『ヘルメス譛歌』における神話テーマと物語の型

Abstract

In the Hymn to Hermes, Hermes steals Apollo's cattle after he invents the lyre. Sophocles, however, inverted the order in his satyric drama Ichneutae. Apollo, who appears in the prologue, complains of the loss of the cattle. He offers a reward to anyone who will help him. Hearing that, Silenus offers, with his Satyrs, to help in the search. When the Satyrs discover the tracks of the cattle, a strange sound comes from somewhere and startles them. At this point the nymph, Cyllene, appears from the cave and explains to them that it is the sound of the lyre played by the infant god, Hermes. She also mentions the hides which Hermes used in making the lyre. The Satyrs identify the skins with those of the missing cattle. Apollodorus (Bibl. 3. 10. 2) follows generally the narrative of the Hymn but like Sophocles he places the theft of the cattle before the invention of the lyre. Hermes strung the shell of a tortoise with strings made from the cows he had sacrificed. Appollodorus must have felt uneasy with the plot of the Hymn, and followed the version of the Ichneutae. Why did the poet of the Hymn adopt his narrative order? Another odd plot sequence is found in the episode of the old man of Onchestus (87-93, 185-212). Hesiod's Megalai Eoiai tells another story of the theft of Apollo's cattle. While Apollo was living at the house of Admetus, Hermes stole the cattle of Apollo. An old man named Battus saw Hermes leading the cattle away. Battus asked for a reward to tell no one about the theft. Hermes promised to give it to him. Later, Hermes came back in disguise to test him. He offered him a robe as a bribe. Battus took it and told him about the cattle. Hermes was so angry, he turned him into a rock. The old man of Onchestus is plainly this figure, for he witnessed the theft and was strictly forbidden by Hermes to talk about it. Hermes, however, doesn't come back to test him, and there is no scene of the petrification of the old man. It is Apollo who asks the old man whether he knows about the cattle. One cannot help feeling that the story is incomplete. These two odd sequences are related to the narrative patterns of oral poetry. The structure of the plot in oral poetry is built around the mythical themes. The oral epic tradition contains several kinds of mythical themes, such as the Withdrawal of the Hero, the Search, and the Birth of the God. Each mythical theme has its own series of elements that follow each other in a fixed order. The oral poet can make use of those fixed narrative patterns for his composion and performance. They were an aid to quick composition. Concerning the odd sequences pointed out above, one finds two mythical themes in the Hymn to Hermes : 'the Birth of the God' and 'the Search'. The Birth of the God is composed of the following elements : 1. The birth of the young god under some persecution or unusual situation. 2. The god obtains some of his proper attributes. 3. The god performs a great exploit. 4. The confirmation of roles of the god. The Search is composed of the following elements : 1. The protagonist loses something. 2. He makes a long journey. 3. He gets help twice from two helpers (the second has something to do with the prophecy). 4. He finds the object of his search. From these narrative patterns, it is clear that the invention of the lyre is the second element of the Birth of the God. The poet of the Hymn to Hermes depicts the lyre as a weapon of Hermes : 'The lyre sounded terribly (=smerdaleon) at the touch of his hand' (53-54). The word 'smerdaleon' is usually used in the battle scenes of epic poetry. For example, the shield of Achilles is said to be 'smerdaleon' (terrible to see) (Il. 20. 260), and Diomedes 'smerdaleon d' eboesen' (shouted with a terrible cry) (Il. 8. 92). Hermes obtains the lyre soon after his birth. He uses it afterwards in the 'battle' with Apollo. The narrative pattern of the Birth of the God requires the acquisition of attributes as a second element. The poet shows his faithfulness to the pattern here. He attaches greater importance to the proper narrative pattern than to the natural plot sequence. It is the same with the 'Battus' element. The Search requires the appearance of a helper ; on the other hand, the poet wanted to include the Battus episode in his narrative, since it underlines Hermes' cunning nature. So he gives the old man of Onchestus two functions, as a witness like Battus and as a helper in the Search. Consequently, the old man of Onchestus is forbidden by Hermes to talk about the theft, and is asked about it by Apollo. Two odd sequences described above are not the result of a random mixture of mythical themes, but the result of the poet's fidelity to the narrative patterns of oral poetry.