『オデュッセイア』の「名婦のカタログ」をめぐって

Abstract

In the eleventh book of the Odyssey, the hero beholds famous women in legend materializing before him. They relate their lineage and their fate. The scene (11.225-327) traditionally called the Catalogue of Heroines is full of difficulties and controversies like the entire book. Some critics have regarded the catalogue as a later addition to the story of Odysseus' visit to the Underworld. However, a remarkable structural symmetry dominates the hero's entire tale, down to the smallest detail. Whether this guarantees the authenticity of the catalogue or not, it deserves scrutiny. I have attempte to analyze the form of the Catalogue and then to consider its meaning. First comes an analysis of the hero's tale, where he recounts his adventures on his way home from Troy. It begins with the ninth book and ends in the twelfth. One can detect a symmetrical structure in each book, except the eleventh. Each of the books, nine, ten, and twelve, contain three episodes. The first two episodes are short. The last one, which is the central theme of each book, is narrated at great length. Although the poet constructed the tale of Odysseus' experiences similarly, the eleventh book seems to deviate from the norm. The construction seems to be quite different from that of the other three books, but that does not mean that it is badly organized. In fact, our analysis proves that the structure of the eleventh book reflects the same unusual characteristics as does the peculiar content of this book. It can be divided into five sections : (1) the conversation with Elpenor, Tiresias and Anticleia, (2) the Catalogue of Heroines. (3) what is called the Intermezzo, which is put in the middle of the hero's tale of his wanderings, (4) the meeting with Agamemnon. Achilles and Ajax, (5) the description of the inner recesses of Hades, where six heroes of the past appear. The first section is similar to the fourth one, as both parts include a meeting and a conversation with three ghosts. The second and the fifth sections have a catalogue of famous men and women respectively. Thus these five sections can be grouped in three parts : a pair of conversations, two catalogues and a pivot. Two sections appear on each side of the Intermezzo, and in this arrangement, the eleventh book adopts a variation of the three-part structure used in the other books. The fourteen women in the Catalogue of Heroines are also arranged with a geometric formality. They are divided into two parts. The first half consists of eight women. Two pairs of mothers each having two sons by Zeus or Poseidon are placed out side of another two paired groups of four women. The second half consists of two groups of three women. The organization is basically mechanical. Simple ordering like this must have been helpful to an oral poet. Some scholars have rejected the Catalogue, on the grounds that it, and the women mentioned in it, have nothing to do with the rest of the eleventh book or the entire work. But in fact, the substance of the Catalogue, as well as its form, is admirably constructed. The poet selected the women in the Catalogue so that they had something to do with other parts of the work. The Catalogue has some relation to the preceding scenes of Tiresias and Anticleia. At the same time, it prepares for the following scenes of Agamemnon and the so-called Great Sinners. The detailed accounts of Tyro and Chloris, including a brief mention of Clymene and Eriphyle, serve as an underplot for the sudden appearance of Theoclymenus in the fifteenth book. Thus the Catalogue is not just a spectacular scene to entertain an audience, but is linked closely with the other scenes of the Odyssey.