ミネルワとアラクネ『変身物語』第6巻1-145行

Abstract

This paper reexamines the Arachne story in Ovid's Metamorphoses Bk. 6, focusing on the deception-fascination by poetry-art which affects the motivation and manner of Minerva's vengeance on Arachne. Minerva has praised the song and righteous rage of the Muses, which motivates her to avenge. Two aspects are noticed in Minerva on Helicon who is curious about anything marvelous aud eager to listen to the Muses' tales. First, she wanted to see the fountain which burst forth under the hard(dura : 257) hooves of Pegasus ; a Muse addresses her as a goddess whose valor has led her to greater tasks(virtus opera ad maiora : 269) ; and she asks the Muse to recite their song in order(ordine : 335). These are suggestive of the classical epic that is the kind of song which Minerva wants to have sung. Second, asking the Muses for the causes(cf. origo : 262), she recalls Callimachus in the Aetio(frgg. 2, 114) and Ovid in the Fasti interviewing the gods and goddesses throughout the work ; and when listening to Calliope's song, Minerva takes her seat in the light shade(levi in umbra : 336). What these imply is elegiac or hellenistic poetry, which Minerva seems to be (perhaps potentially) capable of appreciating well. Corresponding to these opposing aspects of Minerva we find two mixed elements in Calliope's song : epic pretentions, the most eminent feature of which is the rage of the gods that vindicates their order, on an asymmetrical structure which is "rambling, dragging in almost anything and straying far from its subject" through set-in tales which are characteristic of hellenistic poetry, tuned to the querulous chords(339) which imply elegiac poetry. What is suggested here? Attention should be paid to the Pierides' accusation of the Muses deceiving the unlearned vulgar with the empty sweetness(indoctum vana dulcedine vulgus/ fallere : 309f.). At first glance it sounds false, but "sweet"(glykys, dulcis) is one of the characteristics which are highly valued on the hellenistic criteria of poetry, aud "empty" may refer to the leisure of poetry ; unlike Callimachus or Horatius who hates and keeps away the vulgar(Carm. 3. 1. 1), doctus as he is, Ovid is proud of his popularity all over the world ; and deception can mean fascination by poetry, as the Muses "have the skill to tell lies similar to the truth" (Hesiod. Theog. 27). Then, the accusation seems to point accurately to the nature of Ovid's poetry, and to turn out to be true. That is, Minerva is deceived by Calliope's song in the meaning that she is so fascinated by its charm (which she has the capability to really enjoy) that she thinks it was the epic, but it is actually not. Deceived(fascinated) this way, Minerva wants to be praised as she praised the Muses' song aud rage. Here her thoughts do not follow the usual pattern of vengeance stories where human arrogance causes divine anger at the start, resulting in punishment of the hybris. As her motive to avenge comes first the common desire for her own praise, and in order to avenge she finds Arachne to be an appropriate victim. And Ovid's expression in lines 3-4 shows humorously the change of her state of mind from praising to being praised : when she wants to be praised(laudemur) herself too(et ipsae), then, at the top of the next line, the idea that she is a deity(numina) who deserves to be praised comes into her mind. It looks as if she had forgotten about it until now. She can be compared to the audience (indoctum vulgus) who want to be the hero on the stage whom they empathize with. Now leaving the theater, it seems, Minerva remembers who she is, a goddess who can actually play the part. Whatever the motive may be, her vengeance appears to be inevitable, when Arachne's stubborn refusal to yield leads to the weaving duel, in which Minerva's tapestry is orderly in form and content, embodying the perfect classical art, while Arachne's is contrastively chaotic with the various stories of "the divine comedy" scattered in no set pattern of any kind. To our surprise, however, Minerva or Envy couldn't find any fault in Arachne's work(129f.), and Ovid depicts Minerva's act of vengeance in sympathy with Arachne. The interpretation I'd like to suggest is that as with the Muses, Minerva is deceived again here by Arachne's deceptive art which makes her pictures look real(vermu taurum, freta vera putares ;/ipsa videbatur : 104f.). Painfully facing Arachne's success(130), which Minerva sees as threatening to snatch praise away from her, she tears Arachne' s tapestry, which is "divine crimes." Here, caeletia crimina(131), equated to the tapestry by juxtaposition, and given a position to split the phrase pictas vestes, creates an impression that Minerva is trying to shake off a guilty conscience with an excuse while destroying the perfect work of art. Otherwise, Envy could have criticized it the moment she looked at it. And this excuse seems to come as a natural result. of Minerva's deception by the pictures, which are so real that she cannot discern whether they are imaginary or real. Then, the tapestry paradoxically proves its perfection by being torn. When Arachne cannot endure it(non tulit infelix : 134) and hangs herself, Minerva feels pity (miserata : 135), as if the heroic act of Arachne wakes up Minerva to herself. Minerva, who, charmed by the Muses' song, wanted to be a hero at the start of the story, now at the end fascinated by Arachne's work, seems to be leaving the stage to give away the leading part to Arachne, whose metamorphosis into a spider(140-5) takes place just after Minerva's exit(discedens : 139). If there is any programmatic implication in the story, I'd like to consider it in the same terms as I did in my former papers on Fama-fama in bk. 12 and the epilogue, where I discussed creative transformation of tradition(fama) by the poet(Fama) who adds "falsehoods" to "true" traditional stories. Hearing of the rumor of the fount Hippocrene(5.255), Minerva visited the Muses to listen to their tales. Deceived by them, she contributed to creation of a new kind of vengeance story. And when she exits, the rumor fills the whole world with talk(6.146f.)