Church of Saint Mary of Carmel
- The Mother Church dedicated to Saint Nicholas
Under Don Agatino, Biscari prospered, aided by fertile soil from the Dirillo River’s waters. The economy thrived on hemp, wheat, barley, and even rice. Hemp, exported as far as Malta and Spain, was the primary source of wealth. Livestock rearing was also significant, establishing a notable fair tradition.
Agatino’s successor was his eldest son, Don Vincenzo, followed briefly by his widow Maria Paternò, who left the principality to their grandson, Ignazio Paternò. During Ignazio’s rule, the devastating 1693 earthquake hit, destroying much of eastern Sicily and half of Catania. Despite family hardships, Don Ignazio worked to rebuild. Upon his death, his son Vincenzo, just fifteen, assumed leadership with his maternal grandfather’s support, continuing reconstruction and enhancing public works, including expanding the castle’s facade over what is now Piazza Libertà.
In 1737, Vincenzo’s devout nature led to a Capuchin convent, which operated for fifty years until religious institutions were suppressed. In 1997, the convent was restored and converted into a public library. Vincenzo also established the Collegio di Maria, now a home for Sacred Heart nuns.
During Vincenzo’s reign, Biscari gained fame when Pope Clement XI donated the relics of Saint Vincent Martyr. According to tradition, the gift followed a notorious crime, implicating Vincenzo and his wife Anna Scammacca Bonajuto, though its authenticity is debated.
Vincenzo’s son Ignazio, the fifth Prince of Biscari, combined wealth with a passion for archeology, and in 1783 the Bourbon government appointed him superintendent of antiquities in Sicily’s Val di Demone and Val di Noto. The title passed to Vincenzo, the sixth Prince, the last to hold it before the abolition of feudalism in 1824, when Biscari became a free town.
In 1938, local historian Carlo Addario prompted the renaming of Biscari to Acate.
Berlin 1936 Olympic Games long jump award ceremony on August 4. Gold Medalist Jesse Owens (USA), Silver Medalist Carl “Luz” Long (Germany), and Bronze Medalist Naoto Tajima (Japan)
During World War II, after the Allied invasion of Sicily, U.S. forces committed the Biscari massacre, executing surrendered Italian and German prisoners, including Carl Ludwig Long, a German Olympic medalist and friend of Jesse Owens.
The Allied invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943, led by the U.S. Seventh Army under Lt. Gen. George S. Patton and the British Eighth Army under Gen. Sir Bernard Montgomery, marked a pivotal moment in World War II. U.S. forces moved to secure southern airports, but reports of civilian massacres surfaced, including the deaths of 12 Italians in Vittoria.
The U.S. 45th Infantry Division, part of Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley's II Corps, was assigned to capture coastal towns and Comiso Airport. Despite being an inexperienced "green" division, it pushed forward, but its 180th Infantry Regiment performed poorly initially. When the regiment captured the Biscari airfield on 14 July, two notable massacres occurred involving Italian and German POWs.
In the "West incident," Sgt. Horace T. West, under orders from his superior to hold POWs for questioning, instead separated some prisoners and, armed with a submachine gun, killed 37 POWs after instructing his fellow soldiers to look away. His actions were witnessed, reported by a chaplain, and led to charges. West pleaded not guilty, citing temporary insanity and alleging he acted under divisional orders discouraging POW acceptance under certain combat conditions. Convicted of premeditated murder, he received a life sentence, later commuted, allowing him to return to service. He was honorably discharged after the war.
In the "Compton incident," Capt. John T. Compton ordered the execution of 36 Italian POWs, whom he believed to be enemy snipers. Compton defended his actions as following orders and was acquitted, though a Judge Advocate's review disagreed with the verdict. Compton was later killed in action in Italy.
Both incidents implicated Gen. Patton, as both West and Compton cited divisional orders. Although an investigation cleared Patton, it highlighted the intense pressures and moral conflicts faced during the Sicilian campaign, revealing complex issues of wartime conduct and accountability.
Last update: November 6, 2024
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