ガイアの嘆願と『イリアス』

Abstract

Gaia, over-populated with men, appealed to Zeus for help He took pity on her and caused many people to die by means of two great wars That was the plan of Zeus This tradition, which is preserved in the Cypria, should be considered to be reflected in the appeal of Thetis and the plan of Zeus in Book I of the Iliad, even though the Cypria was composed later than the Iliad. This proposition is supported by the fact that the poet designed to present the whole Trojan War in the Iliad The duel between Menelaos and Paris and the breach of truce by Pandaros caused the battle to start and, therefore, have a similar functlon to the rape of Helen, which was the cause of the War Thus, the appeal of Thetis to Zeus to destroy the Achaean soldiers has a similar function to the appeal of Gaia, which was the primary cause of the Trojan War