Viriato: myth and quotidian Arminda Lopes – Universidade de Aveiro Translation: Fátima Cabral ESAM - Viseu

Abstract: This paper will focus on the figure of Viriato, hero of our proto-nationalism, revisited by the literary creation in poetry, prose and drama, as well as in the reflection that his stamina, bravery and invictus character still possess today in sports, culture and in the identity of the city of Viseu, Viriato’s city.

Keys Words: Myth; Viriato; Pre-nation; Quotidian; Viseu

INTRODUCTION "The myth is the nothing which is everything (...) Without existing it was enough. For not having come it gradually came And created us. " In Message, by Fernando Pessoa M. Eliade defines myth as follows: "... the myth tells a sacred history; it reports an event that took place in primordial time, in the fabulous time of origins." (Grimal 2009: XIII) To revisit the myths is to refresh the memory of what we were and understand who we are. Given the recurrence of the myth of Viriato in the Portuguese cultural scene of all times, this study seems to be relevant as it looks for the answer to the question: may Viriato just be a myth of predawn? Viriato, proto-national hero, is still present not only in literary creation, appearing as 'motif' in poetry, in Os Lusíadas by Camões and in Message by Fernando Pessoa; on stage in Viriato by Diogo Freitas do Amaral, in romance, with A Voz dos Deuses by João de Aguiar,and others, in Lusitanos no tempo de Viriato by João Inês Vaz, just to name a few examples, but the hero’s ownership of strength, courage and invictus character is also

made daily in sports, in the local culture, in the characterization of his identity by the city of Viseu, Viriato’s city. Thus, we intend, in the first part, to present the figure of Viriato, linking it to the texts of the founding of our nationality, our proto-history, along with its continual updating according to the most recent contributions in the field of literature. In the second part, based on a series of testimonials from eleventh grade students and on our own daily life in the city of Viseu, we will witness the contribution of the mythical Viriato for the construction of a local identity, of what possibly remains from that original myth or the changes that were incorporated in it. 1. The Figure of Viriato in History Viriato (179-139 BC), son of Comenius, is portrayed as a man of humble origin, although opinions are not consensual and some advocate an aristocratic ancestry, a shepherd in Montes Hermínios, today’s Serra da Estrela, he reaches the title of head of the Lusitanos and "appears since the Renaissance historiography as one of the great peninsular symbols of the native resistance against Roman occupation” (Mattoso, 1992:215). The Portuguese claim to their territory the place of his birth and raise him to the status of national hero. Throughout the times there are several contributions for the mythification of his figure, though they are not always consistent with the likelihood of the facts. However, even in the 1st century BC the historians Posidonius and Diodorus referred to him as "a pure and just hero because he was born and lived in the wild environment, uncorrupted by the decadence bred by civilization” (ibid.). As there are many doubts about the true location of his birth and living, it is commonly accepted that after the massacre carried out by Servius Sulpicius Galba in 150 BC, Viriato was elected military chief of the Lusitanos who, thanks to good knowledge of the entire region as well as to his ability to lead and command his men and especially through his cunning, is often able to win the grand and numerous Roman army, leading Serviliano and Rome to accept his conditions in the signing of a peace treaty, being even awarded the title of Amicus Populi Romani, granted by Rome that until then dubbed the Lusitanos as savages. The Roman Senate did not honor the peace treaty and the Roman general Scipio, corrupting three Lusitanian captains, managed by betrayal to order Viriato’s assassination during his sleep and so the Romans defeated the Lusitanos, occupying the western Roman Empire in the former Hispania.

2. The Figure of Viriato in Literature The figure of this proto-warrior, the founder of a sense of rebelliousness to the invaders, defender of the territorial independence, appears repeatedly in national literature and we find it in "Os Lusíadas," the very name of the work perhaps in homage to the Lusitanos, as a shepherd who distinguished himself by his courageous warring character " From this [Lusitania] the Shepherd that through his name / you can see that a strong man great deeds achieved / Whose fame nobody will come to tame, / For the great Rome does not dare." (Camões, 1984:108), only defeated because he was betrayed "This you see has been pastor of cattle; / Viriato we know it is his name, / More skilful with the spear than with the stick. / His reputation is injured by Rome, / invincible famous winner. / (...) / Not with power; with shameful savvy / Life was taken from him "(ibid.) to serve as a model to the demoralized Portuguese of the time of that written masterpiece and exaltation of the true Portuguese patriotism. In this context of mythic figure we find him inserted in "The Message" by Fernando Pessoa, in the first part of the work, linked to the birth, foundation and consolidation of nationality. "Viriato" is the first symbol of our "Coat of Arms", one of the seven castles, in other words, one of seven forts that secured our independence. There is a progression in the presentation of the mythic hero as a symbol of the Lusitania soul: "race, memory, nation, people, Portugal," (Pessoa, 2007:37) The resurgence of Portugal in the present of its formation depends on the memory of "your instinct" (ditto),of Viriato, which makes the national soul, sentiment and work: "If the soul that feels and does knows" (ibid.). In that past / present Viriato is metaphorically the stem of a national family tree. Like the times to come in "O Encoberto" (The Undercover), this hero is a "confused nothing" (ibid.), so it’s also a myth; a light in the "predawn leaf of our morning" (ditto), at the dawn of our existence as a nation. This shows a cyclical perspective of time because the symbols the ones that are repeated, not the facts. The speech is presented in the first person plural and the interlocutor in the second singular, assuming the representation of all of us, the contemporary Portuguese, in a colloquialism and closeness with the one that genealogically precedes us, bringing us closer to him. According to José Barbosa Machado, in The Myth of Viriato in Portuguese Literature, "the myth Viriato falls in the tradition of believing that there is a relation of continuity between the Portuguese and the Lusitanos. They are considered by anthropologists and historians as

a set of people more or less homogeneous in language and customs that inhabited much of the current Portuguese territory when the Romans began the conquest of the peninsula. " This is the starting point for "A Voz dos Deuses" (The Voice of Gods) by João Aguiar (2007) which is presented in the form of historical novel, noted for its historical fidelity to ancient documents but also for the archaeological and ethnographic studies of the time in which the plot takes place. In relation to this work, António Quadros says in his book The idea of Portugal in the Literature of the last 100 years "For some, and it will be the case for João Aguiar, the author of the novel The Voice of Gods, a historical fiction that chronicles the memories of a companion in arms of Viriato – to restart implies diving into the past, to dive to the bottom of our collective memory, looking for the very principles of being a Portuguese through being a Lusitano, his ancestor '(Quadros,1989:247). Viriato emerges as the true model for the hero not only for his bravery but also for his spiritual intelligence which he gives evidence of and are both creators of life. In his novel João Aguiar is able to "humanize the paradigm – Viriato, integrate it in real or near real scenario of his era, his culture, his system of beliefs and ideas, his people’s psychology" (ibid.), humanizing " that cold / light that precedes dawn” of Pessoa, placing it before our eyes" very human, in the statuary gallery of a history "(ibid.) where it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the protagonists or heroes, creators and engines of history. "Now he was the saviour of the Lusitania expedition, the winner of Vetílio. There was no debate, only a spontaneous ovation. By late afternoon, before the altars raised in honor of the gods of war, Viriato was consecrated and they placed him gold “vírias” (bracelets) in the arms, symbol of supreme command. The ancient meaning of his name was fulfilled with strange precision - Viriato, "The one that was invested with the"vírias”.” (Aguilar, 2007:181). In this regard, the vision of the author of The Voice of the Gods is supported by a short excerpt of Aquilino Ribeiro’ beautiful prose, which speaking of the notable figure of Viriato, his countryman, says "The disillusioned and determined man that the tribe considered worthy of the “vírias”, whatever his name was, since the imposition had no other name: Viriato. Viriato means, therefore, invested with the “vírias”, as a monarch invested by the grace of God. Certainly it was the highest dignity conferred by that people, pastors honored in the tribe and pirates feared in the strange land. “Vírias” were large metal rings, very often made of gold, which garnished the arm that held the sword or that graced the legs of riders. They were stripes of command, perhaps with gradual meaning, representing both a badge of rank, a garnish and also a shelter from the spear and sword.

"(Ribeiro, 2008). That’s the best description and definition of the name Viriato we could ever find! But here the past is not an end in itself. João Aguiar will recover in the archaic yesterday a promise of a future for the disbelievers, disillusioned, or indifferent Portuguese of today: "You have to start from point zero, to go back to what the brave and antematinal Viriato once represented one day and is still offered to us as an example. João Aguiar has given to all of us who, after all, still believe in a Portuguese future for Portugal a great help "(Quadros, 1989: 249). The writer himself, João Aguiar, said when presenting the book in Spain: "In the collective Portuguese memory, Viriato is that brave mountain shepherd born in Serra da Estrela. In the last century, a series of pretentiously scholar books contributed to consolidate the myth. In The Voice of the Gods, I wanted to demystify the character and, curiously, the image that comes out is even more powerful. The Portuguese myth was reductionist: in the light of history, Viriato was much more than the legend kept from him. Folklore does not give us a clear idea of Viriato’s historic projection "(Aguilar, 2007:248), in keeping with what it had fictionally consecrated. Ten years after he first published the novel The Voice of Gods, João Aguiar publishes The Time of Sertorius. Viriato is also mentioned in this work and stands as a kind of tutelary figure. The memory of the "general" that united the Lusitanian in fighting the legions of Rome and had been dead for over forty years persists in the hearts of warriors. Sertorius asks one of his officers to go to Lusitania to study the way they made war because they had to use a special strategy to resist the Roman legions for seven years and with fewer people than they were. In the same line of thought, in 2003 Diogo Freitas do Amaral publishes the play Viriato, where he tells the story of the one who is referenced in Portuguese history as the first national hero. In the path of the authors already cited here, it is a Viriato that before commanding the Lusitanos and defeating the Roman troops was a simple shepherd and hunter who is echoed by the playwright. Viriato himself summarizes his glorious path, when talking with Dilécia he says "- from kid to shepherd, from shepherd to warrior, from warrior to general and Cintux: Don’t you think that I have walked and climbed a lot?" (Amaral, 2003 : 29), but it is through the voice of the enemy, the Fourth-Senator, that the greatest compliment to the figure of the commander is given "three years ago the Lusitanos elected a great general, who has not suffered a defeat on the battlefield yet and has already won four of our best soldiers. The man is adored by all as a god, and they already consider him infallible. We must dispel the myth! "(ibid.)

We could not end this brief incursion into the literature without reference to the vision of João Luís Inês Vaz, who is a scholar of Viriato and of the projection of his figure in the Portuguese mentality and culture, particularly in what concerns the town of Viseu. He shares the vision that the two previous authors convey, considering "... the true mythification of the Lusitanian hero (was) done by the Romans themselves" (Vaz 2009:174), describing Viriato as "a man detached from material things, a stoic man, lover of freedom and of brave people, of those who love their homeland ... "(ibid: 178). So he says "Viriato was both to his men and to the Romans an example of a fighter, a righteous man, a permanent defender of human values and equality for all, of peace and freedom which he fought all his life for and for which he gave his own life "(ibid.: 187). But we will now focus on the connection of Viriato with Viseu , based on the present work. The memory of Viriato disputed by Portuguese and Spanish is also a reason for arguments in several places within our country. As it is not our purpose to make history of all such claims, we will just say that Loriga in Seia, Folgosinho, Gouveia, Lapa da Moura in Cabanas de Viriato are some who claim to have been the birthplace and haven of the Lusitanian hero. There are inumerous works of art that have Viriato’s icon, from painting to sculpture and music, there are countless examples. There are well-known Viriato’s statues spread throughout Portugal and Spain, Zamora, Folgosinho, Cabanas de Viriato, Vila Viçosa, Lisbon, in the arch of Rua Augusta, alongside with D. Nuno Alvares Pereira, Vasco da Gama and Marquês de Pombal, the four greatest in our history, a monument with the inscription: "To the virtues of the greatest, so that it may serve as a document for all." But it is in Viseu that we find “the Cava” (“the Cave”), from the seventeenth century called "Cava de Viriato" and most famous monument and the city's oldest monument also called Monument toViriato in which the warrior appears in a prominent position on a high granite pedestal and in a lower plane, in a position to ambush a group of warriors with their Lusitanian falcatas. The hero is represented in attack position, with the round shield in his left hand and the falcate in the right hand, the left leg is bent and bare, as if climbing a mountain. The face is of a bearded old man, with long hair. He is barefoot and on his back he has a royal robe of skin that covers a short tunic. The three companions of Viriato are located behind, on their right they display swords and daggers. There are several authors who associate Viseu to Viriato: "In 1613, Manuel Botelho Ribeiro Pereira, a local writer, (...) also argues that the Cava was a work of Negídio Caius, that Roman praetor who surrounded the entrenched Lusitanos in the Cava and that Viriato came to rescue, getting a resounding victory, destroying the Roman troops. This is the first

time that there is a connection of Viriato with the Cava. Ribeiro Pereira is in favour of the birth of Viriato in Viseu, the city, as he says, founded within the walls of the Cava. "(ditto); other testimonials will follow, but it is generally agreed that the link between Viriato and the Cava must have begun only in the seventeenth century, when Portugal was undergoing a serious crisis and had to raise the spirits of the Portuguese against the loss of independence. Alongside the Sebastian myth, the History of Viriato is generalized and it is linked to one of the most important towns of the Kingdom, several times destroyed by Spaniards and Spanish, thus reviving the memory of the glorious moments of the past. It is therefore in a nationalist context that the relationship of Viriato with the Cava of the city of Viseu has to be integrated and since then in popular memory Viseu will always be "the city / homeland of Viriato and the Cava will always be the entrenched field of this legendary Lusitanian chief. "(ibid.: 216) 3. The Figure of Viriato in the Imaginary of Viseu’s Youth The sample that responded to our request consists of twenty four students from the eleventh grade, in the school year two thousand and ten and two thousand and eleven, attending the Secondary School of Alves Martins, Viseu, all of them sixteen-year- old students, fourteen boys and ten girls who were challenged to write, without any prior preparation, what their imaginary and knowledge dictate on Viriato’s figure. The following considerations are the conclusions drawn from the obtained written corpus. Most students instantly associate Viriato with his side of Lusitanian warrior, leader of the national forces, natural born strategist and fighter, highlighting his strength, courage, loyalty and fearless spirit. His military cunning "he fought with intelligence" is taken as a positive influence among his men and his bravery completes the picture, being even dubbed as "revolutionary" by one respondent. But the fact that a simple shepherd reached the rank of general of an army that fought against the legions of Rome also has a strong impact on the minds of these Viseu’s youngsters. Lusitanian spirit, patriotism, courage and figure of excellence associated with the image of the hero immortalized as a symbol of Portugal’s greatness are also present. Locally, linked to the city of Viseu, Viriato is associated to monuments, the Cava of Viriato, the Statue of Viriato always concerning the symbolic and warring side and the military strategist who used the natural characteristics of the terrain to gain advantage, but

also the cuisine with traditional Viriato’s cakes, V-shaped, a capital letter standing for Viriato or Victoria, as it is usually said, stuffed with a thin layer of cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar and coconut, it is a reference of the respondents. Viriato is the pride of the” Viseenses”, an icon of the city, it also names the city’s shops and local football teams, enhancing in this case the "aggressiveness" of the players and their team spirit, in imitation of his patron.

4.The Figure of Viriato in Viseu’s everyday life From our own experience in the city of Viseu, we corroborate this link of the city with the figure of Viriato, first in the lyrics of the anthem of Viseu " Alvor of the Lusitanian /Of that General shepherd who was called Viriato.", in Viseu, in the song “Senhora da Beira”of the late twentieth century which still shows today the identification of Viseu’s peoples with the myth which continues to be powered even if the reality has never been proven. There are teams in rugby, football, hunting and fishing clubs, all having as their currency strength, courage, striving to achieve the invincibility of the hero they which they try to do justice with the name they have adopted. In the most various areas and services, it is the name of pharmacy, driving school, clinic, street, pastry, ambulance, everything is identified with Viriato. The Viriato Theatre, the name given to the town theatre or Viriato Secondary School, one of the three secondary schools of Viseu are just two other references of this identification with the one who daily continues to be a myth in the lives of those who inhabit the lands they claim to have served him as home or refuge. The myth continues to feed the soul of “Viseense” people.

5.The myth of Viriato in contemporaneity Literature shapes the image of the Lusitanian hero, epitome of the struggle for homeland defense, whose speaking ability manages to get followers to his cause and through his military strategy successively deceives the attacker and represents the biggest threat to the Roman power in the Iberian Peninsula. It is essentially a war for freedom, which, under the

banner of the "Bull" clusters all factions and tribes, in a true alliance of the Lusitanian people against the Romans, under Viriato’s unifying command. Despite the reduced extent of some of the texts produced, in the minds of the young “Viseenses”, represented by this group of students, prevails the facet of courage, bravery, patriotism, leadership, cunning linked to military performance of the General Shepherd named Viriato " , thus coinciding with the view that literature and history also convey. This apparent harmony is fully justified, since these are high school students, even if from Viseu, it is precisely by means of literature and history that most scholarly contact with such a figure that history connects to the time of the Punic wars against the Romans, and that literature mythicizes, crystallizing his heroic aura. Thus we confirm how Viriato was seen throughout history and literature, as well as in everyday life in the city of Viseu and how this myth is neither a myth of today or yesterday but plunges into the medieval roots of the Portuguese Nation, being, therefore, a predawn myth, but it is also, for sure, a myth of the present and the future, since it is still present in all age groups and it is an inspiration for the most varied areas of knowledge and contemporary culture. The study presented here is obviously limited because the enormous collection of what was published and studied on Viriato is not consistent with the small size of an article of this nature, so we wish that other studies on such a relevant matter may be followed.

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