ホメロスの独創性 : 『イリアス』と「城市を滅ぼすアキレウス」

抄録

The telos of the menis is not, as is generally assumed, Achilles' reconciliation with Priam, but the death of Achilles and the fall of Troy The menis, which, personified by the adjective 'oulomenen' (1 2), seems to have a kind of life of its own, does not cease bringing about the desastrous results even after the reconciliation in Book 24 The death of Achilles is foreshadowed by many prophesies and especially by the death and funeral of Patroclus, which obviously are modelled on those of Achilles, in the same way the fall of Troy is anticipated by the death of Hector who alone protected the city These two events, besides the fulfilment of Zeus' promise to Thetis, are implied by the Dios boule in the proem Also in Virgil's Aeneid and in the Odyssey (where the hero's home-coming reaches the telos only when he has appeased Poseidon), the telos of the theme is realized later than the time frame of the poem This interpretation is confirmed by the basic structure of the Iliad Just as Hector is made the sole defender of the city, so Achilles becomes the sole protector of the Achacans, with the consequence that the two heroes inevitably come to a deadly confrontation Hector at first fights with Patroclus, Achilles' substitute (cf 16 838 ff), then with Achilles himself, and his death not only seals the fate of Troy but also completes the destiny of Achilles (cf 18 95 f) The interlocking of their destinies is emphasized by the fact that they fall alike into ate and bring ruin on their countrymen, and finally, fully aware of their own ate and fate, endeavour to win honour Further, Achilles' turning back from the front after the opponent's death in Book 22, though he has been told by Thetis that his death must come immediately after that of Hector, keeps the audience in suspense for the fulfilment of the prophesy, until the poem ends with the impression that both the death of Achilles and the fall of Troy occur almost simultaneously in the reopened battle after Hector's burial This impression is strengthened by the truce of twelve days Thus the two events, which seem to have been narrated separately in the tradition, are placed in the immediate future beyond the end of the poem and made the telos of the menis. In the epic tradition before the Iliad, it was Odysseus' ruse of the wooden horse that destroyed Troy It is against this background that Achilles has become the sacker of Troy Giving priority to Achilles' bie over Odysseus' metis, the poet nevertheless has respect for tradition. e g. Odysseus too is ptohporthos in the Iliad He appears, however, to assert that Achilles, by killing the sole defender of Troy, had virtually destroyed the city before the wooden horse gave it the coup de grace The implication of 'the sacker of the city' can be contextually evoked in the passages where the name of Achilles is accompanied by this epithet (15 70-7, 21 544-550, 24. 108 etc) In the age of Homer a poet is praised for telling his story 'truthfully' as well as 'kata kosmon' and 'kata moiran' (cf. Od 8 489 ff, 496) In the Iliad the poet, while adapting his story to the changes of the society, tells it more 'truthfully' by identifying Achilles with 'the sacker of the city', and more 'kata kosmon' and 'kata moiran' by making the fates of Achilles and Troy the telos of his theme In such a reinterpretation and refinement of traditional stories is to be sought the originality of Homer