著者

呉 茂一

出版者

日本西洋古典学会

雑誌

西洋古典學研究 (ISSN:04479114)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.6, pp.1-13, 1958-05-10

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The lord of seas and waters in Gr. mythology, Poseidon has been the object of much speculation, recently esp. by Schachermeyr in his "Poseidon .etc." 1950. The paper seeks to find some more elucidations about his nature and attendant myths after Schach. The etymology offered for his name by Kretschmer, followed by Wilamowitz, Nilsson and Schach. too, seems quite plausible, that of combining ποσει- (voc. to ποσει-) with Δα&b.sigmav; (gen. of Da, the Earth-mother), which however requires the crystalisation of the annexation the meaning of the compound submerged beneath the consciousness of people. The writer gathers together, after Schach. etc., examples of the combination of Poseidon with Demeter in various parts of Greek peninsula recorded by Pausanias, Plutarch etc., notably at Thelpusa, Phigaleia, Akakesion, Pheneos, Gythion, Hermione, Troizen, Kalauria, Athenai (Kolonos, Kerameikos, Akropolis), Eleusis, Lebadeia, Delphoi and many others, which can not be fortuitous, while in many places, mostly in Arcadia but at Kolonos and others too, they appear as, or related to, horses. It should be noted again that either of the Gods is often turned into forms of Hypostaseis, as a result of both religious syncretism and disintegration, resulting at times in an accumulation of various fossilized epicletic names. Such is, for example, the case with the "Demeter on the Pron" at Hermione, founded by one Klymenos and his sister Chthonia, with a temple of Klymenos opposite, while the goddess is called Chthonia, too. The townsfolk think that the God Klymenos is the lord of infernal regions and different from the founder Klymenos. The Phytalos who welcomed D. at Lacius' grove by Cephisus, must be P. too, a by-form of P. Phytalmios, worshipped at Troizen and Athens. Or the Trophonios, noted for his mantic power at Lebadeia, must be a hypostasis of P. as situated by and in a cave, which is a peculiarity of P. worship, with a fountain-nymph Herkyna, a by-form of Demeter, the nurse-mother of Kore. The statues therein with snakes are called Asklepios and Hygieia (for snakes), or Troph. and Herkyna, which ought to be P. and D. The Nymph Melantheia at Kalauria, the Eumenides (Erinys as at Thelpusa) at Colonus, should or may be D. too, while Erechtheus and Erichthonios, which must be by-forms, on the Akropolis, called opponents to P. by Schachermeyr, ought to be hypostaseis of P., in view of the tradition, pertaining to P. and Athena's dispute, and the chthonic character and appelation of P. such as Erysi-, Elelichthon etc., as Erichthonios simply means 'the great Earth-lord', the mate of Chthonia-Demeter. The writer invites attention to Medusa and Medeia also, a form without eury-, "the wideruling " -lady or goddess, which can be epikleseis of D. as Eurymedon, Iphimedeia, Agamede etc. may prove. Next two chapters are concerned with Orchomenos, as an example of P. worshipping clans, the dynasties of which show manifest confusion resulting from frequent and apparent intrusion of P. and his Hypostaseis, while Theban traditions usurp many items thereof-Klymenos, Klymene, Persephone, Almos (<Phyt-alm-ios) being mere names of hypostaseis, brought together as means of connecting various heroes under Poseidonic influences with Orchomenians or Minyans. The writer again ventures a hypothesis that the husband's name of these ladies, viz. lasos or lasios (1) may mean. Poseidonic incarnation, or a daimon of the like chthonic nature (maybe Preachaean), which brings also lasion within its circle, a figure in direct communication with D.. lason, too, is not far away from lasios: lason, who is also a Minyan and coupled with a Medeia (though presumably a Corinthian deity). Lastly it may be advanced that Pluton (from Plutos, but usually Aides (2)) was in reality the greatest of P.'s hypostaseis, serving as his substitute when he was changed into a Sea-god, inheriting his chthonic dominion, caves, passages to the nether world (Tainaros, Pylos etc.), the title of Klymenos etc., even renowned for horses, but without any shrine originally, being the double of P., with Kore-Persephone as his consort, the Demeter-Chthonia in her daughter's capacity. The chthonic character of Poseidon held in awe by his worshippers is best attested by his appellation itself, an euphemistic substitute for the apparent, at the same time easily deduced from his many other epikleseis such as εννοσιγαιο&b.sigmav;, ασψαλειο&b.sigmav;, αλωευ&b.sigmav;, γαιειο&b.sigmav; etc. This process, perfected by the time of Homer, may have fairly been advanced by the commencement of Mycenean supremacy, esp. on the eastern coast exposed to Minoan influences, obliterating the Horse for the Bull, together with his connection with Demeter, the Goddess consort. (1) This ias- could possibly stand in some relation to 'lawones,' -s(i) on-being collateral to -won- as nominal formans. (2) The development of Aides must be the next question, established firmly by the time of Homer (perhaps not yet in Mycenae), by gradual transformation within those several centuries.