IliasとAchilleusの怒り : Helene, Chryseis, Briseis

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Although the Iliad has for the main theme the Wrath of Achilleus it has been called "the Song of Ilios" probably because not only does it tell the fate of Troy but by the frequent mention of earlier and later events, by allusion or narration, gives us the entire picture of the Trojan War. This combination of two themes, it is said, is possible because the short lay of the Wrath of Achilleus has been expanded into a long epic or because the poet, either taking up a traditional motif of the wrath of a hero or making use of earlier poems(e.g. 'Achilleis', 'Memnonis', 'Meleagris' etc.), has created the Wrath of Achilleus and at the same time retold the fate of Troy. However, the Wrath of Achilleus which is but an episode in the last year of the war cannot have been well fitted to be interlaced with the theme of the fate of Troy, nor has any convincing explanation been offered why the poet or the poets have chosen from among the rest the theme of the Wrath of Achilleus so as to make out of it "the Song of Ilios". Now it is to be noted that just as the Trojan War arises from the abduction of Helene, so is the Wrath of Achilleus caused by the detaining of Chryseis and the taking of Briseis, and a scrutiny of these two motifs shows that there exist close parallels between them: (1) The taking of Briseis preceded by the detaining of Chryseis brings about the wrath of Achilleus which extends through the death of Patroklos to the downfall of Hektor and, at the same time, of Troy(cf. Ζ 403, Χ 410 f, Ω 728). This is parallel to the abduction of Helene which brings about the revenge of the Atreidai on the Trojans (the Trojan War) and finally leads to the fall of Troy. (2) Just as human actions are very often interrelated with those of gods, so is Paris held responsible for the wrath of Zeus and other gods and their destruction of Troy because he violates not only wedlock but also hospitality (cf. Γ 351 ff, Ν 622 ff etc.). It is parallel to this when Agamemnon brings upon the Achaeans and himself not only the wrath of Apollon but that of Zeus(Θ 37, 468, Ο 72)while he detains Chryseis and then takes Briseis from Achilleus. The wrath of Zeus which is identical with his promise to Thetis may appear at first sight directed against the Achaeans, all the same it leads to the fall of Troy while it brings about the death of Patroklos and then that of Hektor, the only defender of Troy (cf. Ο 64-77, Σ 74 ff, 79 ff). On the other hand the wrath of Apollon which is caused by Agamemnon's rejection of the supplication of Chryses and which would thus be better suited to Zeus as guardian god of a suppliant (cf. Ω 143 ff, 569 ff) seems to have the function of introducing and foreshadowing that of Zeus. (Notice also that in the Odyssey Zeus appears as Xeinios and at the same time as Hiketesios. ) (3) Ι 336 ff Achilleus says that, although the Achaeans make war on Troy because of Helene and not only the Atreidai but all those who are decent and right-minded love their wives, Agamemnon has robbed him of his θυμαρηζ αλοχοζ. Here the taking of Briseis is seen as parallel to the abduction of Helene. (4) Helene is Menelaos' wife. Likewise Chryseis and Briseis, though captives, are said to be equal to legitimate wives (cf. Α 113 f, Ι 336) ; Achilleus says that he loves Briseis, and Patroklos is said to have promised to marry her to his friend. The wrath of Achilleus is all the more intense because he has been robbed of his beloved (the same process is repeated when Patroklos is killed). (5) The Atreidai make war in order to win τιμη from the Trojans and revenge the injury. On the contrary Achilleus retires from battle to win τιμη and redeem his injured honour. Patroklos, however, goes to battle in place of Achilleus (and disguised as Achilleus) to win τιμη and κυδοζ for the latter and get Briseis back (Π 84 ff). (6) The Trojan War arises when Helene is abducted by Paris. Similarly in the Iliad the war seems to begin afresh when Briseis is taken from Achilleus: the episodes which presuppose the situation just before the Trojan War, i.e. the catalogue of the Achaean ships, teichoskopia, the single combat between Menelaos and Paris, the "abduction of Helene" (in Γ), epipolesis etc. are retold with necessary adjustment to new circumstances. Besides these there are to be noted parallels and contrasts in the attempts at reconciliation, the motifs of the death of the many (cf. Β 161〜Α 2 ff) etc. In short, in the detaining of Chryseis and the taking of Briseis there is observed a pattern similar to that of the abduction of Helene in that a woman who is held almost equal to a wife is abducted or detained and that there arises in consequence the wrath of a man and a god. From this and the parallels above-mentioned it is to be inferred that the theme of the Wrath of Achilleus has been conceived and developed as a parallel to the story of the abduction of Helene, the pre-Homeric existence of which is attested by many allusions in the Iliad. The same story seems also to have been transferred with necessary adjustment to the "abduction of Helene" in Γ on the one hand and to the perjury of Pandaros in Δ on the other: the "abduction of Helene" implies in itself the treachery of the oath sworn between two armies, and this in turn takes the form of Pandaros' perjury. This technique of transference (Ubertragung) is that of the traditional epics. The episode of Chryseis, however, reflects more or less the incidents attendant on the taking of Briseis, i. e. the main plot of the Iliad, and in the same way the Iliad itself may be regarded as a reflection of the story of the abduction of Helene, that is to say, the story of the Trojan War (the Song of Ilios). This way of looking at the whole, not in an array of all the facts but as it were in a condensed projection, is characteristic of the Homeric epos; with this device the poet is able to grasp and at the same time show the whole Trojan War although he has chosen for his theme only one section of the whole.
日本西洋古典学会の論文
1974-03-30

著者

岡道男
京都大学

IliasとAchilleusの怒り : Helene, Chryseis, Briseis

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