Homer And The Indo-Europeans: Comparing Mythologies 9780755625956, 9781850438311

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To Marie Baldick

Published in 1994 by I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd 45 Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2HY Copyright © 1994 by Julian Baldick All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress catalog card number: available ISBN 978 1 85043 831 1 hb ISBN 978 0 75563 171 1 epdf ISBN 978 0 75563 170 4 epub

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must acknowledge an immense indebtedness to Nick Allen for his generously given advice, although I know that he disagrees with much that I have written here. I am also extremely grateful to John Penney for devoting much time and effort to answering my queries in the field of historical and comparative linguistics. Thanks are due to various friends and colleagues who supplied useful information: Didier Bouillon, Gerard Colas, Simon Digby, Julie Meisami, Jinty Nelson, Alexis Sanderson and Naoko Yamagata. I must also express my thanks to the staff of I.B.Tauris, and in particular to Anna Enayat; and, above all, to my wife for her great patience and help.

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INTRODUCTION This book represents a radical rereading of Homer from a comparatist's perspective. It argues that the Greek epics must be studied in the light of narratives in other Indo-European languages, in particular Sanskrit. Thus it maintains that the Homeric poems convey a markedly Indo-European ideology and correspond to the prototypes of Indian and Iranian epics. It does so by using the highly controversial methods of a discipline which is often misunderstood, called 'comparative mythology'. Consequently, we must begin by asking various questions. What author or authors are designated by the name 'Homer'? What is meant by the term 'Indo-European'? And what do people in the discipline of'comparative mythology' try to do? HOMER The ancient Greeks used the name 'Homer' to refer to the supposed author of two great epics, which in the opinion of modern scholars must have been composed between 800 and 650 BCE. One of these epics is called the Iliad, because it is about an episode in a siege of a city named Ilium, but better known as Troy, in what is now northwest Turkey. The other epic is called the Odyssey, since it narrates the adventures of a hero whose name is Odysseus and who, after taking part in the siege of Troy, encounters many difficulties, both on his homeward journey and on arrival at his home. There has been much debate about how many authors would have been responsible for producing these epics. Some scholars, known as the 'Analysts', have chopped the poems into bits and argued that they were the work of many hands. Other scholars, known as the 'Unitarians', have counterargued that each poem had only one author, or that both epics were composed by the same poet. Nowadays it is generally considered that the Iliad is essentially the work of one man, and that the Odyssey, in its 1

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

original form, was produced about a generation later, probably by another man but possibly by the same one in his old age. It is not clear whether or not the society which saw the composition of these epics was literate. The poems would, at any rate, have undergone many alterations as they were transmitted from one generation to the next. A long time after they were first composed each was divided into 24 'books', corresponding to the number of letters in the Greek alphabet.

THE ILIAD The Iliad begins in the tenth year of the siege of Troy, which is being attacked by a people known as the Achaeans, who are from mainland Greece and the Greek islands. Paris, one of the sons of Priam, the king of Troy, has abused his position as guest of the king of Sparta, Menelaus, to run off with his wife, Helen. Menelaus and his brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, have brought a huge expedition to recapture the stolen wife. The poem starts with a quarrel between Agamemnon, who is commander-in-chief, and the besiegers' most effective fighter, Achilles. Agamemnon publicly humiliates Achilles, and the latter complains to his mother, the sea-goddess Thetis. She tells him to withdraw from the fighting while she persuades the king of the gods, Zeus, to go on granting victories to the Trojans until Agamemnon repents. This plan is put into effect. The Trojans, led by Paris' brother Hector, gain the upper hand and Agamemnon tries to propitiate Achilles, but in vain. Hector has one great day of glory, in which he fights his way to the Achaeans' ships. Achilles' best friend, Patroclus, is drawn into the fighting and kills an important ally of the Trojans, Sarpedon, who is a son of Zeus. Hector kills Patroclus, and Achilles, maddened by grief, agrees to fight. Agamemnon grants him due honour, and he goes on to kill Hector and thus, by removing Troy's best warrior, seals the city's fate. Hector's corpse has to be retrieved by his father, who comes to Achilles as a suppliant. As we shall see, the Iliad has a lot more to offer than this briefest of summaries would suggest. There is a subtle interplay of concepts, represented by a wider cast of deities and mortals. Zeus' wife, Hera, who symbolizes sovereignty, contractuality and loyalty, is as the firmest partisan of the Achaean cause. His brother Poseidon helps to hold the Achaean fighting force together, assisted by a leading terrestrial ally, Idomeneus, the king of Crete. A clever warrior-goddess, Athena, also intervenes to give the Achaeans victory, while the Trojans

Introduction

3

have on their side Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Aphrodite's son Aeneas is a Trojan prince, who after the war will be his people's king. Troy is also protected by two more deities of pleasure: Apollo, the patron of the arts, and Artemis, the goddess of hunting. A city of abundance and fertility, it corresponds all too well to its arch-enemy, Achilles, who is himself a rich and fertile source of booty.

THE ODYSSEY The Odyssey begins in the twentieth year of Odysseus' absence from his homeland. His palace on the island of Ithaca has been taken over by a number of wicked suitors, who try to persuade his wife, Penelope, to marry one of them. The gods decide to order the goddess Calypso, who has been keeping Odysseus on her island, to let him go. Athena goes to Ithaca and tells Odysseus' son Telemachus to travel in search of news of his father. Telemachus goes on his journey and hears that Odysseus is alive. Meanwhile, his father leaves Calypso's island but is wrecked on the peninsula of a people known as the Phaeacians. He is rescued by the daughter of this people's king, and gives his Phaeacian hosts an account of his adventures after the siege of Troy. Odysseus has used his celebrated powers of trickery to blind a giant son of Poseidon; been entertained by a witch called Circe; visited the Underworld; lost his surviving followers after they ate the Sun-god's cattle; and, finally, been stranded on Calypso's island. The Phaeacians send him to Ithaca, where Athena disguises him as an old beggar. His faithful swineherd gives him hospitality while Telemachus returns. Odysseus and Telemachus plot their attack on the suitors, and the hero comes to his palace in his disguise as a beggar. Penelope announces that she will marry whoever succeeds in stringing Odysseus' great bow and shooting an arrow through the apertures of 12 axes. Odysseus alone passes this test, and then slaughters the suitors, helped by Athena, Telemachus, the swineherd and a cowherd. Then he proves his identity to Penelope and, after a brief skirmish with the suitors' relatives, reaches a peaceful settlement with them. Here again the poem is far richer than its plot suggests. The epic is mainly about how the suitors' wickedness justifies Odysseus' stooping to deceit: it teaches the appalling doctrine that against evil enemies all is justified. Thus the suitors are the real agents of their own destruction. Athena, as the clever warrior-goddess who masterminds their massacre, has Odysseus himself as her counterpart. Penelope is polyvalent:

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

wise, good at her work and beautiful, she symbolizes the combination of excellence in three different spheres. The Odyssey is also about the testing of the warrior in successive areas: responding to seduction, bravery and piety. Finally, as nineteenth-century scholars observed (expressing themselves with unfortunate exaggeration), the Odyssey is to some extent about the sun: it is partly based on a myth in which a warrior-figure intervenes to give the dawn the assistance of his strength. THE TERM 'INDO-EUROPEAN' The term 'Indo-European' is admitted by the specialists who use it to be an absolute monstrosity. Unfortunately nobody has yet managed to think up a better one. It is completely arbitrary: one might as well use a symbol like 'x'. The term is essentially linguistic: it means that many languages, such as English, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Persian and Sanskrit, are related to one another and constitute a separate grouping. This kinship of languages has naturally led scholars to try to reconstruct an original proto-language from which all Indo-European tongues would be descended: Proto-Indo-European. Consequently it is posited that there once existed a population which spoke this language, while further hypotheses are put forward to suggest where and when this population might have lived. Here there has been much disagreement among both linguists and archaeologists, since no artefacts have been unearthed that are demonstrably Proto-Indo-European. With disastrous social consequences, these linguistic discussions were taken over, from the nineteenth century, first by racist and then by Nazi propagandists. The idea, now discredited, that 'races' of different human beings actually exist came to be combined (though not by reputable scholars) with the linguistic evidence. Thus the word 'Aryan', which in the nineteenth century was used by scholars as a linguistic term synonymous with Indo-European, has been misapplied to designate an imaginary 'race', with distinct biological and physical characteristics. Today the use of the term 'Aryan' instead of 'IndoEuropean' is continued only by extreme right-wing propagandists. It is, however, perfectly respectable to employ the term to designate the Indo-Iranian sub-family, which includes Sanskrit and Persian, since the ancient Indians and Iranians undoubtedly used this word 'Aryan' to refer to themselves. The expressions 'Indo-European' and 'Proto-Indo-European' are

Introduction

5

used in confusing ways, and often the former is used when the latter is meant. Academics talk of 'Indo-Europeans' when 'Indo-Europeanspeakers' is what they intend: it becomes a kind of shorthand. In the present text 'Indo-European' will be used in an extended sense, to designate an ideology expressed mainly in Indo-European languages from an early date. This does not require that such an ideology would necessarily have been present in the hypothetical Proto-Indo-European population: the ideology may well have been diffused from a 'daughtersociety' (a society speaking a language descended from Proto-IndoEuropean), such as the Indo-Iranian one. T H E PROTO-INDO-EUROPEANS' HOMELAND AND DATE Where would these hypothetical Proto-Indo-Europeans have lived, and in what period of prehistory? In recent years academic debate about these questions has been renewed, and very different solutions have been put forward. These have been conveniently summarized by the French archaeologist Jean-Paul Demoule in 1991. The Proto-IndoEuropean homeland has been placed respectively in the Caucasus, in Turkey and in the steppes of southern Russia. As for the period of the Proto-Indo-Europeans, it has been normal to put it at around 4500 to 2500 BCE, though some scholars have recently proposed a much earlier dating, which would coincide with the Neolithic invention of agriculture and its spread from the Near East from the ninth millennium BCE to the fifth. Such a dating would have the Proto-IndoEuropeans setting out from the Caucasus or Turkey. The more conventional dating would put them first in the steppes to the north of the Black Sea, developing an increasingly inegalitarian warrior society in the fifth millennium, and then, from the end of that millennium to the end of the third, invading and colonizing other regions.1 COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY Along with the linguistic and archaeological approaches in IndoEuropean studies there is also a third: the mythological. 'Mythology' is a confusing word, since it is used to mean not only an academic discipline, in the sense of an organized mode of inquiry, but also the object of that discipline, the myths themselves. 'Myth' is another

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

confusing word, and many attempts at defining it have been made. Here, by 'myths', I simply mean legends of gods and heroes. 'Comparative mythology' has in practice tended to mean comparative IndoEuropean mythology, because outside the Indo-European field little work of this kind has been done. From the end of the eighteenth century it was realized that the gods of Greece, Scandinavia and India were very similar, as were the languages of these regions. In the early nineteenth century there arose the discipline of comparative philology, now called historical and comparative linguistics, which concentrated on Indo-European comparisons. Predictably, in the middle of the nineteenth century, comparative mythology arose as this discipline's sister-science. Unfortunately it tried to analyse all religious materials with reference first to language, then to nature. Similarities between words and names were invoked to explain all myths as reflections of natural phenomena, most often solar ones. The discipline became covered in derision and by the end of the nineteenth century had practically died. It was not until the 1920s that comparative mythology began to be revived, by the French scholar Georges Dumezil (1898-1986), and it was only from 1938 onwards that he managed to present an effectively coherent method. This method is based on the reconstruction of a common Indo-European ideology, which is seen as centred around three fundamental elements. Dumezil called these elements 'functions', but I prefer to call them 'concepts'. They are: [1] religious sovereignty, in its magical and legal aspects; [2] physical force, notably that of the warrior; [3] fertility, in its erotic and agricultural aspects. From 1938 to 1949 Dumezil claimed that the Proto-Indo-Europeans were divided into three social classes corresponding to these concepts, but from 1949 onwards he abandoned this claim, admitting that the evidence could not be made to prove it: the existence of some underlying ideology of this kind was all that could be demonstrated. Similarly, from 1949 he declared that it was impossible to reconstruct particular Proto-IndoEuropean myths or rites in their concrete specificity: one could only use materials in a given Indo-European language to shed light upon materials in another. This approach will be the one used here.2

THE RAM AY AN A To shed light upon the Iliad, therefore, it is natural to examine one of the two great Indian epics, which has a very similar plot: the Ramayana

Introduction

7

(the title means 'the poem of the hero Rama'). There is much uncertainty about when this epic was composed in its original form and how it underwent subsequent developments. As we have it now it is a Sanskrit poem of about 24,000 couplets, concerning the life of a legendary prince of northern India. Although it is traditionally attributed to a poet called Valmiki, it must be the work of many hands. Recently the oldest parts of the poem have been dated to between 750 and 500 BCE.3 The poem's hero, Rama, has a tragic figure of a king as his father, just as Agamemnon and Menelaus have: in both India and Greece the tragedy is to do with problems of succession to the throne. Rama's father dies of grief after being forced to pass him over as the rightful successor, as his eldest son by his first wife, and give the throne to his second son, the child of his second wife. At the same time Rama has to go into exile, accompanied by one of two twin brothers, Lakshmana, a child of his father's third wife. (Similarly, in Greek legend Agamemnon and Menelaus' father, Atreus, is killed by his son by his second wife, and this son seizes the throne, so that the two brothers, being children of their father's first wife, have to go into exile.)4 While Rama, his wife, who is called Sita, and Lakshmana are living in exile, Sita is abducted by Ravana, the king of a class of beings called rakshasas. This word is now sometimes translated as 'ogres'. 'Demons' would also be possible. These rakshasas are characterized by their great enthusiasm for sexual activity, riches and luxury. Sita is taken to their capital city on the island of Lanka (which one is naturally tempted to identify with the modern Sri Lanka - an identification that is not certain). Rama acquires allies in order to recapture Sita. First he finds a monkey called Hanuman, who as a clever warrior resembles Odysseus. Then he makes an alliance with the king of the monkeys. Hanuman, like Odysseus, visits the city which is to be besieged. When the siege takes place there is a great battle in front of the city. At one point it looks as if the ogres are about to win, but Lakshmana intervenes decisively and kills Ravana's most important supporter, his son Indrajit. Ravana then fells Lakshmana, who has his heart pierced and is apparently dead (though soon he is miraculously revived). Rama kills Ravana and, since the latter was the city's best warrior, its surrender is just a formality. An ogre-prince, who in spite of being an ogre is pious and dear to the gods, will now, like Aeneas, rule over his vanquishedvpeople.

8 THE

Homer and the Indo-Europeans MAHABHARATA

Just as the Iliad corresponds to the Ramayana, so too the Odyssey corresponds to the other famous Indian epic, the Mahabharata (the title means 'the great poem of the clan of the Bharatas'). Here again, scholars are not sure when it was first composed and how it acquired later accretions. It is also in Sanskrit, and consists of about 100,000 couplets. Like the Ramayana, it is the work of many authors. Recent scholarship has pointed to the eighth or perhaps the ninth century BCE as the probable period of the poem's original version, but the oldest parts of the text as we have it are not older than 400 BCE.5 In this epic a northern Indian king, called Pandu, with divine assistance, fathers five sons. One of them, Arjuna, a clever warrior who resembles Odysseus, wins a princess called Draupadi in a marriage contest, by stringing a bow and shooting arrows through a hole in a wheel into a target. Afterwards Arjuna is obliged to share his wife with his brothers as co-husbands (a form of 'polyandry' still practised in the north of the South Asian subcontinent). Then Arjuna is obliged to go into exile after breaching his eldest brother's privacy by seeing him with Draupadi. He has romantic adventures with various female figures, and then returns. Subsequently his eldest brother engages in a fateful game of dice with their wicked cousins, the Kauravas, and apparently loses his property, his brothers, Draupadi and himself to them. The Kauravas make outrageous advances to Draupadi, but she manages to extricate herself and her husbands, obtaining freedom for them all. Subsequently Arjuna's eldest brother loses another game of dice with their cousins, and the resulting penalty is that the five brothers must spend 12 years exiled in the forest and another year living in the open, but disguised. They go into exile, accompanied by Draupadi. During their collective banishment Arjuna goes off into a second individual exile. A clever warrior-god, Indra, tells his brothers to go on a pilgrimage (just as Athena tells Telemachus to go on a journey during Odysseus' absence). After further adventures Arjuna is reunited with his brothers, and when the 12 years are over they emerge from the forest and live in disguise. At the end of the thirteenth year they abandon their disguises to claim their share of the clan's kingdom, but the Kauravas refuse to hand it over. Arjuna and his brothers massacre the Kauravas, after victory has been prepared for them by Indra and masterminded by Krishna, the human incarnation of another deity, Vishnu, who after being a minor warrior-god

Introduction

9

in early Indian religion is promoted to the highest rank. After a brief skirmish with a survivor of the massacre, Arjuna and his brothers reach a peaceful settlement with him. T H E IRANIAN NATIONAL EPIC The Iliad also resembles part of the Iranian national epic, the Book of Kings (Shah-nama). This is a Persian poem of about 60,000 couplets, composed by Firdawsi of Tus in north-east Iran, who died c.1023 CE. In spite of its late date of composition it undoubtedly contains elements of vastly greater antiquity. The part which concerns us describes hostilities between the Iranians and a people living to the north-east, the Turanians, who are associated with the use of magic (like the ogres of Lanka). An Iranian prince called Isfandiyar, one of his country's most effective warriors, is absent from the fighting, imprisoned by his father, Gushtasp, the king of Iran. The Turanians invade Iran and are victorious, but then Isfandiyar is brought back into the fighting. In the meantime, however, the Turanians have abducted his wife. The hero has to attack the enemy's great fortified enclosure to rescue her and, assisted by one of his brothers, is successful: he kills his arch-enemy.6 T H E LEGENDS OF THE OSSETIANS The Odyssey is echoed in the legends of an Iranian people, the Ossetians, who live in the Caucasus and are descended from the famous Scythians of classical antiquity. These legends have been collected by nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars from native informants who had preserved them in oral form. The legends refer to a mythical people known as the Narts, and in particular to a trickster, named Syrdon, who resembles Odysseus. Syrdon acts deceptively when a suitor called Soslan besieges a fortress in order to win a woman who has been promised to him. The trickster kills a young ally of Soslan and then Soslan himself is killed as well. In one version of the story trickery is used by a witch (who has evidently replaced Syrdon) to have Soslan killed by other Narts. This is connected to solar myths in which a clever warrior-figure provides violent intervention.7

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

THE EARLY HISTORY OF ROME The Homeric epics are also echoed in stories about the early history of Rome, from the eighth to the fourth centuries BCE. These stories are found in sources much later than the period to which they refer. The most important is the massive History of Rome by the historian Livy, of Padua in north-east Italy, who lived from 59 BCE to 17 CE. Secondly, there is a work called the Roman Antiquities, by the Greek rhetorician and historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus in what is now south-west Turkey, who lived at Rome for many years from 30 BCE onwards. Finally, there is the famous collection of Lives by the Greek biographer, historian and philosopher Plutarch (c.46-£.120CE). In these sources the story of the Iliad has as its counterpart an account of a war between the Romans and a neighbouring people, the Sabines, In this war the Romans find themselves, bizarrely, besieging the Sabines in the Romans' own citadel on the Capitoline hill. The Roman forces are led by the city's founder and first king, Romulus, who, like Agamemnon, is closely associated with the king of the gods, while the Sabines are representatives of riches and fertility. There is a battle in front of the citadel, and the Sabines gain the upper hand until Romulus intervenes decisively and the Sabines' best fighter is beaten.8 As for the Odyssey, its storyline is paralleled by an episode in the life of the Roman statesman and general Camillus, who is supposed to have defeated the invading Gauls around 390 BCE. Camillus is presented as being in exile when the Capitoline citadel is taken over by the Gauls. A young man, like Telemachus, goes on a journey in a prelude to the hero's return. Camillus comes back and, just as the Gauls are about to carry off a massive fortune in gold, puts them to flight. Subsequently, in a second engagement, he annihilates them completely.9 SCANDINAVIA In Scandinavia the Greek epics have their narratives echoed in a variety of materials. First, there is the Icelandic collection of poems known as the Poetic Edda, contained in a manuscript written around 1300 CE, although most of the poems are much earlier, such as the Prophecy of the Seeress (Vqluspd), whose anonymous author may have composed it in the tenth century CE, as the old Germanic religion was

Introduction

11

giving way to Christianity. Secondly, there is the History of the Danes by Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150-1216), a Danish archbishop's secretary who transformed ancient myths into history and gods into heroes. Thirdly, there is the work of Iceland's greatest historian, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241), who wrote a handbook for poets known as the Prose Edda and a history of the Norwegian kings entitled The Orb of the World (Heimskringla), both of which include stories about the old Scandinavian gods. These materials provide a counterpart to the story of the Iliad when they describe a war between gods of sovereignty and war (called the Aesir) on the one hand and deities of fertility (called the Vanir) on the other. The king of the gods, Odin, leads the Aesir against the Vanir, but the latter, thanks to their use of magic, gain the upper hand for a time. Peace is eventually made, and a couple of the Vanir are promoted to the level of the Aesir (rather as Aeneas is promoted to sovereign).10 The Odyssey is reflected in the stories of the Scandinavian god Loki, a trickster who belongs to the Aesir. Loki, like Odysseus, is good at escaping from difficult situations. He arranges the killing of another god, Balder, when this seems impossible (rather as Athena and Odysseus arrange the apparently impossible massacre of the suitors). Loki persuades a blind god, Hoder (Balder's brother), to hit Balder with a branch of mistletoe, which is the only thing that can kill him and does. Subsequently Loki is confronted by Balder's relatives and punished by them.11

THE BYZANTINE HEROIC EPIC The comparison of the Homeric epics with materials in other IndoEuropean languages is greatly assisted if one looks at another Greek poem, the Byzantine heroic epic entitled The Two-Blood Border Lord (Digenes Akrites). This is preserved in manuscripts from the fourteenth century onwards, but is considered to be much older, and to have been composed in what is now eastern Turkey. It refers to historical events of 788 CE. The hero is of mixed Greek and Arab blood, and fights on the border between the Byzantine and Islamic empires. In this epic one repeatedly encounters groupings of five men and a woman, as in the Mahabharata. One also finds the characteristically Indo-European patterns of the 'three sins of the warrior', discovered by Dumezil, and the 'three tests of the warrior', identified by myself in Homeric, Indian and Iranian epics. These sins and tests correspond to the three main

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

concepts of sovereignty, force and fertility. The Byzantine epic gives much attention to the theme of marriage by abduction, which has also been seen as an Indo-European motif reflected in Homer.12 A T U R K I C EPIC:

ALPAMYSH

There is one epic outside the Indo-European linguistic domain which must be considered as well, since it greatly resembles the Odyssey. This story, entitled Alpamysh, after the name of its hero, is found in Central Asia, Turkey and Russia. It exists in Turkic languages, which belong to the Altaic family of tongues. This family also includes Mongolian, and is seen as being related to the Uralic family, which contains Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian. Alpamysh is now best known in the Central Asian language of Uzbek Turkic, from an oral version transcribed in the twentieth century and reduced to 8000 verses. Scholars consider that it probably existed in Central Asia around the seventh century CE. In this epic the hero, Alpamysh, wins a bride in a competition consisting of a horse race, an archery contest and a wrestling match. Later he leaves home and has adventures involving a witch, imprisonment in an underground dungeon, and escape from it thanks to a king's daughter. During his long exile his wicked half-brother usurps power over their tribe and becomes an importunate suitor for the hand of Alpamysh's wife. Alpamysh returns, is entertained by his faithful shepherd and visits his tribe disguised as a beggar. His wife is about to marry the usurper, but Alpamysh, after demonstrating in an archery contest that only he can draw his own great bow, massacres his enemies and then establishes peace. Experts are of the opinion that an influence from the Odyssey upon Alpamysh can be ruled out as geographically and historically impossible. It seems that there must have been an ancient central Asian folktale which went into both epics. I am inclined to see this folk-tale as going into an Indo-Iranian epic in the early second millennium BCE. when the Indo-Iranians were in Central Asia, before the southward migrations of Indians into India and Iranians into Iran. This IndoIranian epic would have been the source of both the Mahabharata and, by westward diffusion, the Odyssey™

Introduction

13

METHODS The methods used in this book reflect my limitations as well as deliberate choices. After receiving a traditional classical education at school, where along with Greek and Latin I learnt French and German, I abandoned formal study in classics in favour of Persian and Arabic. (The latter is not an Indo-European language, but, like Hebrew, belongs to the Semitic branch of the Afrasian family, a family which includes Egyptian, Berber and Hausa.) I have been an Islamicist and a Persianist ever since, within the discipline of the history of religions (in the European sense of history as applied to religions, as opposed to the North American use of the term to mean 'religious studies in general'). In recent years a research project led me to learn Uighur (a Central Asian Turkic language) and Russian. My teaching duties as a lecturer in the study of religions have caused me to develop a strong interest in comparative Indo-European mythology, but I lack many of the most important languages. In Sanskrit I am only a novice, dependent upon translations, and I have no competence in the science of historical and comparative linguistics. Since I am not a professional classicist I cannot handle technical problems in Greek language and poetry. My interest in Homer was reawakened in 1990, when I read an article by DumeziPs main American popularizer, C. S. Littleton, which attempted to interpret the Iliad in Indo-European terms.14 It seemed to me that Littleton had started off on the right track, then failed to follow up a promising line of inquiry. The evidence pointed to a common source for the Iliad and the Ramayana, and consequently I suspected that the same might be true for the Odyssey and the Mahabharata. As I read through the Mahabharata, it was obvious that Arjuna's adventures paralleled those of Odysseus. In 1991 I heard a lecture by the Oxford anthropologist Nick Allen, in which he compared the two heroes' affairs with female figures.15 Subsequently I informed him of my intention of writing a book about Homer, and he kindly pointed out to me something which I had obtusely missed: that Achilles represents fertility, and not just the warrior's force. Allen certainly deserves full credit for anticipating some of my results, and my indebtedness to him is far greater than the sum of its parts. In writing this book I have proceeded as follows. First, I have provided a brief history of the discipline of comparative mythology and its application to the Homeric epics. Here I have tried to keep the

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

number of names to a minimum, and consequently, much to my regret, I have sometimes been obliged to present a given discovery without mentioning the scholar who was first responsible for it, so that it appears under the name of a later author of a work of synthesis. Then I have worked through the Greek text of the Iliad and the Odyssey with the help of recent translations and commentaries, from which I have often borrowed a phrase. I have summarized the epics book by book, in an unusual way which is bound to incur criticism. Mention of the gods has been given special prominence, and so have parts of the text which lend themselves more easily to interpretation in an IndoEuropean perspective. Thus I have concentrated on the religious, mythical and ideological substrate of Homer: for an introduction to its literary qualities the reader will need to look elsewhere. Then the summary of each book is followed by a commentary which points to Indo-European parallels. Finally, in a concluding section, I have tried to account for the similarities between the Greek and Indian epics, and have attempted to follow the survival of Indo-European ideology up to the twentieth century. The method which I have used throughout is essentially Dumezil's, although I have given it an unusual development: the three concepts of sovereignty, force and fertility are seen as being reflected as subconcepts within each member of the triad. Thus sovereignty within sovereignty is numbered as 1.1; force within sovereignty is 1.2, and so on. Dumezil's method is often confused with the 'structuralism' fashionable in Paris in the 1960s, and now seen as outdated. 'Structuralism' has often meant imposing an artificial grid of alien structures upon the subject studied. Often it has also meant the assumption that the human mind itself is structured universally and definitively. Dumezil, by contrast, insisted on looking for concrete instances of the repetition of patterns in beliefs and rituals, expressed with such clarity of definition that neither the investigator's imagination nor a universal structure of the human mind could reasonably be seen as the cause. When following this method I have had to omit discussion of many important materials, for example on the Celtic side. This is because the evidence here is usually late and confusing, and can easily be seen as reflecting secondary influences from elsewhere in the Indo-European field. I have not considered the medieval Persian prose romances, which present trickster-figures in adventures like those of Odysseus, because these romances are themselves thought to derive from late Greek prototypes. Moreover, I have not given much consideration to

Introduction

15

the undoubted influence on Homer of the 'orientalizing revolution' in which Greece, from the eighth to the seventh centuries BCE, was profoundly affected by contacts with speakers of non-Indo-European, mainly Semitic, languages. It seems to me that this influence on Homer operated mainly on the level of style and in ornamental, entertaining digressions, rather than in the ideology and basic narratives of the Greek epics. Thus it may well have been these nonIndo-European contacts that enabled Homer and the Greeks to move away from Indo-European ideology, and, in Greek poetry itself, to express a new perception of human beings' relationship with their environment. Note: The reader may find it convenient to keep referring back to the following key in which I have set out my adaptation of Dumezil's reconstruction of the main elements in Indo-European ideology. Dumezil's reconstruction of'functions' runs as follows: [1] religious sovereignty (notably in its magical and legal aspects) [2] physical force (notably that of the warrior) [3] fertility (notably in its erotic and agricultural aspects). My adaptation, replacing the term 'function' with that of 'concept', and introducing various sub-concepts, runs: [0] the 'frame-figure', who lives or comes before and after everyone else, and gives wise advice [1] religious sovereignty (including reason, intelligence and education) [1.1] sovereignty within sovereignty [1.1a] the magical, arbitrary, terrifying and remote aspect of sovereignty within sovereignty [1.1b] the legal, contractual and familiar aspect of sovereignty within sovereignty [1.2] force within sovereignty: the protection of the community's solidarity and continuity, notably by its young armed force [1.3] fertility within sovereignty: the distribution of goods [2] physical force (including anger) [2.1] sovereignty within force: either the warrior's intelligence, allied with speed, or his respect for religious sovereignty [2.2] force within force: either the warrior's brute force or his respect for its proper use [2.3] fertility within force: the warrior's respect for fertility

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

[3] fertility (including desire, wealth, beauty and medicine) [3.1] sovereignty within fertility: prophecy [3.2] force within fertility: archery, horse-breeding [3.3] fertility within fertility: luxury, pacificness, music and cattlebreeding [4] the craftmanship of the smith.

CHAPTER 1 : COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY AND THE HOMERIC EPICS THE E I G H T E E N T H AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES The discipline of comparative mythology has its roots in the first half of the eighteenth century. For the writers of the Enlightenment the comparison of different peoples' beliefs held a strong appeal: it offered a challenge to conventional Christian views of history and put classical Greek civilization in a new perspective. One of the founders of the French Enlightenment, Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657-1757), pointed to the strong resemblances between Greek and American Indian myths: in both mythologies human beings were brought to civilization by an eloquent child of the Sun, and the dead were condemned to live on the banks of gloomy waters. Fontenelle's conclusions were highly critical: the ancient Greeks had also been 'savages', and all peoples (even including, it was implied, Jews and Christians) produced absurd stories. These negative judgements were combined with a daringly modern theory of how myths were generated at different stages of society's development. Other Enlightenment writers formed similar opinions: myths represented a universal phase in the evolution of the human race.1 In the second half of the eighteenth century Romanticism brought a fresh perspective and a new impetus. Myths were now seen as the most glorious expressions of the human spirit, and indispensable for all literary production and national feeling. This enthusiasm resulted in the massive expansion of the academic study of myth in the nineteenth century, an expansion which was linked to the realization that the principal languages of Europe, Iran and India were closely related. One of the founders of oriental studies, the British scholar Sir William 17

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

Jones (1746-94), pointed out that the gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans were very similar to those of the Hindus. In particular, he noted the linguistic connection between the name of the supreme Roman god, Jupiter, and that of the Indian deity Dyaus Pita ('Sky Father'). For long the two would be identified, and this equation was seen as the only unassailable peak of comparative mythology, though in recent years it has appeared increasingly dubious.2 It was only in the middle of the nineteenth century, however, that the new discipline was to be founded. In the meantime comparative philology had been solidly established, and it was upon this substructure that the comparative study of myth was based. The extraordinary German-born Oxford scholar Friedrich Max Muller (1823-1900) was the leading figure in this process. A brilliant linguist, he argued that it was in language itself that the origins of myth were to be seen. Language was a sadly imperfect and diseased representation of thought and perception of nature. Myth was born out of attempts to express oneself in metaphors: the Proto-Indo-Europeans or 'Aryans' did not say, 'The sun rises,' but 'Night gives birth to a brilliant child.' Max Muller took the view that, to begin with, the Greeks and Indians had the same myths, but later on the Greeks forgot the original meanings of their gods' names, and invented new myths to explain them. Unfortunately, he was convinced that almost all of his materials could be reduced to myths about the sun. His colleagues in comparative mythology were no better: one insisted that Indo-European myths were about thunder and lightning, another that they were about fire, and yet another that they were about the moon. Max Miiller's solar mythology was the most influential and eventually the most widely ridiculed. Previously there had been an attempt to dismiss Jesus and the 12 apostles as a mythical representation of the sun and the signs of the Zodiac: this had provoked a satirical demonstration that Napoleon and his 12 marshals had not existed either. Later similar spoofs proved the non-existence of Oxford University and Max Muller himself. Today one can perceive a certain degree of truth in what he was saying. Subsequent researchers have agreed that in Indo-European mythology there is a constant emphasis upon the order of the universe and the harmonious combination of the forces of nature. We should expect the sun to have in this a significant but not an overwhelming role.3 Max Miiller's British disciples insisted on applying his solar theory to Greek (and in particular Homeric) myths with extreme enthusiasm. George Cox (1827-1902) was his most aggressive and fanatical follower.

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A clergyman, he insisted that the daily march of the sun, beginning in weakness and proceeding through darkness, clouds and storms, was the story of all Christian devotion. As it was the essence of all heroic self-sacrifice, it necessarily reappeared in the accounts of each and every Greek hero. The moralistic character of Max Miiller's work is evidenced by Cox's admission that it was his master who had first drawn him into a field which he had previously found 'repulsive': the nineteenth century, shocked by the sex and violence of myths, demanded bowdlerized versions in which the dawn, embraced by the sun, trembled and paled like the heroines of Victorian literature. 4 It was the Scots scholar and journalist Andrew Lang (1844-1912) who ended the dominance of Max Miiller and his school. A classical scholar who turned to the budding science of anthropology, Lang harked back to Fontenelle: the beliefs of 'savages' all over the world could explain the gods of the Greeks, without there being any need to resort to 'Aryan' solutions. Attacking the philologists, he pointed to their disagreements and the possibilities for error: old myths would be reassigned to later heroes, the etymology of whose names would be irrelevant. Here Lang largely anticipated the results of recent research. Max Miiller counter-attacked with skill, pointing to the dubiousness of the concepts of'the savage', 'animism' and 'totemism', employed by the anthropologists. In the end it was Lang who had to give ground, but his ability as a popularizer had dealt solar mythology a deadly blow. From the 1880s comparative Indo-European mythology was to be discredited and ignored for half a century. Moreover, although Max Miiller had been adamant that by 'Aryans' he just meant speakers of a given language, not a 'race' with inherited physical characteristics, many people, especially in his native Germany, were not inclined to note the distinction, and this was to bring Indo-European studies into further disrepute.5 DUMEZIL'S 'NEW COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY' Born in 1898, the son of a distinguished French general, Georges Dumezil had a traditional grounding in the Greek and Latin classics before deciding, after the First World War, to devote himself to comparative Indo-European mythology. It was not a propitious time for such an undertaking. The subject was unpopular and attacked as a 'pseudo-science'. To add to this, the expansion of higher education after 1918 brought an influx of over-specialized and pedantic teachers,

20

Homer and the Indo-Europeans

who wanted their students and successors to be like themselves and were opposed to attempts to form wider views. Given this unpromising background, it is not surprising that Dumezil took a long time to develop his method. Consequently his life's work can be seen as corresponding to three periods of development: 1924-38, 1938-49 and 1949-86. DumeziVs early period: 1924-38

Dumezil's first book, published in 1924, was almost completely ignored. Entitled The Feast of Immortality', it argued that there was a common set of Indo-European myths concerning the personification of immortality as an intoxicating drink. He himself was later to disown this and his other early books, but recent writers have at times nevertheless taken them extremely seriously. In 1929 his second major publication, The Problem of the Centaurs, claimed that there was a common Indo-European class of deities in part-animal, part-human form who were linked to the idea of fertility: called Centaurs in Greece and Gandharvas in India, they were etymologically related. The next year saw the appearance of an important article on the Indo-Iranian caste system. Here Dumezil found, alongside the three main classes, whom he called 'priests', 'warriors' and 'cultivators', a fourth sub-class of 'artisans'. In 1934 he tried to connect the Greek sky-god Ouranos with an Indian counterpart, Varuna, again using etymological arguments. After this, however, he moved away from Greek mythology, forming the opinion that the Greeks had themselves moved too far away from the Indo-European heritage to be of much value for comparative studies. The Romans, by contrast, thanks to their religious conservatism, seemed to him to offer more fruitful possibilities. In 1935 he argued that the Latin word for 'priest', flamen, was related to an Indian equivalent, brahman, and that both originally designated not a priest but a sacred man, a sacrificial victim.6 During these early years Dumezil became increasingly dissatisfied with his work. Later he was to say that the failure of his efforts had been evident, and even on the edge of the scandalous. Certainly his etymological arguments are now seen as inconclusive. He had been taking his inspiration from the anthropology fashionable at the beginning of the century, which, instead of finding the sun in everything, found concern for fertility: folklore materials collected from peasants inevitably stressed a preoccupation with the successful pursuit of agriculture, and this came to be projected into classical

Comparative Mythology and the Homeric Epics

21

mythology. This approach was linked with the name of the British scholar Sir James Frazer (1854-1941), who in his famous Golden Bough argued that primitive religion revolved around the sacrificial killing of kings when their weakness appeared to threaten agriculture. The ethnographic evidence for any such theory has subsequently been completely demolished. Dumezil, like many others in this period, now moved away from this perspective and into that offered by the French founder of sociology, fimile Durkheim (1858-1917), who took the view that religion was essentially a transposition of society itself.7 Dumezil3s sociological period: 1938-49

In 1938 Dumezil presented his new theory, which set out a correspondence between triads in Indian and Celtic society and in Roman religion. The ancient Indians and Celts were divided into [1] priests, [2] warriors and [3] cultivators. This threefold structure corresponded to the original chief triad of Roman gods: [1] Jupiter, representing magico-religious sovereignty, [2] Mars, representing war, and [3] Quirinus, representing agriculture and the common people. Thus Proto-Indo-European society would have been divided into three classes, characterized by three corresponding 'functions'. The gods and religious beliefs of the various Indo-European daughter-societies were reflections of this original social structure. Here we have Dumezil's basic theory in its earliest form. Later, from 1949 onwards, he was to abandon his attempt to prove that Proto-Indo-European society really was divided up in this way: he realized that proof was impossible, and instead limited himself to the position that the Proto-IndoEuropeans had abstract concepts corresponding to the later social tripartition. His critics nevertheless continued to attack the theory as set out in 1938.8 During the next year Dumezil produced a book entitled Myths and Gods of the Germanic Peoples. He found the threefold pattern in the Scandinavian gods Odin, Thor and Njord. Odin is the sovereign god of magic, like Varuna on the Indian side. Thor corresponds to the Indian war-god Indra: both Thor and Indra wield thunderbolts and steal the vessel which contains the intoxicating drink of immortality. Odin and Thor belong to a superior class of Scandinavian gods, the Aesir: together, these gods represent the first and second concepts or 'functions'. Beneath them is another class, the Vanir, the gods of fertility. Here we find a father, Njord, his son Frey and the latter's

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

sister and wife, Freya. Dumezil pointed in particular to the militaristic character of the mythology of the Germanic peoples (the inhabitants of present-day Germany and the Scandinavians), and suggested that its survival and revival explained the development, success and power of the paramilitary forces in Nazi Germany. He also pointed to the revival of this mythology in the nineteenth century, notably in the operas of Richard Wagner (1813-83), and the latter's influence on German soldiers in the First World War, and argued, more generally, that the Germany of the 1930s was going through an unconscious renewal of the past. The fact that Dumezil (observing the conventional neutrality of French academic prose) did not seek to condemn these Nazi phenomena in his book has led to accusations that he was a Nazi sympathizer. These accusations have recently been comprehensively disproved by the French left-wing journalist Didier Eribon, who has established that in the 1930s Dumezil made violent attacks on Nazism as foreign correspondent of a mass-circulation daily newspaper. His political opinions were of a very different Right, that of the French Catholic monarchism of the period, which, as leading specialists have observed, was the exact opposite of Nazism and Fascism, preaching a return to traditional values and the Middle Ages as opposed to modernizing totalitarianism.9 In 1940 Dumezil published a book called Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty. The ancient Indian god

Mitra, whose name means 'Contract' or 'Friend', appears with Varuna in a peculiarly Indian compound, which might be translated, 'O Mitra and Varuna, you who together form a pair!' Dumezil argued that here was a characteristically Indo-European way of representing sovereignty: on the one hand one sovereign god, Varuna, was remote, arbitrary, terrifying and magical; on the other hand his counterpart, Mitra, was close to humans, friendly, beneficial and concerned with legal responsibility. Similarly, in Scandinavia Odin had a counterpart called Tyr, who originally represented law, and in Rome Jupiter was accompanied by a deity called Dius Fidius, who, as his name suggests, represented fidelity. This is one of DumeziPs most important ideas, second only to the tripartite theory itself. It has been much contested, notably by writers who make the natural objection that this is a universal opposition, not confined to the Indo-European sphere. Certainly it expresses a universal truth about leadership, which indeed has to have an aspect of arbitrariness and isolation as well as one that is contractual and close to human beings. However, we may concede that here Indo-European speakers have (as with the tripartite struo

Comparative Mythology and the Homeric Epics

23

ture) expressed a very widespread belief with exceptional emphasis and precision.10 A year later Dumezil extended his views to the legends of early Rome. Tripartition was to be found in the three original Roman 'tribes': the first was concerned with religious and administrative matters, the second with defence and the third with physical wellbeing. The last stemmed from the Sabine people, who were wellknown for their luxurious living and fertile women. They fought a war with the Romans before being absorbed into them. This resembled Indian and Scandinavian myths, in which the representatives of fertility quarrel with the gods of sovereignty and war before a harmonious reconciliation. Dumezil also pointed to Greek parallels. The ancient Ionian Greeks (who colonized the coast of what is now western Turkey), had been divided into four 'tribes', or, more literally, 'ways of life' (bioi): priests, warriors, agriculturalists and artisans. Similarly, the great Athenian philosopher Plato (428-347 BCE), in his Republic, had envisaged an ideal state consisting of three elements: ruling philosophers, professional soldiers and creators of wealth. These elements corresponded to a threefold pattern in human beings: reason, anger and desire.11 (As we shall see, reason or intelligence often represents the first concept or 'function'.) In 1945 Dumezil provided a solution to the famous problem of the archangels of Iran's main pre-Islamic religion, Mazdaism. Scholars had realized that these archangels must be transpositions of earlier, Indo-Iranian gods, and had suspected that they corresponded to the various Indian gods of sovereignty (Varuna, Mitra and 'minor sovereigns'). Dumezil, however, pointed to the evidence furnished by some Indians who, after leaving their original Central Asian homeland, had never arrived in India, but made their way to the Near East, where the names of some of their gods are preserved in a Mesopotamian inscription of £.1380 BCE. Since the same names appear in the earliest Indian hymns (the Vedas), we have an obviously early structure, consisting of: [1] Mitra and Varuna; [2] Indra, the war-god; [3] a pair of twins, called the Nasatyas, representing fertility. Dumezil argued that the six main Iranian archangels corresponded to these five gods plus the Indian goddess Sarasvati, who embraces all three 'functions', but especially the third. He established the correspondences as given in the accompanying table, in accordance with the material elements associated with the archangels (or 'entities', as they are sometimes called, since they are abstract concepts) in Mazdean literature.

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

Table: Dumezil's correspondences for the Mazdean archangels. Indian deity Mitra Varuna Indra Sarasvati Nasatya I \ Nasatya II J

Archangel Good Thought Order (or Truth) Power Devotion ( Health \ Non-death

Material element Cattle Fire Metals Earth Water Plants

The analysis in the table has been accepted by some scholars and bitterly contested by others. We may observe that the alternative view, that the archangels correspond to a number of gods of sovereignty, could well result from the reflection of concepts 1, 2 and 3 within the interior of concept I.12 The year 1947 saw the publication by the Swedish comparatist Stig Wikander (1908-83) of an application of Dumezil's methods to the Mahabharata. Dumezil immediately accepted Wikander's interpretation of the Indian epic and integrated it within his own research programme. The Swedish scholar had pointed out that the five heroes of the poem, the brothers called the Pandavas (after their official, human father), were included in the framework of the three 'functions': the eldest, Yudhishthira, represented sovereignty and righteousness, and was followed by Bhima, the embodiment of physical force, and Arjuna, a clever warrior who corresponded to Indra, while the two remaining brothers were the counterparts of the Nasatyas. These five brothers shared a single wife, Draupadi, just as throughout the Indo-European field a 'trifunctionaP goddess supported the gods of the whole range. Later Dumezil was to provide a much more detailed analysis of the Mahabharata, which we shall consider in due course.13 In 1948 Dumezil produced a book on the Scandinavian trickster-god Loki, an enigmatic figure who has special links with the Underworld, sometimes changes sex and is eventually responsible for a shocking murder. Dumezil pointed to a parallel trickster-figure, Syrdon, in the folklore of the Ossetians, in the study of which he had become a specialist. The murders committed by Loki and Syrdon were connected by Dumezil with the summer solstice. The French far Right perversely sought to take his work on Loki over for its own propagandist purposes in the post-war era: the trickster-god was to symbolize the 'enemy within'. Dumezil explicitly expressed his disapproval of such interpretations of his work, and said that he refused to cite them.14

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Dumezil's final phase: 1949-86

The year 1949 was all-important for Dumezil's intellectual development. He now realized that it was impossible to prove that ProtoIndo-European society had been divided into three classes: indeed, that it was impossible to reconstruct any Proto-Indo-European myth or social institution. All one could do was to compare the myths of the different daughter-societies and use one myth to evaluate another. The evidence showed that the Proto-Indo-Europeans must have had some sort of tripartite ideology, but this did not mean that they had actually put it into practice by dividing their society up into layers. However, it was a good ten years before Dumezil's method was fully adapted to this new perspective, and although the change became evident enough to his closest associates, the rest of the academic world failed to notice. Critics went on attacking the position that he had defended from 1938 to 1949, without realizing that he had modified his stance. During the period from 1949 to 1986 he produced increasingly sophisticated analyses, the drift of which was largely misunderstood.15 In 1949 itself, Dumezil suggested that the tripartite ideology had survived in medieval and modern Europe. The famous medieval European division of people into 'those who pray, those who fight, and those who work' (the Three Orders of the clergy, the nobility and the common people) was to be seen as a continuation of the Indo-European tradition. As for the Nazi and Soviet systems, they too might have owed their temporal (we might add, 'and temporary') successes to a perception of how three essential aspects of the human condition could be efficiently combined (as party intellectuals, soldiers and producers).16 During the 1950s Dumezil paid much attention to the figure of the warrior in Indo-European myth, and in particular to what he saw as the cycle of the 'three sins of the warrior'. The warlike Greek demigod and hero Heracles was guilty of three sins, each corresponding to one of the 'functions'. First, he defied his king, as well as Zeus, the king of the gods; secondly, he committed a cowardly murder upon someone who was unarmed and unforewarned (a sin against the fighter's ethic); thirdly, he deserted his wife and abducted another woman to replace her. Dumezil found close parallels in India and Scandinavia. Indra had sinned against the first 'function' by involving himself in the murder of a priest, against the second by treacherously killing a friend, and against the third by committing adultery. Similarly, the Scandinavian hero Starkadr had strangled his king, shown cowardice in

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

battle and finally sold himself for money (a crime against the economic aspect of the third 'function'). This analysis was subsequently to be much revised.17 In 1958 Dumezil presented a summary of his research in a book entitled The Tripartite Ideology of the Indo-Europeans. One may note here his presentation of the ancient Scythians, the ancestors of the presentday Ossetians and part of the wider Iranian family of peoples. The Scythians had a legend according to which they were descended from three brothers, who saw three objects fall from the sky: a cup, to be used for pouring libations to the gods, an axe and a plough. Similarly, the Ossetians had a well-developed folklore about their ancestors, seen as a legendary people of heroes called the Narts, and divided into three families, noted respectively for their intelligence, bravery and strength, and abundance of herds. Greek materials offered further instances of tripartition. As the leading French linguist Emile Benveniste had observed, both the Greeks and the Iranians divided the art of medicine into three parts: incantations [1], surgery [2] and the use of drugs or healing plants [3]. Of most relevance for our purposes is the story of the Judgement of Paris. The Trojan prince is obliged to judge between the merits of three goddesses. Of these, Hera represents sovereignty, Athena war and Aphrodite sexual attraction. They try to bribe him with gifts corresponding to these three elements, and Aphrodite succeeds. Paris duly obtains the beautiful Helen as his bribe, and the Trojan war results.18 During the next year, 1959, various publications outlined more of Dumezil's discoveries. He identified two 'minor sovereign gods' in India, Aryaman and Bhaga, as representing, on the one hand, the protection of the community's continuity and solidarity, and on the other the distribution of goods. Dumezil saw them as reflected in two of Arjuna's uncles: a mediator and peacemaker, Vidura, and a blind distributor of booty, Dhritarashtra. In Scandinavia the community's continuity was symbolized by the young god Balder, while his brother, the blind god Hoder, was the incarnation of destiny and what it distributed. Similarly, two minor Iranian archangels, 'Obedience' and 'Retribution', represented protection of Mazdean society and repayment of the faithful's deeds. The Roman equivalents were Juventas, the goddess of Rome's young warriors, the fighting force which protected the community's continuity, and Terminus, the god of boundaries and thus of the distribution of land.19 Further summings-up of Dumezil's research were to appear in the 1960s and 1970s. His Archaic Roman Religion (published in English in

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27

1970) is particularly useful in its portrayal of the goddess Juno as a 'trifunctional' figure corresponding to other such goddesses in the Indo-European field: Sarasvati in India and in Iran Anahita, who is called 'Moist [3], Strong [2], Immaculate [1]'. In the same way, Juno has a triple title: 'Defender [2], Mother [3], Queen [1]'. There are further correspondences, notably with Draupadi, the polyvalent wife in the Mahabharata. We may note that the latter is an incarnation of the goddess of fortune, Shri, and that in Iran the concept of fortune is also presented as 'trifunctionar. In Greece Athena also has a triple title: 'Protectress [1], Victory [2], Well-being [3]\ 2 0 The most important summing-up of Dumezil's work, however, is his enormous three-volume study, Myth and Epic (1968-73). In the first volume he developed Wikander's analysis of the Mahabharata still further. Notably, he was able to establish significant parallels between the great-uncle of the five brothers, Bhishma, and two gods: the Indian sky-god Dyaus and the oldest of the Scandinavian deities, Heimdallr. All three figures correspond to one another: Bhishma is the incarnation of Dyaus and, like Heimdallr, a 'frame-figure': someone who lives before and after everyone else. Thus Bhishma lives on, albeit fatally wounded, for a long time after the epic's great battle. We shall see that in Homer the elder statesman Nestor fills an identical role. Like Bhishma, he is a repository of wise counsels and lives for a long time.21 In the same volume Dumezil developed his views on the legendary kings of early Rome. He argued that they corresponded to the pattern of deities which he had already established. The first king of Rome, Romulus, was capricious, like Varuna, and was seen as the protege of Jupiter. His successor, Numa, reflected the figures of Mitra and Dius Fidius: he was a lawgiver, judge and administrator. The third ruler, Tullus Hostilius, was, as his surname indicated, a belligerent representative of 'function' 2, while the fourth, Ancus Marcius, was concerned with trade and the plebeians.22 The second volume contains a reworking of Dumezil's study of Heracles. Now the Greek hero is linked to another Indian counterpart, called Shishupala, who also sins against the three 'functions': he prevents his king from performing a sacrifice; makes a cowardly attack upon fellow-warriors; and abducts married women and commits adultery with them.23 In the third volume Dumezil provides a dissection of the legend of the Roman general Camillus, who, we intend to show, corresponds to Odysseus. Camillus wins all his battles at dawn, and dedicates a temple to a goddess called 'Mother Dawn', whose festival falls on 11

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June. Apparently the point of the festival is to help the dawns preceding the summer solstice to overcome their weakness. A slave-woman, who seems to symbolize darkness, is expelled from the temple by Roman ladies, who presumably represent the dawns which are to come. Then these ladies take their sisters' children in their arms and present them to the goddess, just as each morning the dawn takes care of the sun, who is not her child but that of the night. Thus Camillus' victories are metaphors for the triumph of the sun over the preceding gloom.24 In the winter of 1972-3 there was a particularly disturbing political incident in which Dumezil was involved. He had lent his name to the patronage committee of a review called Nouvelle jficole, which produced a special number in homage to him. It now became clear that the purpose of the review was to purvey extreme right-wing propaganda, and Dumezil resigned from the committee. Evidently the French 'New Right' had once again been trying to annexe Dumezil in order to take advantage of his prestigious reputation. His resignation did not mark the end of the matter, and there were to be charges that his academic views were derived from his monarchist sympathies. We shall consider these charges below.25 The year 1982 saw the appearance of an important volume of essays by Dumezil under the title Sonorous Apollo. Here he analysed a passage in one of the Homeric Hymns, poems composed from the eighth to the sixth century BCE, which were ascribed to Homer in classical antiquity but have been thought by scholars to be by other authors. The Homeric Hymn to Apollo has the god saying, 'Give me my lyre and curved bow; I shall prophesy the unerring plan of Zeus.' Then he covers the island of Delos with gold. Dumezil took the elements of prophecy, the bow and gold to represent 'functions' 1, 2 and 3, and the lyre to be an extra, fourth element. But it seems more natural to see the gold as indicating Apollo's general character of a concept 3 deity, and the prophesying, bow and lyre as respectively representing concepts 1, 2 and 3 (which includes pleasure) reflected as sub-concepts within the last (3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 in our numbering). Prophecy in antiquity required the union of concepts 1 and 3, and in particular water as representing fertility.26 In the rest of the volume Dumezil applied his ideas to parts of the Iliad and Odyssey. We shall note his views in the course of our commentaries on the epics.27 In 1985 Dumezil published a brief sketch of a possible application of his method to the Iliad. He emphasized the importance of the triad of goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. To the third of these corresponded Paris, devoted to pleasure and lacking in warlike force.

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Agamemnon was the incarnation of sovereignty. I certainly agree with all of this, though not with some of Dumezil's other observations, such as his identification of Menelaus with the second 'function'. Dumezil himself later said that his contributions to the study of Greek myth were usually not to be taken too seriously: some of his followers had done better in the same line.28 IN T H E WAKE OF DUMfiZIL: FOLLOWERS AND OPPONENTS So far, apart from Dumezil's own work, we have mentioned contributions by only two of his colleagues, Wikander and Benveniste. Now various other writers, from the 1950s to the present, need to be given attention. Mole: Indian and Iranian epic and tripartition within tripartition

In 1952 the brilliant Polish scholar Marijan Mole pointed out that in Iranian legend the world was divided up by a father for the benefit of his three sons, according to what they said they preferred. One preferred wealth, and got the territory of the Roman Empire; the second preferred courage, and got Central Asia; the third preferred religion and law, and got Iran and India.29 Another article of Mole's, published in 1960, presented important observations concerning the Iranian Book of Kings and the Ramayana. Rama, the hero of the latter, is given arrows which are guaranteed to ensure victory. These had originally been provided by a figure called Krishashva. The latter corresponds to an Iranian hero who has virtually the same name, and who hands down a mace to an important hero of the Book of Kings, Rustam. Moreover, in the Ramayana we encounter a king with three wives, who form a 'trifunctional' structure. One gives birth to Rama, who represents sovereignty; another, who is full of anger, gives birth to a son called Bharata; and the third gives birth to male twins, Lakshmana and Satrughna, who are subordinated to the first two sons.30 The year 1963 saw the publication of Mole's major survey of ancient Iranian religion. Here he gave a translation of a Middle Persian text of the ninth century CE, which is probably a version of a much earlier original. The text concerns three sacred fires, which are linked respectively with the priests, the warriors and the agriculturalists. As

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regards these professions, we are told that all three are contained within each of the three. The priests, apart from their liturgical duties, fight as warriors against the Lie (Mazdaism's great enemy), and act as agriculturalists in preparing the sacrifice. The warriors, apart from their specialized duties, have liturgical obligations, and have to act like agriculturalists in preparing arms. The agriculturalists, in addition to their proper and liturgical actions, have to fight off thieves. This is a text of the very greatest importance. It is the clearest known statement of the tripartite ideology, and in it the three categories are reflected as sub-categories within each member of the triad.31 Yoshida: Greek and Japanese mythology

In 1964 the Japanese mythologist Atsuhiko Yoshida pointed to another striking example of tripartition. In ancient Crete one finds, after a famous and manifestly archaic initiation rite, involving a pederastic abduction, that the boy has to be given three presents by his abductor; a military outfit, an ox and a cup. (Here, as in the case of the Scythians, the cup presumably symbolized concept 1 - elsewhere in the Indo-European field it signifies sovereignty or intelligence.)32 Yoshida has also produced a very short analysis of the personalities of the Iliad, in the course of an encyclopaedia article published in 1970. The Achaean army, he observes, has a 'third function' element in the form of two physicians, Machaon and Podalirius, both sons of the god of medicine, Asclepius, and thus resembling the Indian Nasatyas, who are also healers. (In Dumezil's schema, medicine usually belongs to 'function' 3.) This army is led by two sovereigns, Agamemnon and Menelaus, who are accompanied by a priest, Calchas, and a framefigure, Nestor, the very incarnation of conservative wisdom. I have to disagree with Yoshida when he puts Odysseus in the 'first function', as representing intelligence and imagination: on the contrary, as we shall see, Odysseus belongs to the part of the second concept which is characterized by cleverness and its military correlate, speed [2.1]. Yoshida is in my view right, however, to put the two warriors called Ajax into two contrasting aspects of the 'second function': Ajax the Runner, lightly armed, provides a combination of speed and low cunning [2.1], while Ajax the Greater is just brute force [2.2]. The Japanese scholar sees the Trojans as representatives of the 'third function': their goods and wives are coveted by the Achaeans. Priam is fabulously rich and manages to have an enormous number of children by his wives and numerous concubines. His money and the beauty of

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his many daughters bring in plenty of foreign allies. This seems convincing enough, but more attention needs to be given to Achilles, whom Yoshida sees as paralleled on the Indian side by Arjuna. Elsewhere Yoshida produced a 'trifunctionaP analysis of the design on Achilles' shield: we shall consider this in our survey of Book XVIII of the Iliad.33

It has been argued by Yoshida that the tripartite ideology is found outside the Indo-European field, in Japanese mythology. Indeed, according to him the details of Japanese mythology provide exact correspondences with DumeziPs discoveries. One finds 'heavenly deities', ancestors of priests and warriors, and 'earthly deities', ancestors of the common people. The Japanese imperial regalia consist of a mirror, seen as particularly sacred, a sword and a curved jewel with bumps on it, which is associated with childbearing and agriculture. Most of the Japanese myths centre around three deities: the Great Sun-goddess Amaterasu, who is sovereign in heaven; Susano, a god who is extremely strong and bad-tempered; and Okuninushi, whose name means 'Great-Lord-of-the Land', and who is supposed to have made the soil of Japan fertile, to have been responsible for spreading the cultivation of rice, and to have invented the art of medicine. Moreover, in the 'first function' Yoshida finds more deities which fit DumeziPs schema: Amenominakanushi, 'Ruler-of-the-August-Centreof-Heaven', remote, transcendental and mysterious, like Varuna, and contrasting with Amaterasu's lenient and merciful nature; Takamimusubi, who, like the Indian Aryaman, looks after the ruling nobles; and Kamimusubi, who resembles Bhaga as a sovereign distributor of riches. Two contrasting aspects of the warrior are also found: the unruly and violent Susano [2.2] and the martial deity Takemikazuchi, who is by contrast highly civilized and orderly [2.1]. So too are the quarrel and reconciliation of the gods of concepts 1 and 2 on the one hand and those of concept 3 on the other, with the same details as are found on the Indo-European side: the employment of feminine charms or riches by the gods of concept 3 to create betrayers among their enemies; the use of an all-powerful magic weapon by one of the heavenly sovereigns; and the final incorporation of the gods of concept 3 within the pantheon. Yoshida attributes all these similarities to a hypothesized impact of ancient Scythian myths, diffused via Korea. Japan, it seems, was invaded from Korea in the middle of the first millennium CE, and the invaders would have been led or influenced by speakers of an Indo-European language.34 This historical reconstruction has been seen as implausible, but

32

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recent research has tended to support it, and the Scythians are known to have roved far and wide. Moreover, the Japanese regalia are paralleled in Iran, where legend speaks of the emblems of royalty as consisting of a throne, a mace and the 'jewel of the seven sources'.35 Littleton: an analysis of the Iliad

At the same time as Yoshida's encyclopaedia article of 1970 a longer article on the Iliad was published by the American anthropologist C. S. Littleton. It acknowledges Yoshida's assistance and often presents similar views. The war between the Achaeans and the Trojans is seen as corresponding to the various Indo-European stories of the fighting between the gods of concepts 1 and 2 and those of concept 3. Littleton suggests that Hector and Paris are projections of the famous Divine Twins, who are found throughout the Indo-European domain: in India (where we have already encountered them in the form of the Nasatyas), one of these is brave and a 'tamer of horses' (like Hector), while the other is peace-loving, a mediocre warrior, and a herdsman (like Paris). This seems reasonable, but unfortunately Littleton goes on to make some less impressive judgements. He commits the usual error of trying to fit Achilles into the 'warrior-function', and fails to see that Menelaus and Nestor represent respectively the contractual aspect of sovereignty and the frame-figure. On the other hand, he does well to see that Odysseus is paralleled by other tricksters in the Indo-European field: the Scandinavian Loki and the Ossetian Syrdon.36 Sergent: the tripartite ideology in Greece

In 1979 a French follower of Dumezil, Bernard Sergent, produced an overview of the tripartite ideology's survival in Greece. He took the view that it was hardly to be discovered at all in the Iliad, where it was present only in allusions or in short sequences of figures which were found to be 'trifunctional' only when examined in the light of later sources. The Odyssey did not have it at all. Later materials show a typically Indo-European veneration of goddesses seen as 'trifunctional': now Hera, Athena and Aphrodite each represent all three concepts, instead of just one. There is also the cult of the three goddesses called the 'Graces': 'Manly Splendour' [2], 'Good Thought' [1] and 'Growth' [3]. At Delphi in central Greece there is evidence that the deities were divided up according to a tripartite schema: Athena [2]; Dionysus (the god of wine) and other deities of the earth

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33

[3]; Apollo, seen here as the representative of Zeus [1]. The people of the city of Orchomenus (also in central Greece) said that their first three kings were respectively an organizer of the city and its religious activities, a savage and impious warrior, and a rich man who had a special 'treasure'. More important for our purposes is the depiction of Helen in post-Homeric sources: she has three marriages, one with Menelaus, royal and legal, one with Paris, the result of a seduction, and one with a Trojan called Deiphobus, the result of the latter's military successes. Helen is also divinized and placed third after Hera and the goddess Hebe, the wife of Heracles; this triad is put in parallel with that of Zeus, Heracles and the main Greek representatives of the Divine Twins, Helen's brothers Castor and Polydeuces. Thus, as in India and Iran, a female figure corresponds to all three concepts, but in particular to concept 3.37 Sergent is of the opinion that ancient Greek institutions present richer materials for the study of the tripartite ideology than the myths themselves. The constitution of Sparta is described as including three elements, the Senate, the division of lands and the obligation for men to eat in military messes, and also three prohibitions, which ban the writing down of laws, luxury and repeatedly making war on the same enemies: in both series the order of the concepts is 1, 3, 2. In Greek political theory the tripartition of the state is found not just in Plato's Republic, but also among the followers of the celebrated philosopher Pythagoras (d.c.500 BCE).38 Grisward: a French epic

In 1981 Joel Grisward, Professor of Medieval French Literature at the University of Tours, produced a Dumezilian analysis of a French epic composed around 1210 CE, and entitled The Men of Narbonne (Les Narbonnais). In this epic Count Aymeri of Narbonne has seven sons. He keeps the youngest at home and sends the other six away. Three are sent to the north, to the imperial court: they will be a counsellor, a general and a steward. The three others will go respectively to the west, the south and the east, and will be a king, a warrior and a rich man. Grisward established close correspondences with the Iranian Book of Kings and the Mahabharata. He suggested that the French epic went back to the Visigothic period, since Narbonne was the capital of the Visigothic kingdom from 508 to 531 CE, and thus contained elements belonging to the Germanic sub-group of the Indo-European linguistic family. Personally, I am inclined to suspect diffusion from

34

Homer and the Indo-Europeans

another sub-group (probably the Indo-Iranian one), rather than a direct descent from some hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranian epic.39 Oosten: war and brothers

The Dutch anthropologist Jarig Oosten, while rejecting Dumezil's general theory, has taken over many of his ideas and studied the same materials, applying the structuralist methods of anthropology's bestknown contemporary exponent, the Frenchman Claude Levi-Strauss. (The latter's analyses of American Indian myths display an approach in some respects similar to Dumezil's method, but in other respects entirely different.) In a book called The War of the Gods: The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology (1985) Oosten has argued that Greek myths are much more Indo-European than has been thought. Thus the primeval war between the Greek gods and their relations, the Titans, is a variant of a common Indo-European theme of warfare between relatives, found in India, Iran and Scandinavia, where such fighting is presented as having gone on from the very beginnings of the world. Oosten also points out that the story of Helen's abduction by Paris and subsequent rescue by two brothers, Agamemnon and Menelaus, is paralleled in another story about her, in which she is taken away by the Athenian hero Theseus, and brought back by her own brothers, the twins Castor and Polydeuces.40 GrottaneUi: the woman, the twins and the rescue

This theme of the woman rescued by twins has been studied by the Italian scholar Cristiano GrottaneUi in an article published in 1986. GrottaneUi also rejects Dumezil's general theory while accepting some of his results. He observes that the Divine Twins found throughout the Indo-European sphere are linked not only with horses and the war chariot, but also with an important female figure, whom they either rescue or serve in some other way. GrottaneUi, like other writers, compares the Iliad with the Ramayana. He notes that the earliest use of the war chariot is to be dated c.2000 BCE, after the Proto-IndoEuropean period, which does not seem to have continued to later than 2500. Since in both India and Rome the war chariot appears in the context of the important horse sacrifice, it would seem that rituals and myths involving it are not Proto-Indo-European, but due to later accretions. Moreover, speakers of ancient Semitic languages, outside

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the Indo-European domain, also had divine twins connected with chariots.41 Lincoln: a Marxist approach to Indo-European patterns

In 1986 the American Marxist comparatist Bruce Lincoln made two striking contributions to Indo-European and Dumezilian studies: a review-article and a book. The former, published at the time of Dumezil's death, attacked his political sympathies and argued that they had affected his academic judgements. Lincoln argued in particular that the 'integral nationalism' of the French monarchist leader Charles Maurras (1868-1952), with its emphasis on hierarchy and harmony in society, ensured by kingship, would have produced the reconstruction of the 'tripartite ideology5. Some lively correspondence ensued in The Times Literary Supplement, and continued into 1987. More light on these matters was then shed by the posthumous appearance of interviews with Dumezil, who had said that he was indeed a royalist and, in the early 1920s, agreed with the essential kernel of Maurras's doctrine, while feeling unable to join his extreme right-wing organization, the Action Franchise. After 1918 he and other young people had dreamt of an ordered, reasonable and sheltered future, but he had quickly lost interest in politics from around 1925. We may note that here and elsewhere Dumezil expressed his horror at the Indo-European legacy and his admiration for the success of the Greeks in overcoming it. Subsequently Eribon established that Dumezil's tripartite theory had been worked out in close collaboration with his colleague Benveniste, who should perhaps be given a good share of the credit for it. Benveniste, as a Jew, could hardly be suspected of sympathy for the French monarchist right, given its anti-Jewish orientation. (Dumezil's consistent hostility to anti-Semitism, in spite of his monarchist views, is well attested.)42 It is noteworthy that, although Lincoln attacks Dumezil, his own book of 1986, Myth, Cosmos and Society, also presents the various IndoEuropean daughter-societies as being characterized by tripartite division into priests, warriors and commoners. Thus his own views are not enormously different from those held by Dumezil between 1938 and 1949: ideology is seen as determined by a social infrastructure. Lincoln makes certain general points with which I personally agree. Indo-European thought emphasizes the order of the universe and life in it: everything is put into a structure which matches other structures. Moreover, the daughter-societies are characterized by extreme repres-

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siveness and exploitation of the masses. As regards the Indo-European heritage among the Greeks, Lincoln is persuasive when pointing to the Sicilian Greek philosopher Empedocles (cA95-cA35 BCE). Empedocles has an extremely systematic view of the cosmos, seen as consisting of four elements, earth, air, fire and water: the One and the Many keep turning into each other, the One being literally dismembered by Strife before being put together by Love and Harmony. Thus Empedocles naturally prefigures the political philosophy of Plato's Republic.43 Dubuisson: a study of the Ramayana A French disciple of Dumezil's, Daniel Dubuisson, produced an important analysis of the Ramayana in 1986. He finds that the Indian epic contains the 'three sins of the warrior': the hero, Rama, kills another warrior in a treacherous manner, and also someone who is of priestly pedigree, before repudiating his wife. What is interesting here is that the individual of priestly pedigree, the ogre Ravana who has abducted Rama's wife, belongs more to concept 3. The ogres are linked to the god of wealth, Kubera. They live in luxury within a flourishing city, and are extremely lustful. Ravana can make himself highly attractive. Thus there is an impressive parallel with Paris and Troy. Moreover, the bloodthirstiness of these ogres makes one think of the followers of another figure whom we place in concept 3: the wolf-like subordinates of Achilles known as the Myrmidons. Dubuisson also argues that in the Ramayana as we have it now the representation of Rama as an incarnation of the god Vishnu is a later development, reflecting the elevation of Vishnu from the status of a minor war-god in early Indian religion to that of supreme deity. Thus the real divine counterpart of Rama would be Indra. Similarly, an important ally of Rama, the monkey Hanuman, would represent the wind-god, Vayu, while Rama's brother Lakshmana would be the real human version of Vishnu as he appears in the earliest Indian hymns: a helpful assistant of Indra. Dubuisson dismisses the idea that the two brothers represent the Divine Twins. One may object that the epic does in fact explicitly compare them to the Nasatyas.44 Moreover, as Dubuisson admits, Hanuman is credited with intellectual powers that the wind-god lacks. We may feel that in the Ramayana the poets have adapted the personalities to the figures of the deities as found in the hymns, as well as obeying new ideological demands.45

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Puhvel: a compendium of Indo-European mythology

In 1987 an invaluable textbook appeared, written by a Los Angelesbased pupil of Dumezil's, Jaan Puhvel, and entitled Comparative Mythology. This contains many analyses which are directly relevant for our purposes. Puhvel points to a father-and-son pair in the Iranian Book of Kings, Luhrasp and Gushtasp, who both reign for 120 years, each having the word for 'horse' as the second half of his name. These are presumably the Divine Twins in disguise. The twins also appear in Latvian folk-songs as the 'sons of God5, who save the Sun's daughter from drowning. Elsewhere in the Baltic, among the Old Prussians, who have now merged into the population of modern Germany, one encounters a triad of deities: Patollo, the supreme god, Perkuno, an angry god of thunder, and Potrimpo, a happy god of good fortune, crowned with ears of grain. In medieval Russian 'history' we find a ruler called Oleg, a crafty sorcerer [1], who is followed by a brutal warrior, Igor [2.2], and a noble and chivalrous fighter, Svyatoslav [2.1]. After them comes Yaropolk, whose life story is marked by famine and the abduction of his beautiful wife [3]. As regards Greece itself, Puhvel points out that the standard list of deities is found already at Mycenae in the second millennium BCE, with the omission of Aphrodite, who comes in later, as a replica of the Semitic goddess Astarte. We may observe that here Astarte, the erotic Queen of Heaven, has been demoted according to Indo-European logic: in Homer and the Judgement of Paris she is placed on the level of concept 3. 46 Nagy: Homer's language and characters

The distinguished Harvard classicist Gregory Nagy has made several detailed studies of Greek materials in the line opened up by Dumezil. His results have been incorporated in a volume entitled Greek Mythology and Poetics (1990). Nagy takes the view that a lot of Homer can be explained with reference to a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European verb *nes~, meaning 'return to light and life'. This is to be found in the name of Nestor, in the word designating Odysseus' 'homecoming' (nostos), and in the word meaning 'mind, sense, perception' (noos). Nagy is extremely persuasive when linking Achilles to Apollo: they are both characterized by anger, which inflicts pain and devastation on the Achaeans, and are traditionally represented as look-alikes. Here, as elsewhere in Greek religion and the Indo-European field in general,

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one also finds an antagonism between the hero and the deity who is connected with him.47 Allen: a 'four-function' adaptation of Dume'zil's schema

The Oxford anthropologist Nick Allen has argued that there would have been a fourth 'function', corresponding to the idea of what is beyond or outside. This would include remoteness, social disqualification, hostility, uncanniness and paradoxicality. In India the three superior castes were served by a fourth. The Judgement of Paris had Paris himself as an outsider, or alternatively Strife, personified as a goddess, who produced the golden apple to be awarded as the prize. At Rome the three main priests were followed by an important fourth official, called the pontifex, who was responsible for the propitiation of the dead.48 Allen has applied his theory to the religion of an area called Nuristan in north-east Afghanistan, where the worship of old Indo-Iranian gods continued up to the nineteenth and even the early twentieth century. He argues that his fourth 'function', which he calls F4, should be divided into two halves: F4—, representing its negative and sinister aspect, to be placed at the bottom of the range, and F4+, its positive and transcendental aspect, to be placed above or in the middle of all the rest. Thus the supreme god of Nuristan, Imra, would be F4+ and the region's devil would be F4—. In between Allen points to three deities, Mon, Gish and Bagisht, whom he identifies with concepts 1, 2 and 3. Here I partly disagree: Mon corresponds better to the ideal type of the clever warrior [2.1]: like the Greek god Hermes, he is a messenger and a killer of giants. He is identified with Muhammad, and, like him, called the Messenger of God. Allen's sources have made the usual error of calling Muhammad a mere 'prophet': in Islam there are many of these, while to be a Messenger is much more important. Gish, by contrast, as opposed to being a crafty fighter, is just brave and strong [2.2]. Bagisht, to be sure, is a representative of wealth. There is also a goddess, Disani, who seems to me to be 'transfunctional': she is the embodiment of agriculture, but also protects men in battle. Like Athena, she is born unnaturally, out of the supreme god, Imra, who seems to me to correspond to concept 1.49 In 1993 Allen published a brief analysis of Odysseus' romantic adventures, comparing these with Arjuna's. Here I agree with him that we obviously have two versions of a single original narrative, although I disagree with most of the individual correspondences which

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he establishes. On the other hand I accept the parallels which he draws between Penelope and Draupadi and between the Phaeacian king's daughter and an Indian princess. Moreover, Allen has done well to point out that both Odysseus and Arjuna are supposed to have been killed by sons born to them in exile.50 Mezzadri: the three sins of Jason

Another recent contribution to the comparative study of Greek myth has been made by a French follower of Dumezil, Bernard Mezzadri. He points out that the legendary Greek hero Jason commits three sins. First, he treacherously kills another warrior; secondly, he arranges the murder of a king; thirdly, he abandons his wife in order to remarry. Here the order of the concepts (as well as the nature of the sins) corresponds to what Dubuisson found in the case of Rama: 2, 1, 3.51 T H E PRESENT PERSPECTIVE Before looking at the Indo-European field as a whole, in order to formulate our categories and sub-categories in the light of the work so far done, it seems advisable to consider the Baltic area, as this remains the principal unknown frontier region of comparative Indo-European mythology. Here the Latvian mythological songs, collected by folklorists long after Latvia's conversion to Christianity in the thirteenth century, contain clear tripartite formulas. Latvian deities

In Latvian mythological songs, heaven is often compared to an enclosure with three gates: by one enters the supreme god (identified with the God of Christianity), by another a second male deity, the Moon (Menesis), and by the third a goddess, the Sun (Saule). Human life is represented by a mystical tree with three leaves: on one leaf God and the goddess of fortune, Laima, occupy themselves with the workings of destiny, while on the two others the Moon and the Sun respectively rise from the darkness. Here Laima corresponds to the Indian Bhaga, as a minor deity within concept 1 (representing subconcept 1.3, the distribution of goods). We have already seen that the Latvian representatives of the Divine Twins, the 'sons of God', are closely associated with the daughter of Saule. Menesis is a war-god.

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Homer and the Indo-Europeans

He seems to resemble Hermes and Loki [2.1], swinging over the surface of the water and running to help young warriors. By contrast, Perkons (Thunder) is a 2.2 figure, violent and irritable. Saule represents concept 3: she gives foliage to trees, sows gold and silver in the earth and helps women in childbirth. Beneath these figures one finds a celestial smith, Kalvaitis, who makes crowns, spits and swords, and corresponds to the figures of Wieland in Scandinavia and Hephaestus in Greece.52 The Indo-European pattern of deities and heroes

It would indeed appear that concepts 1, 2 and 3 need to be supplemented, at least as far as Greece is concerned, by a fourth, representing the craftsmanship of the smith (here numbered 4). The internal divisions of concept 1 were well worked out by Dumezil, but a little more precision is needed. Within the first concept there is a reflection of the overall tripartition: Varuna [1.1a, arbitrary] and Mitra [1.1b, contractual] are figures of sovereignty within sovereignty, while Aryaman and Bhaga are respectively representatives of the second and third 'functions' inside the first (protecting the community and distributing goods). Inside concept 2 it seems better to place 2.1 before 2.2, even though the human characters of the latter are often placed chronologically prior to those of the former. 2.1 is closer to 1 through moral and intellectual superiority: it can represent either the warrior's intelligence, allied with its military correlate, speed, or his respect for concept 1, tested or abandoned in sin. Similarly 2.2 can represent either the warrior's brute force or his respect for its proper use. 2.3, the warrior's respect for fertility, does not seem to be personified by human or divine characters, but appears in the cycles of the warrior's 'three sins' and 'three tests'. Concept 3 possesses, in the Divine Twins, one twin who is higher in the schema, warlike and courageous, and whom we can designate as 3.2, and one twin who is pacific and associated with cattle, and whom we can call 3.3.53 They are often accompanied by a third figure, who is sometimes a triconceptual goddess and sometimes a representative of sovereignty or religion within fertility, like Aeneas, whom we can call 3.1, and who may be promoted to effective sovereignty and the distribution of goods [1.3]. Before and after concepts 1 to 4 comes the frame-figure (here numbered 0). (See the key given in the Introduction on pages 15-16.)

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The legends of early Rome

In this perspective DumeziPs interpretation of the legends of early Rome needs to be revised. He is right to point out that Romulus is explicitly linked to Jupiter [1.1a] and Numa to Fides or Dius Fidius [1.1b]. But whereas Dumezil took the next two kings, Tullus Hostilius and Ancus Marcius, to be simply emblems of concepts 2 and 3, it seems better to take them as symbols of sub-concepts 1.2 and 1.3. (After all, being kings, they are apt representatives of sovereignty.) Tullus Hostilius is young, and thinks that the state is growing old. He holds Rome's fighting force together, and has a traitor torn to pieces. During an epidemic he believes that the city's young fighting men will be healthier doing military service. Thus he corresponds not to Mars but to Juventas. Ancus Marcius distributes land, and, like Terminus, is associated with boundaries. During the ensuing period of the occupation of Rome by the Etruscans we encounter another king, Servius, who, as Dumezil observed, is linked to the goddess of fortune, Fortuna, and to women who personify her. Here is the typically IndoEuropean triconceptual goddess, usually put on the level of concept 3. Servius is presented as being promoted from the plebeian class and distributing land: as elsewhere, we have upward movement from 3 to 1.3.54 The Etruscan occupation and the monarchy are ended by two heroes, who are also the first two consuls of the Roman Republic. One is a clever warrior [2.1], while the other is a rather stupid warrior [2.2]. After them comes a champion of the common people's rights, Publicola, who corresponds to Quirinus [3]. But the pattern of sovereigns is repeated in the republic's subsequent history. A supercilious and snobbish consul, Appius Claudius [1.1a], inaugurates a tradition of imperious and lofty disdain, while his colleague as consul, Servilius [1.1b], tries to be friendly and reach agreement. Then a dictator, Valerius [1.2], succeeds in mobilizing a fighting force of unprecedented size, after the community has almost torn itself apart and is in great danger from external enemies. When the dictator has done his job, a senator called Menenius Agrippa [1.3], who, we are told, has risen from the plebeian class, is successful in having debts cancelled and rights granted to the plebeians.55

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The deities of Homer

Now we are in a position to see how our schema fits Homer's deities. Zeus in Homer clearly represents both 1 and 1.1a. He appears repeatedly in a formula which, as we shall see, is 'trifunctional': 'by Zeus, Athena and Apollo'. The king of deities, he is also the deity of kings. But his sovereignty is marred by the loneliness of ultimate decision-making, and by his arbitrariness. Hera, by contrast, is the goddess of contractuality and friendship [1.1b]. She represents marriage and an ancient idea of the friend who stands by his or her friends, as opposed to our modern concept of 'friendliness5. As she is a friend to the Achaeans, she is full of hatred for the Trojans. Another god of sovereignty is Poseidon, the ruler of the sea, who is an alternative and rival to Zeus, personifying sovereignty itself, and also standing for the community's solidarity and continuity when these are threatened [1.2]. Yet another god of sovereignty is Hades [1.3], the king of the Underworld, who oversees the distribution of everyone's allotted portion of survival among the dead, and whose link with concept 3 is evident in his alternative name, Plouton ('Wealth-giver'). Athena represents 2, and in particular 2.1, and is also 'transfunctional'. Scholars have observed that in the Iliad she is mainly a wargoddess. Homer presents her as a clever trickster-figure, linked to Odysseus. We have already seen her elsewhere in Greece, as the embodiment of the Indo-European 'trifunctional' goddess. She has this role in the Odyssey, taking care of Penelope, just as in the Mahabharata Shri is linked to Draupadi. In Homer she is also an instructress in handicrafts, but this does not pose a problem: it fits well into concept 2, since it involves physical strength, and into sub-concept 2.1, since it unites strength with intelligence. Moreover, this often involves the highly respected work of women in the house (as opposed to the despised activity of the smith). In India work is also put in concept 2, in the famous triad of law (dharma), profitable activity (artha) and desire (kama), which dominates the ideology of the Mahabharata. Hermes is another 2.1 figure. A killer of giants, like Loki, he has the latter's golden sandals, which enable him to fly through the air and over the water. Again like Loki, he has a special relationship with the Underworld.56 A trickster, he is helpful to Odysseus. Scholars have often noted that Homer tends to use two figures where one would do: thus 2.1 is represented by both Hermes and Athena (just as in the Mahabharata it is represented by both Indra and Krishna). Fittingly, Hermes is the messenger of the supreme deity.

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Ares, the brutish god of war itself, symbolizes 2.2. A mindless thug, he is detested by Zeus. He is as fast as the wind, but his attribute of speed, which belongs to concept 2 in general and is found in both 2.1 and 2.2 figures (though it is more characteristic of the former), is not joined to intelligence. To begin with he sides with the gods of concepts 1 and 2 and the Achaeans, as is appropriate, but then he goes over to Aphrodite and the Trojans, thus counter-balancing Athena and Hermes. Perhaps this is because otherwise the contest would be too uneven. His low position in the scale makes it more plausible. In any case the theme of the traitor who leaves the representatives of the first two concepts is well attested in other Indo-European versions of the 'war of the gods'.57 Aphrodite in Homer belongs entirely to concept 3: the 'transfunctionality' of the Indo-European goddess usually linked to the third 'function' has gone to Athena. The goddess of love is, appropriately, little suited to hand-to-hand fighting, but full of feminine charms. Her sympathies are entirely with Troy, where she has a son, Aeneas, and a special protege, Paris. She represents luxury, ease, restfulness and sex. But the key to the Iliad lies in the recognition that Apollo and Artemis are replicas of the Divine Twins. Indeed, they are twins. Apollo, as we have noted, is placed third in a common oath, after Zeus and Athena. He is a god of music and the arts [3], the patron of the Muses. One might think that, as an archer, he would belong to concept 2, but in fact the Greco-Roman world did not see the use of the bow as real, manly fighting: it belonged originally to hunting, which as a source of pleasure and food is part of concept 3. Apollo is also a healer, and, like Artemis, has the medical function of granting a peaceful death. His aggressiveness makes him a 3.2 figure when compared to other deities of concept 3, while the beautiful Artemis, a more restrained personality, and the goddess of the chase itself, is 3.3. However, as we have seen, in addition to representing concept 3 and sub-concept 3.2, Apollo is also 'tri-sub-conceptual', covering 3.1 as a god of prophecy, 3.2 as the god of the bow, and 3.3 as the patron of the arts. Hephaestus, the divine smith and manufacturer, is of course the embodiment of our concept 4. Despised and laughed at, he is at the bottom of the scale. Similarly, in late-nineteenth-century Nuristan, the lowest and most despised class of all is that of the blacksmiths. Not only are blacksmiths slaves, they are at the bottom of the scale of the artisan slaves, who are much lower than the house slaves.58 This lowly position of the artisan has, as we have seen above, been found in the

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Indo-Iranian sphere generally. Sometimes, however, as we have also noted, the artisan's work belongs to concept 2, and in particular to concept 2.1. Elsewhere it can belong to concept 3, as involving the creation of wealth. The human characters in Homer

Homer's human characters fall into a similar pattern. Agamemnon evidently corresponds to Zeus, as a 1.1a figure: sovereign and arbitrary, he is explicitly linked to Zeus in the narrative, as the embodiment of authority. Menelaus in the Iliad is loyal and dependable [1.1b]. As a host, he has seen his hospitality abused by Paris: this is far worse in ancient eyes than the adultery itself. Naturally, Menelaus is linked to Hera. Mythologically, Agamemnon and Menelaus also correspond to the Divine Twins, who rescue a female figure, and this correspondence is an important part of the Iliad's architecture. Moreover, Menelaus reappears in the Odyssey as a concept 3 figure (like the Divine Twins): as Telemachus' immensely rich host he corresponds to the Indian god of wealth, Kubera, who entertains Arjuna's brothers in a parallel passage of the Mahabharata. Similarly, Rama and Lakshmana have a rich city as their home, and a father who is ruined by lust. Likewise, in Iran Isfandiyar and one of his brothers restore his wife to a 'thirdfunction' background: their father and grandfather, Gushtasp and Luhrasp, are the Divine Twins in disguise. To return to the Iliad: alongside Agamemnon and Menelaus stands one of their most important allies, the king of Crete, Idomeneus. Like Poseidon, he rallies the community's fighting force when it is threatened with extinction, thus making himself the sovereign ensurer of continuity [1.2]. As we shall see, a promoted Achilles, awarding prizes in Book XXIII of the Iliad, will be the sovereign distributor of goods (moving from [3] to [1.3]). Odysseus is the ultimate trickster-warrior [2.1]. Well connected to Athena (and also helped by Hermes), he has a link with Zeus, bearing the title 'Zeus-born'. Perhaps this is a transfer from his divine protectress. He is also called 'sacker of cities', like Indra. At Rome he has a double in Camillus, and in India the corresponding animal and human figures are Hanuman and Arjuna. Like the trickster Syrdon among the Ossetians, and Loki, Camillus, Indra and Arjuna, he is a reflection of a mythical warrior-figure who intervenes with reference to the sun. Most of the other Achaean fighters fall easily enough into subcategories 2.1 or 2.2. Ajax the Runner belongs, as we have seen, to 2.1

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(he is best at killing people by the clever method of running after them and striking them when they try to flee), while his stout namesake is 2.2. Another 2.2 figure is the bluff, hearty Diomedes, who is, however, infected by the qualities of Odysseus when the pair set off on a night expedition. Achilles, as Allen has well seen, is not a 'second-function' personality, as has been imagined, but a 'third-function' one. He is linked to Apollo and is his 'double', and also has a medical background. Achilles represents wealth, because he brings in plenty of booty and comes from a fertile land. Just as a Scandinavian 'third-function' hero called Hadingus is, as Dumezil and others before him pointed out, a transposition of the fertility-god Njord, so too Achilles is a transposition of a Divine Twin. Hadingus has an incestuous marriage with his sister: Achilles has a most peculiarly close relationship (some have thought homosexual) with his friend Patroclus.59 The two Greek warriors, then, are yet another example of the Divine Twins in disguise (and are Helen's real saviours). Achilles is the more warlike [3.2], Patroclus the more peaceful [3.3]. Hector and Paris, as has been noted above, correspond to the same schema. Penelope (wise, hard-working and beautiful), matching the 'trifunctionaP Draupadi, and Nestor, the frame-figure, complete our list of Homer's main characters. It remains for us to consider the two epics themselves.

CHAPTER 2: THE ILIAD BOOK I: SOVEREIGNTY AND FERTILITY At the very start of Book I of the Iliad we are told that the events of the poem, the manifestations of Achilles' anger and the consequent troubles of the Achaeans, are all brought about by Zeus' will. It is Apollo, however, who is at the root of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. The latter, in an arbitrary and high-handed manner, refuses, against the wishes of all his followers, to return the daughter of one of Apollo's priests, who has been captured and given to him as a prize. Apollo retaliates by firing arrows at the Achaeans, producing a plague. Calchas, a prophet who has been given his powers by Apollo, explains to an assembly of the Achaeans why the god is angry. Agamemnon insists that if he has to give up his prize he must be given another one instead. He gets into an argument with Achilles and threatens to confiscate his prize in compensation. Achilles replies that he has no quarrel with the Trojans: they have not stolen his herds or ravaged the crops of his fertile homeland. He has been amassing plenty of booty for Agamemnon. The commander-in-chief answers that he has the support of Zeus, the nurturer of kings. Since Apollo is taking his prize away he will take that of Achilles. Athena is now sent by Hera, who loves both men, to restrain Achilles from drawing his sword. He swears that he will stop fighting for the Achaeans. Nestor, the elder statesman, tries to intervene, but is soon reminiscing about his glorious youth, and the meeting breaks up. Agamemnon sends the priest's daughter back on a ship captained by Odysseus and has Achilles' prize, the beautiful girl Briseis, confiscated in her place. Achilles asks his mother, the sea-goddess Thetis, to ask Zeus to help him. For some of the other gods, Hera, Poseidon and Athena, had once tied Zeus up, but Thetis had come to his rescue. 46

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Meanwhile Apollo's priest has his daughter returned, and Apollo himself is appeased: the plague ends. Thetis duly goes to see Zeus, and finds him sitting apart from the other gods. She asks him to grant victory to the Trojans until the Achaeans are forced to give Achilles the honour that he deserves. Zeus is unwilling to accede to this request, but none the less does so, and explains that when he nods his head in assent he cannot go back on his word. Afterwards, when he meets the other gods, Hera expresses her anger, since she has guessed what has happened, but Zeus terrifies her and the rest into submission. His power is recalled by Hephaestus, who remembers how Zeus once threw him all the way down to the earth. Hephaestus bustles around serving the other gods with drink, while they laugh at him. They enjoy a feast, listening to Apollo playing the lyre. Commentary

There are various points of great interest here. For one thing, the granting of a boon by the supreme father of the gods to a third-concept figure (Achilles) is paralleled in the Ramayana: Ravana wins over the supreme grandfather of the gods, Brahma, by extreme devotion to him, and is given invincibility vis-a-vis all beings except humans. Subsequently Brahma has to arrange his downfall: this is the story of the epic.1 Similarly, the course of the Iliad is determined by Zeus, whose isolated and remote position [1.1a] is shown here by his sitting apart from the other gods. Moreover, the links between Achilles and Apollo are made clear: both of them are moved by anger to inflict pain and devastation on the Achaeans. Apollo, as a god of medicine, is also a god of disease: when angered, he uses his arrows to kill by illness, whereas elsewhere in Homer he uses them to give a peaceful death. As a third-concept figure he appears, appropriately, at the end of Book I, in the context of pleasure. With reference to his gift of prophecy, we may note that the same gift is possessed elsewhere by Thetis' father, Nereus, the 'old man of the sea'.2 Hephaestus [4] typifies the lowly position of the smith, as an obsequious figure of fun. His humble status and the story of his fall are echoed in a myth from Nuristan, which explains the origin of slaves (the lowest class of whom are the blacksmiths). A divine blacksmith in the sky said to his son, 'Bring me some fire.' As the boy was obeying this order there was a lightning flash, and he fell through the resulting slit in the sky down to the earth. From him one part of Nuristan's slave

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population was descended, the rest being descendants of prisoners of war.3 The isolation of Zeus is well paralleled by that of Agamemnon. All the other Achaeans want to send the priest's daughter back at the first request, but he alone refuses. Later his loneliness is made increasingly evident by Calchas' interpretation of the plague and the resistance offered by Achilles: his authority, like that of Zeus, is maintained by terror and always open to challenge. Hera, the firm friend of the Achaeans, has not yet been linked to her earthly counterpart, Menelaus, but Athena, the clever messenger, is paralleled by the resourceful Odysseus, who is sent to command the men who return the priest's daughter. Thus the scene is well set for the rest of the drama: Zeus and Agamemnon will eventually have their authority well established, but at a price, and Apollo, Achilles and Priam will all, after a period of dissidence, end up by submitting.

BOOK II: THE FORCES OF THE SOVEREIGNS AND THE RICH Zeus decides to send Dream to deceive Agamemnon into thinking that he can take Troy immediately. Agamemnon falls for this, and in turn decides to test his troops by falsely telling them that Zeus has ordered him to abandon the siege. When the troops manifest their enthusiasm for going home, Hera calls on Athena to intervene, and the latter goes to Odysseus and urges him to persuade the Achaeans to return to the assembly. He explains that Agamemnon is testing them and points out that kings are brought up, honoured and loved by Zeus. The assembly is reconvened, and an ugly opponent of the various Achaean kings, called Thersites, attacks Agamemnon. Odysseus rebukes and beats him, and then makes a speech calling for the siege to continue. Athena stands next to him in the form of a herald. Nestor also calls for the war to go on, so that the Achaeans can sleep with Trojan wives in revenge for Paris' sleeping with Helen, and gives some old-fashioned tactical advice. Agamemnon calls on Zeus, Athena and Apollo, and tells his men to prepare for battle. They disperse and sacrifice, each to an individual deity. Agamemnon sacrifices to Zeus, inviting the leading chieftains to join him, in an appropriate order: Nestor [0], Idomeneus [1], the two Ajaxes, Diomedes and Odysseus [2]. Menelaus comes without having to be invited. Athena rushes through the Achaean

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army, spurring the troops on, and Zeus makes Agamemnon look outstanding among the rest. The text now gives us the celebrated 'Catalogue of Ships', listing the Achaean contingents and providing the details of their numbers and homelands. First we are given the contingents from central and southern Greece, dominated by Agamemnon and Menelaus. Secondly, we are given the contingents from Crete and other islands, dominated by Idomeneus. Thirdly, we are given the contingents from the rich land of Thessaly in northern Greece, dominated by Achilles. Agamemnon has the largest army and is the most impressive of the Achaean heroes. Odysseus is compared to Zeus for his cunning. Idomeneus is particularly important, ruling over a hundred cities. In the description of the contingent from Rhodes the inhabitants of the island are described as having settled it 'by sections in three divisions' (which seems to reflect Indo-European social tripartition) .4 At the end of the catalogue we are told that the best of the Achaeans' horses had been bred by Apollo. After the catalogue of the Achaean contingents the text returns to the narrative. Zeus sends a message to the Trojans to warn them that the Achaeans are attacking, and the Trojans rush out to fight. A list of their leaders and those of their allies follows. (Several of these are linked to concept 3.) Just beneath Hector himself comes Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite and a human father. Some rich Trojans are led by an archer called Pandarus, whose bow has been given to him by Apollo. After Pandarus come two sons of a man who had a better command of prophecy than anyone else. The Pelasgian contingent is described as living on fertile soil. A people called the Halizones are said to come from the place 'where is the birth of silver'. Another people, the Mysians, are led by a prophet, while the Maeonians have as their leaders the sons of a lake-nymph. The Carians have a chief who goes into battle wearing golden ornaments, like a girl. Finally, we encounter the Lycians, from the very fertile Xanthus river valley.5 Commentary

The early action of this book underlines the parallel between Zeus and Agamemnon with a heavy irony: Agamemnon, deceived by Zeus, deceives his followers by falsely attributing a command to the god. As for the 'Catalogue of Ships', the order of its contents has puzzled modern commentators, but from our standpoint it is perfectly logical: after the region of participants dominated by the 1.1 figures, Agamem-

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non and Menelaus, comes that of the islands, dominated by a 1.2 figure, Idomeneus, and then that of the Thessalian plains, richer than the rest of Greece in cereals and livestock, and dominated by Achilles, who moves between 3 and 1.3: when humiliated he belongs to the third concept, but when honoured he is a sovereign distributor of prizes (in Book XXIII). 6 With regard to Odysseus' being compared to Zeus for his cunning, it may be recalled that in Greek myth Zeus is supposed to have swallowed the goddess of Cunning (Metis) and then to have given birth to Athena, who came out of his head.7 On the Trojan side it will be noted that Aeneas resembles Achilles in having a divine mother and an aged human father. In the Ramayana a similar account of the numbers of the besiegers and their homelands is combined with a description of how Ravana surveys their leaders from his palace and is told who they are: this parallels the famous 'Viewing from the Walls' in Book III of the Iliad.8 BOOK I I I : A VIEWING AND A DUEL At the start of Book III Paris offers to fight any one of the Achaean heroes. Menelaus accepts the challenge, and then Paris, frightened, slips back into the Trojan ranks. This behaviour attracts the criticism of his younger brother, Hector, who remarks that he is handsome, obsessed with women and a seducer. Hector rebukes Paris for starting all the trouble in the first place by running off with Helen, and refers insultingly to Menelaus' superior strength and Paris' lyre-playing. Paris admits that Hector's criticisms are fair, and offers to fight Menelaus. The latter suggests that the war should be ended and the quarrel settled by single combat between Paris and himself, and calls for oath-taking to ratify acceptance of his proposal. He urges the Trojans to bring two lambs, a white male for the Sun (who is masculine) and a black female for the Earth (who is feminine), while the Achaeans bring a third lamb for Zeus. Everyone agrees to this plan. Helen now joins Priam by the gates of Troy, and there ensues what is called the 'Viewing from the Walls', as she explains who the main Achaean leaders in sight are: Agamemnon, Odysseus (a previous visit of whom to Troy is recalled), Ajax the Greater and Idomeneus. Helen's explanation ends with her wondering why her brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, are not there. The poet adds that they are dead and

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buried. (Thus in the Iliad they do not represent the Divine Twins, as they do elsewhere.) The oath-taking and sacrifice duly take place. Both Achaeans and Trojans speak of'Zeus and the other gods'. Menelaus calls on Zeus to grant him vengeance, so that in future guests will shrink from wronging their hosts. In the duel itself Menelaus narrowly fails to wound Paris with his spear, and his sword shatters on Paris' helmet. He reproaches Zeus, and starts to drag Paris into the midst of the Achaeans, holding on to his helmet, but Aphrodite intervenes, causing the helmet-strap to break and carrying Paris back to his scented bedroom. The goddess then goes to Helen and tells her to join Paris in bed: she adds that he does not look as if he has just returned from the fight, but rather as if he were going to a dance or had just come from one. Helen refuses at first, but goes to Paris after Aphrodite threatens her. When she sees him she taunts him, saying that he is not strong enough to fight Menelaus. He replies that Menelaus was helped by Athena, but there are gods on his side too. Then he urges her to join him in bed, and she submits. Meanwhile Agamemnon, claiming that Menelaus has won in the duel, demands that the Trojans return Helen and the treasure which she and Paris have brought from Sparta. Commentary

Here the characterization of Paris as a handsome seducer corresponds to that of Ravana in the Ramayana. There one of Ravana's younger brothers, Vibhishana, speaks to him critically about all the disasters that he has brought about by abducting Sita. Another of Ravana's younger brothers, Kumbhakarna, also upbraids him angrily. Then Vibhishana refers to Rama's superior strength, and, when Ravana refuses to be persuaded to return Sita, goes over to the other side. He is to be the future ruler of Lanka, under Rama's suzerainty, and stands in parallel to Aeneas, who is descended from the younger branch of the Trojan royal family.9 Menelaus' suggestion that the Trojans should sacrifice lambs of different sexes for the Sun and the Earth is fitting indeed, since Troy symbolizes fertility. In the same way, his suggestion that the Achaeans should have a lamb for Zeus is also apt, since Agamemnon and Menelaus represent concept 1. The 'Viewing from the Walls' is, as we have noted, paralleled in the Ramayana, when two spies explain the identities of the principal besiegers to Ravana as he surveys the horizon from his palace. This

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explanation falls into two parts. In the first part, one spy enumerates the various generals, saying where they are from and how many troops they have brought. Thus this part corresponds more to the 'Catalogue of Ships'. In the second part, the other spy points out the principal personalities of the besieging army: Hanuman, a previous visit of whom to Lanka is recalled, Rama, Lakshmana, Vibhishana and the king of the monkeys (who seems to be the counterpart of Idomeneus, as the leader of the largest contingent). Thus this part corresponds more to the Greek 'Viewing' itself.10 In the Iranian Book of Kings there is also a similar 'viewing' when Suhrab, the hero Rustam's son, looks at the leaders of an opposing army and has a prisoner explain who they are.11 The reference to 'Zeus and the other gods' in the oath-taking resembles the usual ancient Indian and Iranian practice of mentioning the name of the supreme god coupled with a collective invocation of the rest.12 It is to be observed that Zeus, because of his remoteness, is appropriately seen in Greece as the protecting deity of strangers or foreigners, and thus of hospitality. As for the duel itself, this episode is also paralleled in the Ramayana. Ravana, after the 'viewing', goes to Sita and makes advances to her, which she rejects. Then he fights a duel with the king of the monkeys. When Ravana has recourse to magic, the monkey-king flies off, claiming to have triumphed because he is not tired, whereas the ogre is.13 (Elsewhere in the Ramayana Rama himself fights a preliminary, non-fatal duel with Ravana before their final and mortal encounter. In this preliminary duel Ravana is beaten but Rama magnanimously allows him to go home, because he is exhausted.)14 BOOK IV: WOUNDING, HEALING, INSPECTION AND BATTLE The fourth book opens with Zeus speaking to the other gods, with devious intent. He observes that Hera and Athena, the patronesses of Menelaus, are not intervening, but Aphrodite has just rescued Paris. Menelaus has certainly won the duel: perhaps he could now take Helen home in peace? (Zeus is of course being ironical, since he has irrevocably promised Thetis to grant victory to the Trojans until the Achaeans give due honour to Achilles.) Hera is angry at the idea that her efforts to destroy Troy will be in vain. Zeus asks what the Trojans have done to her. All the same, he will give way to her now, but will

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sack a city dear to her in the future. Troy had been his favourite city, and his altar there had always had its sacrifices. Hera replies by talking of her deep love for Argos, Sparta and Mycenae: Zeus can sack them when he likes. But she must have the fruits of her labours, being a senior goddess by birth and by virtue of her marriage to him. She wants Athena to be sent to make the Trojans break the oaths. Zeus sends Athena off, and she shoots down like a star. Appearing in the form of a man, she talks to the archer Pandarus (whom we have already encountered as the leader of some rich Trojans, carrying a bow given to him by Apollo). Athena suggests that he should shoot an arrow at Menelaus, and thus obtain some splendid gifts from Paris. He should vow to make a generous sacrifice to Apollo as the god of archery. Pandarus agrees to this, and, with his companions holding their shields before him, shoots, but Athena diverts the arrow, so that Menelaus is only slightly wounded. None the less he and Agamemnon shudder in horror when they see the blood flow, and Agamemnon and their companions groan. The commander-in-chief speaks with apprehension of the possibility that Menelaus may die. He summons the physician Machaon, who treats the wound. Next comes the passage known as the 'Tour of Inspection'. Agamemnon goes round on foot to see if his men are ready to fight. The text says in a few lines that when (A) he finds them eager for battle he encourages them, and when (B) he sees them hanging back he is rude to them. This idea is then developed at length.15 To begin with, there is an account (A) of his visiting leaders who are urging their followers on. First, appropriately, he meets Idomeneus [1], and tells him that he is the most highly respected of his allies: when they all drink together the two of them alone have as much wine as they like, whereas the other Achaeans are limited to fixed rations. Secondly, and again aptly, Agamemnon sees the two Ajaxes [2], who are accompanied by a cloudlike mass of foot-soldiers bristling with spears. Calling on Zeus, Athena and Apollo, he wishes that all his men had such spirit. Finally, and again fittingly, he encounters the frame-figure, Nestor [0], who by virtue of his age is both first and last, and as usual is giving advice and reminiscing. After this comes the contrasting account (B) of Agamemnon's catching leaders who are just standing around. First there is Odysseus [2.1], accompanied by a minor figure, Menestheus, who serves as a foil. As often, Odysseus' expertise in trickery is mentioned. Secondly, there is Diomedes [2.2], also in the company of a foil, his subordinate Sthenelus. Diomedes has his innate bravery awakened. The Achaeans and Trojans duly advance to meet, driven on by

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Athena and Ares respectively. When the fighting begins, Ajax the Greater kills a Trojan with a pastoral background, Simoeisius, who was born on the bank of a river, where his mother had joined her parents to watch over their flocks. Apollo looks down from the highest point in Troy, sees the Trojans falling back and calls out to urge them on, pointing out that Achilles is not taking part. Athena ranges through the Achaean ranks, and the book ends with the image of her leading a man by the hand and keeping flying missiles away. Commentary

This episode is also echoed in the Ramayana. In the fighting which follows the duel between Ravana and the king of the monkeys, Ravana's son Indrajit, not being able to win by fighting openly, wickedly uses magic to make himself invisible (like Pandarus hiding behind his companions' shields). Then he wounds Rama and Lakshmana with his arrows, so that they lose consciousness, to the despair of the monkeys, who lament loudly. Rama regains consciousness and voices dismay at Lakshmana's being > apparently mortally wounded. The king of the birds arrives and heals their wounds by touching them. (Similarly, in the Iranian Book of Kings the mythical bird called the Simurgh, which is seen as the king of the birds, has a feather with miraculous healing powers.)16 After they have been healed the animals and ogres advance to join battle.17

BOOK V: BRUTE FORCE AND BRAVERY The fifth book is dominated by the figure of Diomedes, to whom Athena gives enough strength to fight even the gods on the Trojan side. He begins by killing a son of a priest of Hephaestus. The dead man's brother, who had been on a chariot beside him, now runs away and Hephaestus rescues him. Athena, telling Ares what a terrible murderer he is, suggests that they leave the battle to the will of Zeus, and avoid angering the latter. Then she leads him away. Each of the Achaean leaders kills a man. First there are enumerated the representatives of concept 1: Agamemnon, Idomeneus and Menelaus. The last of these kills a fine hunter, who has been taught by Artemis herself, as the goddess of archery, to shoot all the game to be found in the mountains. After this, minor representatives of concept 2 kill

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opponents. One victim is a craftsman, dear to Athena: he had built Paris' ships. Meanwhile Diomedes continues to sweep on victoriously, until he is spotted by Pandarus, who shoots him in the shoulder and, rejoicing, thinks that Apollo has inspired his own journey to Troy. But Diomedes is only wounded, and asks Athena to help him kill Pandarus. She joins him and gives him the faculty to recognize gods in human form, explaining that he is not to fight any of the immortals except Aphrodite. Then she goes away, and Diomedes, enraged rather than weakened by his wound, returns to the slaughter. He kills four pairs of warriors, and we are told that the last three of the pairs are brothers. The second pair are sons of an interpreter of dreams, while the fourth are children of Priam. Aeneas, spotting Diomedes' success, asks Pandarus to shoot at him. Pandarus bewails his rich background, with its fine chariots and horses munching away happily, and regrets that he has left them behind. He mounts Aeneas' chariot and they go to meet Diomedes. The latter, assisted by Athena, kills Pandarus and smashes Aeneas' hip. Aphrodite begins to carry Aeneas out of the fighting, but Diomedes wounds her in the wrist. Apollo takes over the task of rescuing Aeneas, while Aphrodite escapes to Olympus. There her mother, Dione, explains that other deities have suffered at humans' hands: once Ares had been imprisoned in ajar, but Hermes had used his skill as a thief to steal him out. Athena and Hera comment mockingly on Aphrodite's misadventure, and Zeus tells her that war is not her business: she should leave it to Ares and Athena and concern herself with the pleasant tasks of marriage. Back on the battlefield, Diomedes springs forward three times to attack Aeneas, and three times Apollo slams him back. Then Apollo takes Aeneas to the highest part of Troy, where he has a temple dedicated to him. There Artemis and their mother, Leto, heal Aeneas. Apollo creates an image of Aeneas on the battlefield and the Trojans and Achaeans fight around it. After this Apollo asks Ares to take on the job of fighting Diomedes, while he himself returns to Troy. Ares spurs the Trojans on, and Zeus' human son Sarpedon, one of their leading allies, complains strongly to Hector that the latter and his followers are not doing anything. Hector is stung into rallying his troops, and Aeneas soon returns to the fight. On the Achaean side the two Ajaxes, Odysseus and Diomedes urge their men on. Then, appropriately, Agamemnon begins a new series of killings, and when Aeneas kills a pair of twins, Menelaus enters the action to protect their bodies. Hector makes his way towards Menelaus, together with Ares.

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Diomedes tells the Achaeans to fall back gradually. A mortal grandson of Zeus on the Achaean side, Tlepolemus, is killed by Sarpedon, but succeeds in wounding him: Zeus averts death from Sarpedon for the time being, although his end is near. Odysseus thinks of finishing Sarpedon off, but, we are told, is not fated to kill him, and so Athena turns her protege's anger on to Sarpedon's followers instead, and several of these lose their lives. Hector, however, presses on and the Achaeans fall back. Hera sees what is happening and calls on Athena to help. The two goddesses go to Zeus and complain that Ares is killing Achaeans while Aphrodite and Apollo sit by happily. Zeus agrees that Athena should attack Ares. Hera and Athena go to the battlefield and the latter tells Diomedes that now she will help him in person against the war-god. She observes that previously Ares had promised to her and Hera that he would fight against the Trojans, but now he has broken his word. Athena assumes the role of Diomedes' charioteer, and they ride towards Ares. Diomedes wounds him, and he escapes to Olympus. There he complains to Zeus, who expresses his extreme dislike for him, but none the less has his wound healed by a god of medicine, Paieon, who elsewhere is associated with Apollo and sometimes identified with him, though they are usually distinguished. Commentary

This narrative corresponds to some extent with what happens in the Ramayana, after Rama and Lakshmana have been healed and the armies of animals and ogres join battle. The animals have the upper hand, and the monkeys' leaders kill prominent ogres. An important role is played by Angada, the heir apparent to the monkeys' throne, who seems, like Diomedes, to be a straightforward 2.2 figure, possessing just brute force and bravery. Then, like Hector, an exceptionally strong ogre, Kumbhakarna, who is also a younger brother of the abductor, is summoned into action and enters the fray. When he does so the monkeys run away, are rallied, run away again and are again rallied.18 The episode of the goddess who goes up to heaven in need of consolation for having been wounded has been shown to be a reflection of an epic motif from outside the Indo-European field, in the Semitic grouping of languages and literatures, and to be an effect of the 'orientalizing revolution' in which Greece was affected by contacts with speakers of non-Indo-European tongues.19 However, here as

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elsewhere, this influence comes in an entertaining digression, and is incorporated in a thoroughly Indo-European 'functional' framework, in which the goddess' nature as a deity of fertility is contrasted with those of deities of sovereignty and war. BOOK VI: TESTS AND BROTHERS The sixth book starts with a battle-scene. Leading Achaeans kill opponents, notably the twin sons of a water-nymph. Then a grisly incident opposes Menelaus' character as a kind L i b figure to Agamemnon's arbitrary and terrifying nature as a personification of 1.1a. A vanquished enemy begs Menelaus to spare his life, saying that his rich father will pay a limitless ransom, and Menelaus is inclined to agree to this, but Agamemnon declares that all the Trojans must be killed, even the boys in their mothers' wombs. The scene is concluded with Nestor, as a frame-figure, advising the Achaeans to concentrate on killing and leave stripping the bodies of their armour until later. Now Helenus, a son of Priam and the finest of augurs, gives his counsel to Hector and Aeneas. (In extra-Homeric tradition, Helenus and Cassandra, the most famous of prophetesses, are twins.)20 He says that Hector should go back to Troy and tell the women there to pray to Athena. Hector goes off to do this, but the narrative is interrupted by a striking interlude. Diomedes encounters an ally of the Trojans called Glaucus and asks who he is. Glaucus replies that his grandfather was the legendary Bellerophon, a hero in the service of a king named Proetus. Proetus' wife had falsely accused Bellerophon of trying to rape her. Proetus sent Bellerophon to the king of Lycia, carrying a coded message that its bearer had to die. The Lycian king honoured Bellerophon with a nineday period of feasting and sacrifices (this figure of nine days is typical of the religious observances of the Germanic peoples).21 Then he read the message and sent Bellerophon on three dangerous missions, which provide a triconceptual pattern: to kill the monster known as the Chimera, of divine birth - Bellerophon did this, following signs given by the gods [1]; to fight against a famous people called the Solymi this, said Bellerophon, was the hardest battle with men that he had had to enter [2]; and to slaughter the celebrated women fighters, the Amazons [3]. (Although the Amazons might of course be seen as representing concept 2, their being women and their structural position here render concept 3 appropriate, and they are linked with hunting

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and Artemis.)22 Bellerophon's safe return convinced the king of Lycia that he should be given a share of his own royal status. The hero had three children, who also correspond to concepts 1-3: Isandrus, killed by Ares when fighting the Solymi [2]; Laodameia, killed by Artemis [3]; and Hippolochus, who continues the royal line [1]. Diomedes is delighted to hear that Glaucus is Bellerophon's grandson, since this means that they are hereditary 'guest-friends', Bellerophon having been entertained by his grandfather, with an exchange of gifts. Consequently he and Glaucus can count on each other's hospitality whenever visiting the other's country. They should not fight each other, but should exchange their armour. Glaucus agrees not to fight Diomedes, and Zeus robs him of his wits: he exchanges gold armour for bronze. Meanwhile, Hector comes into Troy and enters Priam's beautiful palace. It has 50 rooms of polished stone for the king's 50 sons, and 12 more such rooms for his daughters. Hector transmits the instruction to pray to Athena, and it is carried out, but the goddess refuses to take pity on Troy. Then Hector goes to Paris' house, and finds his brother in his bedroom, together with Helen. He rebukes him for his inactivity, and Paris agrees to join him in the fight. Helen declares that she and Paris have been doomed to an evil fate by Zeus. Hector proceeds to join his wife, Andromache, and their baby son for Homer's most famous scene, an episode of conjugal tenderness. Andromache urges Hector not to go out to fight, but to stay and defend the city from the walls. She refers to attacks on Troy by Achaean leaders, whom she mentions by name: here the two Ajaxes [2] and Idomeneus [1] are counterbalanced by the two brothers Agamemnon and Menelaus [1] and Diomedes [2]. Hector says that he will go out to fight. He knows that the city will be destroyed, and anticipates with foreboding Andromache's future life of slavery. He prays to 'Zeus and the other gods' that his son may be a brave ruler, and tells his wife to busy herself with her work with the loom and the distaff, and order her maids to do their work as well, while the men concern themselves with war. In the meantime Paris runs, a glamorous figure and laughing, to join his brother, who observes that he is a good fighter, but none the less deliberately stays behind and chooses not to take part in the battle. Commentary

Here the story of Bellerophon is closely paralleled in Iran, in the section in the Book of Kings on a prince called Siyawush. The latter is

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also falsely accused by a woman and undergoes three tests before ending up at an enemy king's court and ensuring the continuity of a royal line. Siyawush is the son of the king of Iran, and his stepmother accuses him of trying to rape her. The king imposes a fire-ordeal on him, and this test proves his innocence of the charge [3 or 2.3]. Then the king puts Siyawush to a military test [2 or 2.2]: he is sent to fight Iran's traditional enemies in the north-east, the Turanians. Siyawush is victorious, and finally is confronted with a third test, on the level of intelligence, loyalty and religious duty [1 or 2.1]: his father puts him in an impossible position in diplomatic negotiations with the Turanian king. Eventually Siyawush has no honourable course open except to defect to the latter, and does so. His own son will continue the Iranian royal line.23 This threefold testing of Bellerophon would appear to be reflected in the famous 12 labours attributed by various Greek and Latin sources to Heracles. The first four of these are on the level of the supernatural: Heracles has to fight an invulnerable lion, sent by the sovereign goddess to whom lions are holy, Hera [1.1b], and then a multi-headed water-snake, a terrifying embodiment of divine immortality [1.1a]; then he has to catch a monstrous boar which is threatening a local community - in the course of this, in an apt balancing episode, Heracles almost wipes out the community of the Centaurs, but they are saved by Poseidon [1.2]; fourthly, he has to capture a sacred hind which bears the gift of golden horns [1.3]. After this come four labours on the level of the warrior's activity itself, seen in its contrasting aspects of guile and force: first he has to kill some birds, which he does after cleverly frightening them with bronze castanets given him by Athena, and then he has to clean enormous stables, a task which he craftily accomplishes by diverting a river [2.1]; subsequently he catches a bull, and next some mares, by brute force [2.2]. Finally Heracles has to perform four labours on the level of concept 3: he fights the queen of the Amazons and her subjects in order to obtain her girdle, captures some cattle, fetches golden apples and lastly descends into the Underworld, an act which requires initiation into the mysteries of the goddess of agriculture, Demeter.24 On the Byzantine side, in The Two-Blood Border Lord, Bellerophon's threefold encounter with the monster, the male warriors and the Amazons is paralleled by Digenes' threefold encounter with [1] a three-headed dragon (which is followed, in what looks like an echo of Heracles' first two labours, by a lion); [2] some male warriors; and [3] an Amazon's associates and the Amazon herself.25 Thus here, in the

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ancient Greek, Iranian and Byzantine materials, one finds what I call 'the cycle of the three tests of the warrior'. We shall find this cycle again in Book XII of the Odyssey and a corresponding passage of the

Mahabharata.

The depiction of Hector in Troy corresponds to the Ramayana's depiction of Kumbhakarna in Lanka. When the latter is roused to fight he first visits the city and goes to Ravana's enormous and attractive palace. He rebukes his elder brother for his foolishness and announces his intention of marching out to face Rama single-handed. Another general objects that this is suicidal: it would be better to make a collective attack on Rama and have an opportunity to retreat to the city if unsuccessful. Kumbhakarna repeats that he will go out to fight alone. (Ravana himself, though an impressive warrior, does not usually take part in the sorties, but leaves the fighting to others.)26 BOOK VII: A DUEL AND A WALL When Hector and Paris return to the battlefield each kills an opponent. Then Athena and Apollo arrive and decide to stop the fighting for the day. They agree to inspire Hector to issue a challenge to the Achaeans to put up a champion for another duel. The inspiration comes through the medium of the prophet Helenus, who tells Hector that he is not fated to die yet. Hector issues the challenge, saying that Zeus plans further misery for both sides. He adds that if he wins he will dedicate his opponent's armour to Apollo. The Achaeans are frightened by the challenge, and all stay silent, until Menelaus eventually offers to fight. Agamemnon and the other Achaean kings restrain him, on the grounds that he would certainly lose. Nestor bewails their cowardice, adding his usual reminiscences. Calling on Zeus, Athena and Apollo, he wishes he were young again. Nine leading Achaeans agree to draw lots to fight Hector. Ajax the Greater is selected. He and Hector fight with spears and rocks. Ajax sends Hector sprawling, but Apollo puts him on his feet again. Then the heralds of both sides stop the duel on the grounds that Zeus loves both warriors, they are both good fighters and night is approaching. Hector and Ajax exchange gifts and rejoin their comrades. The Trojans are delighted that Hector is still alive, while Ajax is happy to have had the upper hand. Now the Achaeans have a feast, after which Nestor advises them to stop the fighting long enough to cremate the dead. He also advises them to build a defensive wall for their camp by the ships. They agree.

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Meanwhile the Trojans are holding a meeting, in which lack of confidence is expressed. They decide to offer to return Helen's possessions along with an indemnity, but Paris refuses to give up Helen herself. Priam urges his followers to post guards and stay awake during the night. The next day their offer is rejected, but a truce is arranged for the cremation of the dead. Then the Achaeans build their wall, much to the annoyance of Poseidon, who complains to Zeus that its fame will overshadow that of the wall which he and Apollo had been obliged to build for an earlier king of Troy. Zeus tells Poseidon that they can destroy the Achaeans' wall later. The Achaeans and Trojans feast and drink, but Zeus plans evil for them and frightens them with his thunder. Commentary

This episode is paralleled in the Ramayana, where, as we have seen, when Kumbhakarna is roused to fight, the monkeys repeatedly flee and are rallied. The Iliad has two separate scenes, in Book V and this one, while the Indian epic has a single scene: along with the flights and rallies we find the crown prince of the monkeys, Angada, berating his principal comrades for their cowardice and then fighting between the latter and Kumbhakarna. Kumbhakarna has been persuaded to go into battle accompanied by his followers. He does not go alone, as he had wished, but in practice he fights on his own, using a spear while the monkeys use rocks. He succeeds in capturing the king of the monkeys and taking him back to Lanka. There the population honours the victor, but then his captive bites his nose and ears off and escapes. Kumbhakarna sallies forth again and is killed by Rama. Ravana is despondent about the future of the siege. Some of his sons are killed in battle. Anxious again, he orders guards to be posted and tells his followers to stay awake at night.27 Scandinavian and Roman narratives have parallels for the defensive wall of the representatives of concepts 1 and 2: in Scandinavia the gods of concept 3 breach the enclosure of their adversaries, while at Rome the Sabines, after entering the Capitoline citadel itself, drive the Romans back to their outer wall.28 The story of Poseidon and Apollo's being forced to work for a ruler of Troy, in temporary exile from the other gods, is alluded to in Book XXI of the Iliad: it looks like a reflection of the usual Indo-European theme of the deities of concept 3 being cut off from the other deities before an eventual unification. Thus here Poseidon would not, as is

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usual in Homer, represent sub-concept 1.2, but would correspond to one of the Divine Twins of concept 3 - aptly, given his connection with horses. BOOK V I I I : A RALLY AND AN ARCHER Zeus tells the other gods not to interfere with his plans, and threatens them with his superior physical strength. Then he goes to Mount Ida, near Troy, in order to have a better view of the battlefield. Battle is joined, and honours are even until noon, when Zeus weighs the Trojans' and Achaeans' fates in his scales. The Trojans' fates rise up and the Achaeans' sink down. Zeus sends a thunderbolt down into the ranks of the Achaeans, and they run back. Of the leaders who turn tail, Idomeneus and Agamemnon are named first, followed by the two Ajaxes. Only Nestor remains, because one of his horses has been wounded. Diomedes shouts to Odysseus to come to Nestor's aid, but Odysseus is running away regardless. Nestor mounts Diomedes' chariot, and they go to fight Hector. Zeus hurls a thunderbolt in front of them, and Nestor turns the chariot back. Hera is angered, and suggests to Poseidon, who also favours the Achaeans, that they might defy Zeus. He refuses. Meanwhile Hector reaches the Achaeans' defensive wall. Hera inspires Agamemnon to rally the Achaeans. He also prays to Zeus, referring to the many sacrifices that he has already offered to him, and asks for the Achaeans to be saved. Zeus pities Agamemnon, and sends an eagle to drop a fawn by the altar where he is the recipient of the Achaeans' sacrifices. The Achaeans, encouraged by this good omen from him, press forward. The Iliad now gives prominence to the leading archer on the Achaean side, Teucer, who is the illegitimate half-brother of Ajax the Greater (so that sometimes the expression 'the two Ajaxes' includes him, not Ajax the Runner). Teucer hides behind his half-brother's shield in between his shots. He kills a number of Trojans, and Agamemnon promises him that if Zeus and Athena allow them to take Troy he will receive a special prize: either a tripod (a three-footed cauldron), or two horses with their war chariot, or a woman to climb into his bed. (Here the enumeration looks triconceptual, since the tripod is connected with religion: it is used to boil meat when sacrifices are made to the gods, and is often dedicated to them in temples.)29 However, Hector soon wounds Teucer with a rock, and the Trojans drive the Achaeans back. Hera and Athena prepare to intervene, but Zeus frightens them into

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desisting. Night falls, and Hector addresses the victorious Trojans. He prays to 'Zeus and the other gods' that he may complete his success the next day, ensuring the end of the Achaean expedition. The Trojans camp out on the plain between the city and their enemies' enclosure. Commentary

Here the narrative is echoed by the confrontation of Romans and Sabines in Livy's History of Rome. After the Sabines capture the Roman citadel the Romans start to besiege them in it. At first the Romans fight well enough, but then, hard pressed by the Sabine champion Mettius Curtius, they turn tail and run back to the outer wall of the city. Romulus [1.1a] prays to Jupiter and refers to an omen, previously given by the gods, which had led him to lay the first foundations of the city there. He asks Jupiter to save the Romans and vows a temple to him. Then, as if he has sensed that Jupiter has heard his prayer, he shouts out to his followers that Jupiter is telling them to turn and fight again: they do so, as if commanded by a heavenly voice. (Homer's influence has been seen in this passage, but apart from the similarities of detail there are resemblances on the level of internal structure which point to a common original.) According to the Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnassus this battle took place just after the Romans and Sabines had buried their dead, following an earlier battle in which honours had been even.30 In the Ramayana the story continues in parallel with this book of the Iliad. Ravana's most powerful son, Indrajit, emerges as the strongest defender of Lanka, replacing Kumbhakarna as Hector's counterpart. He leads an attack on the besiegers, and they run away before suddenly rallying and counter-attacking. Indrajit, who has made himself invisible, overwhelms them with his arrows and returns in triumph.31 BOOK IX: A MISSION FACED WITH OBDURACY The Achaeans have become despondent as a result of Hector's successes. Agamemnon calls a meeting, and complains that Zeus has deceived him: now he himself wants to abandon the expedition. Diomedes declares his determination to fight on. Nestor closes the discussion by insisting that guards be posted for the night and a feast be given. After the feast he begins the discussion again by calling on Agamemnon to appease Achilles. Agamemnon agrees, and offers to

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give Achilles an enormous quantity of gifts if he will return to the fighting. Nestor again concludes the discussion by selecting the envoys to be sent to Achilles. It is evident that of these Odysseus is intended to be the main exponent of the art of diplomacy. They find Achilles enjoying playing the lyre (thus emphasizing the similarity between him and Apollo). The visitors make three speeches, which seem to fall into a triconceptual pattern. First, Odysseus repeats Agamemnon's offer, so that the emphasis in his speech is on wealth [3]. Achilles rejects the offer, and stresses the fact that he has been a fertile source of booty for the Achaeans, like a bird feeding her chicks. In particular, he has fought to capture other men's wives. He says that he will go back to his homeland, where he has plenty of riches. As for a part of Agamemnon's offer which involves giving him one of his daughters in marriage, Achilles says that he would not accept her even if she rivalled Aphrodite in her beauty and Athena in her work. In any case, his life is worth more than all the riches formerly held by Troy in peacetime, or kept in Apollo's temple at Delphi. His mother has told him that he is fated either to stay and fight at Troy, in which case he will never return home but his 'glory will be undying', or to go home, in which case he will have no glory but will live long. (The Greek words for 'glory' and 'undying' have often been compared to the Sanskrit equivalents, which come together in the Vedas and have the same etymology, so that it has been thought that here we have a reflection of a phrase in Proto-Indo-European poetry.)32 Secondly, an old man called Phoenix speaks. He has been designated first by Nestor, and is perhaps another frame-figure. Phoenix has acted as Achilles' tutor, and has been a second father to him. He puts his emphasis more on religious duty [1]. Prayers, he observes, are daughters of Zeus. Now they are being addressed to Achilles, and he must not reject them. He tells a story of how Diomedes' uncle Meleager killed an enormous boar sent by Artemis when she was not given the first-fruits of a garden. A war ensued over the boar's carcass, arid Meleager refused to fight, although he was offered a huge gift and was begged to intervene. He fought only when his city was being stormed, and so was given nothing. If Achilles fights now, the Achaeans will honour him like a god. Achilles replies that he does not need honour from them, being honoured already by what is destined for him by Zeus, but indicates that he is undecided whether or not to go home. Thirdly, Ajax the Greater comments on Achilles' obduracy. Here the emphasis is on comradely feeling between the Achaean warriors

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[2]. Now Achilles answers that he will not think of fighting until Hector sets fire to his ships. The delegation returns and Odysseus reports that it has failed. Diomedes makes a speech, calling for the war to be continued the next day. This meets with universal approval. Commentary

Again, the Ramayana provides a parallel continuation of the story. There too night has fallen, and the besiegers of Lanka are in a sorry state, lying wounded and often unconscious on the battlefield. Hanuman and Vibhishana find the aged king of the bears, one of their most important allies, who as a repository of wise counsels seems to correspond to Nestor as a frame-figure. He advises Hanuman to go to a mountain and bring medicinal herbs from it. When Hanuman reaches the mountain the herbs make themselves invisible. He asks the mountain why it shows no pity for the wounded and unconscious Rama, and breaks its crest off. Then he returns, carrying the mountaincrest with the herbs on it, and Rama and his wounded allies are duly cured. The war is to go on.33 Achilles, then, corresponds to the mountain (aptly, since he has a medical background). The mission led by Odysseus does not in fact end in complete failure: Achilles modifies his position after initially announcing that he will leave, and speaks of the eventuality of his fighting when Hector reaches his ships. BOOK X: A N I G H T ATTACK As the night continues Agamemnon is unable to sleep. His groaning is compared to Zeus' thundering to presage a storm. The Trojans, in contrast, are playing flutes and pipes. Agamemnon decides to go first of all to Nestor in the hope that the latter may help him devise a plan. Menelaus cannot sleep either, and joins his brother. Agamemnon tells him to call Ajax the Greater and Idomeneus, while he himself summons Nestor. Nestor tells him that they should wake other Achaean leaders too, and accuses Menelaus of laziness. Agamemnon says that Menelaus is not timid or stupid, but looks to his brother to give a lead. Nestor wakes Odysseus and Diomedes, and the latter brings other chieftains. When all the kings have come together Nestor speaks first. He calls for a volunteer to go and spy on the Trojans. Diomedes offers to go, but says that he wants someone to come with

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him. Many are ready to do so, and Agamemnon tells Diomedes to choose between them on the basis of merit, not birth (he is afraid for Menelaus). Diomedes chooses Odysseus, as being brave, clever and loved by Athena. The two warriors set off, and Athena sends a heron on their right (a good omen). They pray to her and press on. Meanwhile Hector calls a meeting and also asks for a volunteer to spy on the enemy. A rich Trojan named Dolon offers to go in return for Achilles' superb horses when they are captured. Hector agrees, and Dolon goes on his way. Odysseus sees him and tells Diomedes that they should lie in wait, let him go past and then catch him. They do so (helped by Athena) and then, interrogated by Odysseus, he provides much information. In particular, he says that the king of the Thracians has just arrived: he also has extremely fine horses, while his armour is made of gold. Diomedes kills Dolon, and Odysseus again prays to Athena. They go on to find the Thracian king, and (again assisted by Athena) Diomedes kills him and 12 of his comrades. Apollo, furious, wakes the murdered king's cousin, but Athena has anticipated intervention from another god and warned Diomedes in time. Nestor is the first to hear the Achaean heroes returning, and also the first to question them. He comments that they are both dear to Zeus and Athena. The book ends with the pouring of libations to the latter. Commentary

In the Ramayana the narrative again continues in parallel with the Iliad. After the end of Hanuman's special mission the king of the monkeys tells him that there should now be a night attack on Lanka. The monkey army sets fire to the city, and a lot of glorious buildings, together with their valuable contents, are destroyed. As for the inhabitants, we are told that they are wearing armour 'encrusted with gold' and drunk. Ravana orders his troops into action, and the fighting between the two sides starts again.34 Both ancient and modern critics have considered that the tenth book of the Iliad was not composed by the author of the rest of the epic. It seems to me that, given the resemblances to the part of the Ramayana just noted, and the similar position in the narrative, this book may reflect part of a pre-Homeric Greek epic imitated in the Iliad. The Iliad has already spoken of a visit to Troy by Odysseus before the siege. Similarly, the Ramayana has Hanuman visit Lanka before the siege: as a spy he acquires a good knowledge of the city before causing much devastation by fire as he escapes.35 The Odyssey has a story of Odysseus'

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slipping into Troy during the siege, killing a number of Trojans and escaping with plenty of intelligence.36 Moreover, in the Odyssey Odys.seus himself, pretending to be a Cretan, claims that he once joined the real Odysseus in a night attack on Troy.37 Now the Ramayana also has spies sent out by the besieged, appropriately, when the siege begins. These spies are caught, but sent back.38 One may suspect that the author of Book X of the Iliad has combined stories of spying, perhaps originally placed at the beginning of the siege, with a story of a later night attack. BOOK XI: RETREATS AND PHYSICIANS When dawn breaks Zeus sends Strife to the Achaeans, to inspire them to fight. Agamemnon dons his terrifying armour, and Hera and Athena honour him with thunder. The two sides join battle, while the gods look on from Olympus. In general they are annoyed with Zeus because he has decided to favour the Trojans: he sits apart from them. To begin with honours are even, but then the Achaeans gain the upper hand. Agamemnon kills pairs of opponents (warriors and their charioteers). The second pair consist of one legitimate and one illegitimate son of Priam, both of whom had previously been ransomed. As for the third pair, they are sons of a man who had been most against returning Helen to Menelaus - this was because Paris had given the man a large gift of gold. They plead with Agamemnon, saying that their rich father would pay an enormous ransom for them, but he shows them no mercy. The Trojans are driven back, and Agamemnon, usually wielding a spear (his main weapon in the killing so far), comes close to Troy itself. Zeus comes to Mount Ida and tells Hector to wait until Agamemnon is forced by a wound to mount his chariot. Agamemnon kills another man from a rich family in a fertile region, but is wounded by the dead man's brother, whom he then kills as well. He jumps into his chariot and goes back to the ships. Hector duly presses forward with his followers, and kills a large number of the Achaeans. The latter are in danger of being driven back to the ships, but Odysseus calls on Diomedes to make a stand. They kill the two sons of a prophet. Diomedes throws his spear at Hector, who, thanks to the protection given him by Apollo, is no more than temporarily stunned, and escapes. Paris wounds Diomedes in the foot with an arrow, and receives a flood of invective from him: he is called an 'archer' (evidently insulting enough in itself) and is told that he

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would have no chance in a hand-to-hand fight. Diomedes follows Agamemnon to the ships, and Odysseus wonders whether to fight on alone or retreat. He stands his ground, and is surrounded by Trojans, whom he fends off bravely. Wounded (though not seriously, thanks to Athena's assistance), he calls for help, and is rescued by Menelaus and Ajax the Greater. Ajax sweeps forward, while Hector is busy elsewhere. Paris now wounds one of the Achaeans' physicians, Machaon, whom Nestor takes back to the beach. Zeus makes Ajax afraid, and he retreats. He is joined by a minor Achaean leader, Eurypylus, who is also wounded by Paris and has to fall back. Achilles, standing on his ship, sees Nestor taking an injured man out of the battle, and sends Patroclus to find out who this is. Patroclus, on joining Nestor, is treated to a long speech from him, full of the inevitable reminiscences. We learn that Nestor is the only survivor of 12 sons. Nestor urges Patroclus to ask Achilles to send him and their followers against the Trojans, if some prophecy or advice from the gods is deterring Achilles from fighting himself. He suggests that Achilles should lend Patroclus his own splendid armour, to make the Trojans take him for Achilles in person. Patroclus, on the way back to Achilles, encounters Eurypylus, who says that the Achaeans must fail back to the ships, since all their principal fighters are injured. He asks Patroclus to treat his wound, since he is known to have learnt the art of medicine from Achilles. (This is a further indication that Achilles and Patroclus correspond to the Divine Twins, who in India are physicians.) For apart from the injured Machaon, the only other professional physician in the Achaean camp is busy fighting. Patroclus duly heals Eurypylus' wound. Commentary

The Ramayana continues in much the same way after the monkeys' night attack on the city of Lanka. Battle is joined and at first honours are even. Then the monkeys have the upper hand and leading ogres are killed. Rama is particularly successful and frightens the remaining ogres into retreating to the city. Indrajit sallies forth again, to the accompaniment of auspicious omens, and again makes himself invisible. He wounds Rama, Lakshmana and large numbers of monkeys with his arrows. Using his magical powers, he produces the impression that he is killing Sita in full view of the besieging army. The monkeys flee, but are rallied by Hanuman. Indrajit fires more arrows, bringing down more monkeys. Hanuman none the less forces the ogres to retreat

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and then leads his own troops slowly back. Meanwhile Rama, having heard the noise of the fighting, tells the king of the bears to go to help Hanuman. The latter, however, soon returns with the news that Sita is dead. Vibhishana points out that Ravana would not allow Sita to be killed: this must have been an illusion. He urges Rama to order Lakshmana to go and kill Indrajit.39 On the Scandinavian side there is a parallel (notably as regards Agamemnon's use of his spear) in the Prophecy of the Seeress, when the gods of sovereignty and force fight those of fertility: 'Odin [1.1a, like Agamemnon] hurled his spear, cast it into the host. This was still the first war in the world. The plank wall in the Aesir [1 and 2] stronghold was breached; the Vanir [3] gained the field with battle magic.'40 This hurling of a spear has been seen as a ritual act of starting a war.41 The breaching of the wall of the Achaean stronghold will come in Book XII. In India, Iran and Scandinavia a sinister and improper use of magic is associated with the representatives of concept 3. Evidently this is to be distinguished from the magi co-religious aspect of sovereignty within sovereignty [1.1a]. From the standpoint of the Greek epic a sinister employment of magic cannot be attributed to heroes, but only to

BOOK X I I : FIVE LEADERS AND AN EMERGENCY The short twelfth book is almost entirely taken up with the description of the Trojans' attack on the Achaeans' wall. Since the conventions of the Greek epic demand that simultaneous assaults on the wall be described as taking place in succession, the narrative of a single event goes on for hundreds of lines. It is preceded by an account of how Poseidon and Apollo destroyed the wall after the war had ended. Zeus continues to keep the Achaeans pinned down. Hector decides that the Trojans and their allies must leave their chariots behind and approach the wall on foot. They arrange themselves behind five leaders: Hector, Paris, Helenus, Aeneas and Sarpedon. One of the Trojans' allies, Asius, foolishly tries to drive his chariot through a gate which has been left open. He encounters stubborn resistance, and reproaches Zeus for misleadingly encouraging him. Zeus, the poet tells us, is not disposed to help Asius because he is determined to give the glory of storming the wall to Hector. Meanwhile an omen appears: an eagle flies in front of the Trojan army towards the army's left and the

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west (a bad omen). It carries a snake, which bites it. The bird drops the snake and flies away. This omen terrifies the Trojans, and one of Hector's comrades, Polydamas, interprets it to mean that if they breach the wall they will still return home unsuccessful, like the eagle, and after suffering serious casualties. Hector replies that Zeus has promised him victory and he has no interest in birds. He leads his men on. Zeus sets his own son, Sarpedon, at the Achaeans. One of the Achaean leaders sees him coming and sends a message to Ajax the Greater: he should come with the other Ajax, or, if that is not possible, with Teucer. Ajax the Greater and Teucer arrive, but Zeus does not want his son to die yet. Sarpedon is pushed back a bit. Now Zeus grants Hector his moment of glory: he makes it easy for the hero to lift a huge rock and smash a gate down. Hector leaps through and the rest of the Trojans follow, while the Achaeans run in panic among the ships. Commentary

In the Ramayana there is a parallel continuation of the narrative, but in a different form. Indrajit goes to an altar and prepares to perform a sacrifice. Rama is still prostrated by the apparent killing of Ska. Vibhishana explains to him that he must send Lakshmana to kill Indrajit before he can ignite the sacrificial fire. If Indrajit succeeds in carrying out the sacrifice, he will be invincible, and Rama and his allies will be lost. The parallel with Hector is clear: if Hector succeeds in burning the ships the Achaean expeditionary force will be completely destroyed. Achilles, like Rama, remains inactive: Patroclus, like Lakshmana, has to be sent to the task. There are further parallels in Rome and Scandinavia: the Sabines enter and occupy the Capitoline citadel, and the Vanir, after breaching their opponents' defensive wall, overrun their territory.43 The pattern of the five leaders on the Trojan side has puzzled modern commentators, but Dumezil has pointed out that here we have a 'trifunctional' pattern for the first three, who are sons of Priam: Hector is the warrior, Paris the symbol of luxury and Helenus the prophet. In our numbering they are 3.2, 3.3 and 3.1. We may observe that Aeneas and Sarpedon are not sons of Priam, but each has one divine parent, and they are the two most important warriors outside Priam's immediate family. Elsewhere Aeneas represents 3.1, but here he and Sarpedon appear to constitute what Dumezil calls an 'extrafunctional' pair, not representing any particular sub-concept but

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complementing the other figures. In his example of the five grandsons of the Welsh queen Don, a triad of warriors is complemented by a pair of 'extrafunctional' twins. We may add that in the Byzantine TwoBlood Border Lord the Amazon (like Helen) has five principal male defenders: a wise old man [1], a brave young man [2], a comparatively cowardly man [3] (cowardice being typical of the representatives of concept 3), and an 'extrafunctional' pair. The same epic also has five brothers fighting for the hero's mother and another five fighting for his bride, like the five brothers who are married to Draupadi in the Mahabharata. Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana constitute 4 another 'tri-sub-conceptual' triad of brothers [3.3, 3.2 and 3.1].44 BOOK X I I I : T H E SOVEREIGN PROTECTORS OF THE C O M M U N I T Y ' S SOLIDARITY The thirteenth book begins with Zeus leaving the Achaeans and Trojans to fight by the ships, and averting his gaze to look at other lands and peoples. He does not believe that any of the other gods will now intervene. Poseidon, however, is full of sympathy for the Achaeans and is bitterly angry with Zeus. He goes to help the Achaeans, and speaks to the two Ajaxes, disguising himself as Calchas and telling them that they must save the army. Ajax the Runner is the first of the pair to realize that this is a god; Ajax the Greater, representing brute force as opposed to the warrior's intelligence, is slower. Poseidon goes on to the rest of the Achaeans, still disguised as Calchas and, like him, blaming Agamemnon (in parallel to his own annoyance with Zeus). The Achaeans stand firm against the Trojan charge, but Hector kills a grandson of Poseidon. The god is even more angry, and renews his efforts to spur his side on. He meets Idomeneus (like himself, a 1.2 figure, a sovereign protector of the community's solidarity and continuity), who is on his way to his hut to get his armour and spears. Poseidon assumes the form of the king of the Aetolians (who rules over a wide area), and reproaches Idomeneus for his apparent inactivity. They both agree that they and the rest of the besiegers must unite to face the enemy. Idomeneus, after arming himself in his hut, sets off to fight and meets his lieutenant, who is going to the hut to fetch a spear: the scene emphasizes the correspondence between the Cretan king and Poseidon. The king asks his lieutenant why he is not fighting, and they agree upon the importance of courage. Then they enter the fray. Now the poet recapitulates the motives of Zeus and Poseidon,

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contrasting the two gods: although both have the same parentage, Zeus is older and knows more. Accordingly Poseidon does not help the Achaeans openly, but in human disguise. Idomeneus starts killing leading warriors on the Trojan side - first an ally who had wanted to marry Priam's most beautiful daughter, Cassandra, and secondly the foolish Asius. Then he kills a brother-in-law of Aeneas, married to a woman who surpasses all women of her age in 'beauty, works and wits5. Aeneas is found at the rear of the battle, doing nothing, and furious with Priam for refusing to show him any respect, in spite of his merits. (Here Aeneas resembles Vibhishana, who, angered by Ravana's failure to respect his advice, goes over to the other side.) When Aeneas hears of his brother-in-law's death he goes to fight Idomeneus. The latter knows that he is too old to face Aeneas singlehanded, and calls to leading Achaeans to join him. As the fighting goes on, Helenus hits Menelaus' corselet with an arrow and Menelaus in turn wounds him in the hand with a spear. Then Menelaus kills another Trojan and, in a speech of triumph, tells the Trojans that Zeus, as the god of hospitality, will punish them for Paris' abuse of his position as a guest. Soon Paris himself fires an arrow and kills a man, a prophet's son who is rich and from the wealthy city of Corinth. The man has come knowing that he will be killed at Troy, since his father had told him that otherwise he would die after a painful illness at home. (The parallel between this third-concept figure and another, Achilles, who will also be killed by Paris, is evidently intentional.) Elsewhere in the front line the two Ajaxes are fighting together. Ajax the Greater has his own followers beside him, but Ajax the Runner's men are, appropriately, not heavily armed, and keep behind the spearmen: they are archers. Hector's adviser Polydamas tells his leader that he is a good fighter but lacking in wisdom: Zeus gives different men different talents. Polydamas goes on to advise Hector to call a meeting to decide whether to go on trying to attack the ships or to retreat. Hector agrees, and goes to give his men their orders while summoning the other leaders. He meets Paris and insults him, asking where some of the Trojans and their allies are. Paris admits that previously he has sometimes failed to fight, but not this time. The comrades mentioned by Hector are dead or wounded. Hector and Paris decide to go back into the fray. Ajax the Greater shouts out to Hector that he will soon be running away and praying to 'Zeus and the other immortals' to take him away faster. As he speaks an eagle flies on his right, and the Achaeans cheer the good omen. Hector replies that he is certain, just as he is certain that he would like to be a

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son of Zeus and Hera, honoured like Athena and Apollo, that his side will win. The Trojans begin a charge, and their opponents prepare to meet them. Commentary

In the Ramayana we do not encounter a correspondingly long delay between the giving of advice that Lakshmana be ordered into action and Rama's assent. There is only an extremely short delay, while the gravity of the situation is explained to Rama. As for the exploits of the king of the monkeys, who resembles Idomeneus in various ways (being the commander of the largest force allied to the two brothers who retrieve the missing wife; being an important sovereign; ensuring the unity of the fighting force), they, like those of Idomeneus, are to some extent grouped towards the end of the fighting.45 The development given here in the Iliad to sub-concept 1.2 is due to the Iliad!% celebrated use of 'retardation' of the plot in order to heighten the dramatic tension. Consequently, the more urgent an action is, the longer it is delayed. BOOK XIV: FOOLISH AND EFFICIENT SOVEREIGNS Book XIV begins with Nestor in his roles of frame-figure and adviser. He hears the sound of the battle and goes to see what is happening. Worried, he decides to look for Agamemnon. The latter, accompanied by Odysseus and Diomedes, runs into Nestor and a discussion takes place. Agamemnon voices his fears and Nestor echoes them. Then Agamemnon makes a particularly stupid speech. He suggests that the ships which have been beached closest to the water should be hauled into the sea and anchored until nightfall, when the remaining ships could be hauled down as well. Odysseus points out that this would be completely disastrous, since it would demoralize the Achaeans in the middle of the battle: their fighting spirit would be destroyed as they thought of escaping. Agamemnon agrees. Diomedes suggests that, although they are wounded, they should return to the scene of the fighting and urge their men on. This advice is accepted and they set off, with Agamemnon leading the way. Poseidon, disguised as an old man, joins Agamemnon and predicts victory. Then he gives a huge cry, raising the Achaeans' spirits. Hera sees what Poseidon is doing and decides to play a trick on

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Zeus. She goes to her room, built by Hephaestus, and decks herself out to arouse Zeus' desire. She puts on a robe made by Athena. Hera summons Aphrodite and asks to be given Love and Desire, pretending that she wants to visit her foster-parents, Ocean and his wife, and put a stop to their quarrelling and abstention from lovemaking. Aphrodite agrees, and Hera goes to see Sleep. She asks him to make Zeus fall asleep after she and her husband have made love. A golden throne made by Hephaestus will be Sleep's bribe. Sleep is unwilling to act, because he is afraid of Zeus, but gives in when Hera offers him one of the Graces to be his wife. Hera and Sleep go to Mount Ida, where Zeus is immediately overwhelmed by desire for his wife. Now he underlines his affinity with Agamemnon by making an extremely stupid speech, as the Achaean king has just done. He suggests to Hera that they should make love, and recites a catalogue of his amatory conquests. Then, after they have made love, he duly falls asleep. Poseidon, informed by Sleep of what has happened, tells the Achaeans to give each other mutual support. They should take the best shields and spears in the camp: then the stronger fighters, if they are carrying small shields, should give them to weaker fighters and arm themselves with larger shields instead. This is done, under the supervision of Agamemnon, Odysseus and Diomedes: armour is changed according to the merit of the warriors. After this Poseidon leads the Achaeans forward, and makes the sea surge up to their huts. Ajax the Greater knocks Hector out with a stone, and the Achaeans' spirits are roused even more. Ajax the Runner kills the son of a waternymph, born when his father was pasturing his cattle by the banks of a river. Another rich Trojan who is killed is described as having many flocks - he was much loved by Hermes, who had made him wealthy. The Trojans take to flight, and many of them are killed, especially by Ajax the Runner, who, we are told, is unequalled in running after men who have been made to panic by Zeus (mentioned ironically). Commentary

Here the start of the book resembles a passage in the Ramayana already mentioned in the commentaries on Books XI and XII. Rama hears the noise of battle and asks the king of the bears [0] to go and help Hanuman with the bear army. The king of the bears and his troops go off, but run into the returning Hanuman and retrace their steps. Hanuman tells Rama that Sita is dead, and he collapses. Lakshmana tries to console him. Vibhishana arrives and sensibly points out that

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Sita is bound to be alive. Rama must send Lakshmana to kill Indrajit before he can perform his sacrifice. Rama, overwhelmed by grief, does not understand, and Vibhishana has to explain. He further points out that Rama's state of affliction is discouraging his supporters and must be shaken off. Rama, persuaded, tells Lakshmana to go with the monkey and bear armies, led by Hanuman and the king of the bears, to kill Indrajit. Lakshmana, Vibhishana, Hanuman and the monkeys go off and join the bears.46 The passage knowns as the 'Deception of Zeus' has been convincingly shown to reflect Semitic influences.47 However, here again they come in what is just an entertaining digression, and the framework of gods and concepts is strongly Indo-European. Hera is the sovereign and contractual deity of marriage; Athena engages in the highly respected activity of women's work in the home, making robes; Aphrodite is the goddess of voluptuousness; the lowly Hephaestus makes homes for others; Zeus is arbitrary; Poseidon ensures the survival of the Achaeans by making them understand the importance of solidarity in war. As for this book's association of Hermes with livestock, it might make one think he should be seen as belonging to concept 3, but he is noteworthily a cattle-thief rather than a deity of livestock itself. This befits his character as a trickster, and so 2.1 remains more probable. The end of the book emphasizes a cardinal aspect of ancient Greek warfare. When men wore heavy armour it was absolutely essential that they should not turn tail. If they tried to run away the armour would weigh them down and they would be easily killed from behind.

BOOK XV: SENIORITY AND SUSPENSE The fifteenth book begins with Zeus waking up and seeing what is happening. He reminds Hera of his superior physical power, and she agrees to advise Poseidon to give in to him. Zeus tells her to summon one of his messengers, Iris, and also Apollo, and reveals his plan. Hector is to drive the Achaeans back to the ships, so that Patroclus will fight and kill Zeus' own son, Sarpedon. Then Hector will kill Patroclus and himself be killed by Achilles. After this the Achaeans, helped by the plans of Athena, will capture Troy. Zeus insists that no other god may help the Achaeans until Achilles' wish to be restored to honour has been fulfilled. Hera goes to the other gods and complains to them of Zeus' disregard for them all. She reports that a son of Ares

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has been killed, fighting, noteworthily, on the Achaean side. Ares is furious and wants to go to the Achaean ships to avenge his son, even if Zeus is going to strike him with a thunderbolt. Athena (highlighting the contrast between the 2.1 type of warrior and the 2.2 type) stops him and tells him how stupid he is: the action which he proposes would lead Zeus to punish all of them. Iris and Apollo join Zeus, and he gives Iris a message for Poseidon, telling him to leave the battlefield and recognize Zeus' superior strength and seniority. When Poseidon hears this, at first he claims to be Zeus' equal: the world has been divided into three parts for them to share with Hades. Zeus has obtained the heavens, while he has been allotted the sea and Hades has been given the Underworld. Iris points out that Zeus is the eldest brother, and Poseidon gives in grudgingly. He says that if Zeus, in spite of Poseidon himself, Athena, Hera, Hermes and Hephaestus, spares Troy, then unending bitterness will ensue. After this Poseidon withdraws and the Achaeans feel his absence. Zeus tells Apollo to help Hector and frighten the Achaeans into fleeing to the ships. Apollo joins Hector, who is being revived by Zeus' power, and breathes strength into him. Hector starts running, urging his side on, and the Achaeans are terrified. The king of the Aetolians, in whose form Poseidon has stressed the importance of solidarity to Idomeneus, advises the leading fighters to send the bulk of the army back towards the ships, while they themselves remain to confront the Trojans. This is done. The Trojans charge, led by Hector and Apollo, who holds the famous aegis, a goatskin or shield with metalwork provided by Hephaestus, who gave it to Zeus.48 When Apollo looks the Achaeans straight in the face, shakes the aegis and shouts, they panic and flee behind their wall, which Apollo then breaches. Nestor, the 'watcher over the Achaeans', prays to Zeus that his side may be saved. Zeus thunders as a favourable answer, and the Trojans mistake this for a good omen for themselves. They sweep past the wall and start fighting by the sterns of the ships. Patroclus sees this and runs off to join Achilles. The Achaeans stand firm and the fortunes of the battle are kept even, like, we are told, the timber in the hands of a shipwright well inspired by Athena. Ajax the Greater asks Teucer where the bow given him by Apollo is. Teucer starts shooting, but when he is about to shoot at Hector, Zeus makes his bowstring break. Hector sees this happen and realizes that Zeus is responsible. The Trojans' attack on the ships continues, with more assistance from Zeus, who wants to give glory to Hector and is waiting for a ship to be set on fire; then he

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means to let the Achaeans win. (Ancient readers of Homer were tortured with suspense at this point.)49 Athena is already preparing Hector's early death. Nestor is now most prominent in calling on the Achaeans to stand firm. He tells them to think of their children and their parents, whether alive or dead. Athena dispels the dark mist which has been covering their eyes. Hector takes hold of a ship's stern and calls for fire. Commentary

The passage about Zeus, Poseidon and Hades provides striking confirmation of the validity of our seeing concepts 1, 2 and 3 reflected as sub-concepts within concept 1. Here the three male sovereign gods are perfectly distributed as rulers of different levels of the universe, in a descending order which corresponds exactly to the duties imposed by the sub-concepts: providing ultimate religious sovereignty, taking care of the community and giving people their respective lots in the afterlife. Since Hades' alternative name is Plouton, 'the wealth-giver' (explained by the presence of metals beneath the ground), he is an apt representative of 1.3.50 It is to be further noted, with reference to Poseidon's being obliged to give way to Zeus, that in the Indian epics one often finds the teaching that it is obligatory to obey one's eldest brother and see him as a father.51 The Achaeans are now in much the same position as at the end of Book XII. There, as we have seen, the Ramayana has a similar situation: Lakshmana has to be ordered by Rama to go and kill Indrajit before the latter ignites a sacrificial fire and ensures victory for his side. This episode of the Ramayana is unusual for its effect of suspense. It will be objected that in the commentary on Book XIV we saw Rama's actually giving the order as paralleled by Agamemnon's agreeing with Odysseus and Diomedes that the Achaeans' morale must be maintained by positive action, whereas elsewhere we see the Homeric parallel as being Achilles' giving Patroclus permission to enter the fighting. But the Iliad's famous use of successive 'retardations' of its plot means that Patroclus is constantly kept in the same position, and we are constantly brought back to the same passage in the Ramayana. Moreover, it is to be borne in mind that modern scholarship has found the Iliad to be based on the pre-Homeric Greek epic tradition, with the Iliad's author adding the story of Patroclus and Hector in order to give a new dimension of his own, but using earlier ingredients to describe what happens to them. Consequently there is no difficulty in seeing one

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passage of the Ramayana repeatedly paralleled in different parts of the Iliad's narrative. BOOK XVI: SALVATION AND DEATH Patroclus, whom we have seen making his way to Achilles, finally reaches him, crying. Achilles asks him why he is crying like a girl. He replies that the Achaeans are about to be massacred, and reproaches Achilles for his cruelty. Then he asks to be allowed to lead the Myrmidons out and wear Achilles' armour, in order to be taken for him. Achilles agrees that Patroclus should prevent the Trojans from burning the ships, but tells him to come back and not continue fighting after the enemy has been driven away. Calling on Zeus, Athena and Apollo, he expresses the wish that all the Achaeans and Trojans should die, leaving Patroclus and himself as sole survivors. Meanwhile Zeus and the Trojans are pushing back Ajax the Greater, who is their main obstacle. One ship is set on fire. Achilles sees this and tells Patroclus to put the armour on. He himself gathers the Myrmidons, and they come together like wolves whose jaws are covered with blood. Two of their leaders seem to symbolize fertility: their mothers are married to men who have paid immense bride-prices for them, but their real fathers are divine. One is the son of a river, while the other has been fathered by Hermes, who saw his mother in a group of girls, dancing for Artemis 'of the golden arrows and the din of the hunt'. Achilles prays to Zeus, asking him to let Patroclus drive the Trojans away from the ships and then come back safely. Zeus agrees to only the first half of this request. Patroclus leads out the Myrmidons, forces the Trojans back from the ships and puts the fire out. Prominent Achaeans kill adversaries, and the Trojans flee in panic. Hector's horses take him away. Patroclus kills a number of Trojans, and then Sarpedon decides to face him. Both warriors jump down from their chariots. Zeus is filled with pity for Sarpedon, and suggests to Hera that his son might be saved. She does not agree, and persuades Zeus to let him die, but to send Death and Sleep to take his body back to his homeland for a proper burial. Patroclus kills Sarpedon's charioteer with a spear. Sarpedon succeeds only in killing Patroclus' trace-horse. The other two horses shy apart, but when Patroclus' charioteer deftly cuts the trace-horse clear, they pull straight again. In a second round of fighting, Sarpedon's spearcast goes over Patroclus' left shoulder; Patroclus' spear-cast kills his

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opponent. The Myrmidons take Sarpedon's horses, which are beginning to panic as a result of the deaths of their masters. Glaucus, the joint leader of the Lycians along with Sarpedon, has been wounded by Teucer. He prays to Apollo to heal his wound, so that he can go and summon others to fight to save Sarpedon's body and armour, and take part in the fighting himself. Apollo answers his prayer, and he spreads the sad news. The Trojans are extremely upset, since Sarpedon has been a tower of strength for them. Both sides clash over the body, and Zeus spreads darkness above. To begin with, the Achaeans give ground, but then they push forward again. Zeus considers letting Patroclus die now, but decides to let him drive the Trojans back to their city first, and so he makes Hector lose courage. The Trojan leader flees and tells his followers to do likewise. Sarpedon's armour is taken by the Achaeans, and Zeus tells Apollo to carry the corpse away, wash it, anoint it with ambrosia (the food of the gods), put immortal clothes on it and give it to the twin brothers Sleep and Death, who are to transport it to Lycia: there Sarpedon will be given a funeral with a barrow and a tombstone. This is duly done. Zeus now makes Patroclus fight on, pursuing and killing more Trojans, in defiance of Achilles' instructions. Patroclus even attacks the city wall of Troy itself, and tries to climb it three times: three times Apollo slams him back, and when he tries a fourth time the god tells him to give way. Then Apollo inspires Hector to go on fighting outside the city, and creates confusion among the Achaeans. Hector, accompanied by an illegitimate half-brother acting as charioteer, goes to attack Patroclus. The latter kills the charioteer, and for a time the Achaeans still have the upper hand. Patroclus charges the Trojans three times, and each time he kills nine men. When, however, he makes his fourth charge, Apollo hits him in the back with his hand, knocks his helmet off and undoes his corselet. A Trojan called Euphorbus also hits Patroclus in the back, between the shoulders, with a spear, before running away. Hector then stabs him fatally in the stomach. Patroclus, just before dying, tells Hector that he cannot take much credit for this killing, and prophesies that he will soon die at Achilles' hands. Commentary

The Ramayana proceeds in similar fashion. Rama, as we have seen, tells Lakshmana to go and kill Indrajit before he can perform his sacrifice. Lakshmana sets off and penetrates the ogres' ranks, making

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them give ground. Indrajit is obliged to leave the altar and face him. Then Lakshmana kills Indrajit's charioteer and wounds his horses, but Indrajit manages to control them until they are killed by some leading monkeys. After this he acquires a new charioteer and fresh horses. Again, Lakshmana kills the charioteer, but the horses show perfect self-control until Lakshmana succeeds in frightening them and they are killed by Vibhishana. Imposing supernatural missiles are launched in vain by both Lakshmana and Indrajit until one of these missiles finally kills the latter. The ogres panic and flee to their city.52 There is another aspect in which Indrajit corresponds to Sarpedon. According to Book VII of the Ramayana (generally thought to be a late addition to the epic), Indrajit had asked the supreme god, Brahma, for the gift of immortality. Brahma had replied that no creature on the earth could be immortal. Indrajit had then asked to be given invincibility, provided that he performed the necessary sacrifice before fighting, and this had been granted.53 Similarly, Zeus is unable to prevent Sarpedon from being killed. (Nagy, analysing the word here usually translated as 'give a funeral to', tarkhuo, argues that it reflects the royal funerary practice of the Hittites, an Indo-European-speaking people of ancient Turkey: the dead king becomes a god.)54 In the Ramayana^ account of the siege of Lanka, after Indrajit has been killed and the ogres have fled, the besieging army continues to be victorious, again driving the ogres back into the city after they have re-emerged. Then Ravana leads his troops out in person. Leading ogres are killed. Ravana fights Rama and Lakshmana. Lakshmana kills Ravana's charioteer. Ravana hurls a magic spear, which passes through Lakshmana's heart, so that he falls, apparently mortally wounded. Thus the apparent killing of Lakshmana corresponds to the death of Patroclus. (In the continuation, however, Hanuman fetches a special herb and Lakshmana's life is saved.)55 There is also a parallel in the Iranian Book of Kings. The prince Isfandiyar has been imprisoned by his father, the king of Iran. Iran is invaded by the Turanians, who burn down a most important firetemple, extinguishing the sacred fire which must always be kept alive. It is imperative that Isfandiyar be brought into the fighting. A messenger is sent to him, and he is told that his two sisters (one of whom, as often in pre-Islamic Iranian practice, is also his wife) have been taken prisoner. It takes a long time to file through Isfandiyar s chains, and he breaks them himself. When he returns from his imprisonment he finds his brother Farshidward mortally wounded. He goes on to enter the enemy's stronghold in disguise, and has another

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brother of his, Bishutan, attack it while pretending to be Isfandiyar himself, wielding the latter's mace.56 Modern scholarship has found plenty of important elements in the story of Patroclus' death. The armour given to him by Achilles is evidently impenetrable; later, when Hector wears it, there is just one spot where it fails to cover his body. Thus Apollo has to undo Patroclus' corselet. The account of his death is apparently based on that of Achilles': both heroes are in effect killed by Apollo. Euphorbus seems to be a duplicate of Paris, the human agent of Achilles' destruction. Like Paris, he is handsome and good at games. Paris, it has been thought, would have originally been the strongest Trojan fighter (like Ravana), and Hector would be a later invention (perhaps rather, we should suggest, a figure whose importance was later increased). On the Germanic side, in the Nibelungenlied {The Song of the Nibelungs, a medieval German epic involving a legendary people of dwarfs), the hero Siegfried has his armour stolen and is also fatally stabbed in the small of the back (the only spot where he does not have magical invulnerability); then his killer runs away. As is well known, Achilles has to die by being shot in the heel, since elsewhere he has divinely granted invulnerability.57 BOOK X V I I : A F I G H T OVER A BODY Menelaus, seeing that Patroclus has fallen, comes and stands over him in order to keep the Trojans away from his body and armour. Euphorbus attacks Menelaus, who, after praying to Zeus, kills him. Blood covers his beautiful hair, which is bound in plaits with gold and silver. Apollo urges Hector on, and Menelaus, realizing that the Trojan leader has both divine assistance and a number of comrades with him, retreats and summons Ajax the Greater. Hector takes the armour lent by Achilles to Patroclus, but when Menelaus returns with Ajax he is obliged to abandon the body, which he wants to give to his city's dogs, and falls back. Ajax and Menelaus stand over the body, while Hector puts on Achilles' armour. Zeus, knowing that Hector will soon die, has pity on him and decides to give him temporary power and glory. Ares enters into Hector and makes him brave and strong. Hector addresses his allies and reminds them how he has lavished presents and food on them. Menelaus for his part reminds the Achaean leaders of the honour given them by Zeus. Zeus himself spreads a mist over the part of the battlefield where Patroclus lies, since he does not want the body

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to be defiled and prefers to see Hector's temporary success take other forms. Ajax fights so well that Hector is again made to fall back. Apollo, however, tells Aeneas that Zeus intends to help the Trojans. Aeneas rallies his side, and the battle drags on. Meanwhile, Achilles' horses are crying at the loss of Patroclus, and Zeus feels sorry for them. He decides that Hector must not capture them, and gives them strength to return safely to the ships. Their charioteer, after praying to Zeus, kills a Trojan. Zeus now sends Athena to the fighting around Patroclus, in the same way, we are told, that he habitually sends a rainbow (which for the Greeks is linked to storm-clouds and trouble - thus the design on Agamemnon's corselet is compared to it, the sub-concept being 1.1a).58 Athena urges the Achaeans on, speaking first to Menelaus, whom she fills with strength and daring. Apollo on his side gives encouragement to Hector, and then Zeus makes the Achaeans panic. Ajax asks Zeus to dispel the mist, so that a messenger can be found to take the news of Patroclus' death to Achilles. Zeus agrees, and the message is sent. Ajax now works out a plan for rescuing Patroclus' body: he and his namesake will keep the Trojans at bay while Menelaus and Meriones quickly lift the corpse and take it away. The plan works, but the rest of the Achaeans flee before Hector and Aeneas. Commentary

Here scholars have again looked to the story of Achilles' death and taken the view that Homer used it as his model. The Ramayana has a similar narrative about the fighting over Lakshmana, whom Ravana seems to have killed. When Lakshmana falls, pierced by Ravana's spear, the strongest of the monkeys try in vain to pull the spear out. Rama succeeds in doing this, while being hit by Ravana's arrows. He embraces Lakshmana and tells Hanuman and the king of the monkeys to stay with his brother while he himself attacks Ravana. Then he forces Ravana to run away. Rama thinks that Lakshmana is dead, but it is pointed out to him that his brother is still alive and can be cured. A special herb is brought (again, Hanuman has to carry the mountaintop on which it grows) and Lakshmana is healed.59 Modern scholarship has observed that in the story of the rescue of Achilles' corpse Ajax the Greater picks it up and takes it to the ships, while Odysseus fights the Trojans off. However, in some versions it is Odysseus who carries the corpse.60 We may feel that here the important

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role played by Menelaus is appropriate: as in the case of Rama, it is for the sake of his wife that a hero has fallen. BOOK X V I I I : DECISIONS AND A SHIELD Achilles receives the message that Patroclus is dead, and is extremely upset. Thetis and other sea-goddesses come to him. He declares that he does not want to go on living unless he kills Hector. His mother tells him that he will die immediately afterwards, and he accepts this. Thetis orders him to wait until she has brought new armour from Hephaestus, and sets off to Olympus to fetch it. Meanwhile Hector is still chasing the Achaeans and Patroclus' corpse. Hera, without the knowledge of Zeus and the other gods, sends Iris to Achilles, since Hector is just about to capture the body. Iris tells Achilles to show himself to the Trojans and frighten them with the sight of him. Athena wraps the aegis round him and makes a flame burn above his head. Achilles and Athena shout loudly, and the Trojans panic: 12 of their best men are killed. Patroclus' body is rescued and Achilles weeps over it. Hera forces the sun to set early and the fighting ends. The Trojans now hold a meeting. Polydamas, who, we are told, was born on the same night as Hector (which suggests that they are disguised twins), speaks first. He is wise and a good speaker, just as Hector is a fine warrior. His view is that the Trojans should withdraw into the city. Hector does not agree. He is tired of being cooped up in Troy, and laments the loss of the wealth which it formerly possessed. Hector declares that he is willing to face Achilles out in the open. This view prevails - Athena has robbed the Trojans of their wits. Achilles for his part is busy mourning for Patroclus. He says that he will bury Patroclus after killing Hector, and will slit the throats of 12 Trojans at his funeral. (This looks like typically Indo-European human sacrifice.) Then he has the body washed and shrouded. Zeus comments to Hera on her deep love for the Achaeans. She replies, addressing him as 'Most dread' [1.1a], that she has fulfilled her aims by virtue of being first among goddesses. Meanwhile Thetis comes to Hephaestus and asks him to make armour for her son. Hephaestus first makes a shield, on the face of which he puts an elaborate design. He begins with a representation of the universe, and then portrays two cities. In one of these, marriages are being celebrated, and a court of law is in session, with elders giving judgment. (This city is taken by Yoshida to represent Dumezil's first

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'function'.) The other city is being besieged: its defenders, led by Ares and Athena, ambush their besiegers. (Here Yoshida naturally finds 'function' 2.) Hephaestus goes on to portray ploughing, reaping, grapepicking, cattle, sheep and dancing. (All this is seen by Yoshida as included within 'function' 3.) Finally, Hephaestus depicts the river Ocean, flowing round the rest of the design. Then he makes a corselet, a helmet and greaves. Thetis takes the armour and sets off to join Achilles.61 Commentary

The interview between Achilles and Thetis resembles an important section in the Iranian Book of Kings. There Rustam, one of the main heroes of the epic, is doing badly in his war against Isfandiyar, whose armour is impenetrable (just as Hector now has apparently impenetrable armour). When Rustam returns to his family he and they are very upset. His father summons the mythical bird called the Simurgh, which explains to Rustam that whoever kills Isfandiyar must himself face disaster. However, if that is what Rustam wants, it can be done. The Simurgh then shows Rustam how to make an arrow which will kill Isfandiyar.62 As for the flame over Achilles' head and the shout which produces death among the Trojans, these have been compared to the fire above the head of the Irish hero Cuchulainn and the scream with which he makes 100 warriors die of fright.63 The Greek narrative also corresponds to part of the Ramayana. There, as we have seen, Rama is extremely upset when Lakshmana is struck down, apparently mortally wounded, by Ravana. He declares his intention of killing Ravana and makes him run away. Thinking that Lakshmana is dying, he laments for him, and even when his brother is revived he still weeps over him. Then Rama and Ravana shoot arrows at each other, before the gods observe that Rama is fighting on foot and Ravana from a chariot. Indra tells his own charioteer to give Rama his chariot. The charioteer obeys and also gives Rama Indra's bow, arrows, spear and shield.64 It must be said that the design on Achilles' shield does not provide the best possible example of Dumezilian 'trifunctionality'. The two cities are clearly meant to symbolize the antithesis of peace and war, and there is no explicit triad. However, it seems reasonable enough to view the enumeration of subjects as reflecting the usual three concepts in their canonical order. Some scholars have taken the view that the preparation of a second set of armour for Achilles is an invention of

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Homer himself, but the corresponding divine gift of arms in the Ramayana, at a corresponding part of the narrative, suggests otherwise.65 BOOK XIX: A SPECIAL WEAPON At dawn Thetis brings the armour to her son, who is suitably impressed by its evidently divine origin. She tells him to summon an assembly, and he does so. All the Achaeans come, notably Diomedes and Odysseus, while Agamemnon, who has also been wounded, arrives last. Achilles expresses his regret that they have quarrelled over Briseis, and wishes that Artemis had killed her with an arrow on the day of her capture. Agamemnon blames Zeus, Fate (Moira, who fixes the term of one's life, and thus seems, as an alternative to Hades, to correspond to Terminus and Bhaga as 1.3) and one of the Erinyes (goddesses who usually fulfil curses and punish people who break oaths, and consequently appear, like the Roman 'god of Faith', to represent 1.1b). They, he complains, made him quarrel with Achilles by putting Blindness (Ate) in his mind. Blindness had once overcome Zeus himself. Hera had tricked Zeus when Heracles' mother was about to give birth to him. Zeus had declared that a man of his stock, born that day, would rule over all those around him. Hera had made him swear, under the influence of Blindness, that this would be the case, and then she had delayed Heracles' birth while causing someone else to be born prematurely. Agamemnon compares his own condition to that of Zeus then, and also accuses Zeus of intervening to deceive him. In reply Achilles declares that they should go to fight the Trojans straightaway, but Odysseus points out that they should eat first, and this view prevails. Odysseus and others now fetch the gifts previously promised by Agamemnon to Achilles. (Here the enumeration, as with the scenes on Achilles' shield, can be seen as following a canonical tripartite order, but not at all explicitly.) There are seven tripods (articles which, as we have noted, are associated with sacrifices and temples); 20 other cauldrons; 12 horses (presumably to be used in war as well as in racing); seven women (here described just as skilled in their work, and not also as beautiful, which was the case when they were promised before); next is mentioned the beautiful Briseis herself; finally, gold. Agamemnon sacrifices a boar, and swears that he has not touched Briseis. He calls to witness Zeus, the Earth, the Sun and the Erinyes.

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Achilles for his part blames the quarrel on Zeus. The assembly is dismissed. Briseis is taken to Patroclus' body, and mourns for him, recalling his kindness. The other women join in the mourning, but in fact, we are told, weep because of their own tribulations. Achilles refuses to eat or drink in his grief for Patroclus. Zeus tells Athena to give him the food and drink of the gods, ambrosia and nectar. She does so, and Achilles arms himself. He takes his famous spear, which the physician Cheiron had given to his father and which Patroclus had left behind. Then Achilles tells his horses to bring their charioteer back safely. One of them, suddenly given the power of speech by Hera, replies that Achilles will soon die, because of a great god and Fate. Patroclus had been killed by Apollo, who had given the credit to Hector; Achilles will be killed by a god and a man acting together. At this point the Erinyes stop the horse from saying anything more. (It is not clear whether they are intervening as protectors of the natural order of things, as they do elsewhere, or to prevent some secret from being revealed - perhaps in contravention of oaths sworn by the gods.)66 Achilles declares that he knows that he is fated to die there, and drives his horses on among the leaders of the advancing Achaean army. Commentary

Of particular interest here is Achilles' spear. We are told that it has been cut from a tree in a special place. In the Iranian Book of Kings the same is the case with the arrow given to Rustam.67 There too the donor has special medical powers. The spear, which Achilles alone can wield, is going to kill Hector, just as the arrow is going to kill Isfandiyar. Similarly, Rama is going to kill Ravana with an unsurpassable weapon, an arrow given him by the famous, wise and holy man Agastya.68 BOOK XX: GODS, SUCCESSION TO A THRONE AND SINGLE COMBAT Zeus tells the gods to go down to the battlefield and help either side as they wish, while he looks down from Olympus. Hera joins the Achaeans, along with Athena, Poseidon, Hermes and Hephaestus. Hermes is here described as a 'good runner' and very clever. The Trojans are joined by Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Leto, the river Xanthus and Aphrodite. Zeus thunders on high, Poseidon shakes the earth and,

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underneath, Hades is frightened that the earth above him will be torn through. Poseidon faces Apollo, Athena faces Ares, Hera faces Artemis, Hermes faces Leto, and the lowly Hephaestus faces the similarly lowly Xanthus. Then Apollo decides to persuade Aeneas to fight with Achilles. Aeneas agrees, after Apollo has pointed out that his mother, Aphrodite, is more important than Achilles' mother. Hera sees Aeneas moving forward and suggests to Poseidon and Athena that they should intervene against him; on a later day Achilles will suffer what Destiny spun for him at his birth. Poseidon does not want to make the gods start fighting one another, and persuades his allies to move away to sit and watch, intervening only if Ares or Apollo does so first. (Yet again, we see how Poseidon protects the community's solidarity.) The gods on the Trojan side also sit down. Achilles asks Aeneas why he has come forward, and points out that if the Trojan is victorious in their duel, he still cannot hope for Priam's throne, since the latter has sons of his own. In a previous encounter Aeneas has been saved by 'Zeus and other gods', but Achilles does not think that this will happen now. Aeneas replies by referring to his genealogy. A descendant of Zeus called Tros, who gave his name to Troy, had three sons, Ilus, Assaracus and Ganymede. Ganymede, the most beautiful of mortals, was snatched away by the gods to be Zeus' cupbearer, because of his beauty. Ilus was the grandfather of Priam, the father of Hector. Assaracus was the grandfather of Aeneas. (Here Dumezil saw a tripartite pattern, with Ganymede, Hector and Aeneas respectively representing the third, second and first of his 'functions'.)69 Aeneas hurls his spear, but it cannot pierce Achilles' divinely bestowed shield. Achilles does succeed in piercing Aeneas' shield, but the latter ducks and is unscathed. Achilles rushes forward with his sword drawn, but Poseidon does not want to see Aeneas killed. He observes that Apollo will not save him, but he has to be saved so that the Trojan royal family may not become extinct: Priam's line is now hated by Zeus, and so Aeneas will in future reign over the Trojans, followed by his children's children. (Again, Poseidon's behaviour, which in this instance has been thought odd, since he is on the Achaean side, is perfectly explicable in Indo-European terms, since he ensures the survival of the community.) Hera replies that that is up to Poseidon: she and Athena have sworn to go on attacking the Trojans. Poseidon goes to Achilles, puts a mist over his eyes and gives him his spear back, and then makes Aeneas fly through the air to the edge of the battlefield. There he tells Aeneas not to fight against Achilles again.

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When Achilles realizes that Aeneas is protected by the gods, he turns to urging the Achaeans on. Hector wants to attack Achilles on his own, but Apollo tells him to remain within the Trojan ranks: otherwise he will die. Achilles now kills the son of a water-nymph, and then two more warriors, before dispatching Priam's youngest and favourite son, Polydorus (thereby emphasizing the doom of his line). Hector, greatly upset, goes to face Achilles and hurls his spear at him. Athena blows it back to Hector's feet. Achilles rushes forward, but Apollo snatches Hector away and protects him with a mist. After Achilles has charged and thrust into the mist three times, he goes on to attack other warriors, and kills many of them. Commentary

The Ramayana also allows plenty of time and action to come before the death of the principal defender of the besieged city, Ravana himself. There the conventions of the Indian epic require a long exchange of many missiles between Rama and Ravana. The gods and other supernatural beings look on: while the gods cheer Rama, the anti-gods (Asuras) cheer the ogre. In the Ramayana Vibhishana, the youngest child of Ravana's parents, is going to be the king of Lanka: his juniority corresponds to that of Aeneas' line. As we shall see, he seems to be promoted from the level of concept 3 to that of sub-concept 1.3, and this promotion also appears to be accorded to both Aeneas and Achilles. The duels which Achilles fights with Aeneas and Hector in this book prefigure his final duel with the latter in Book XXII. There are also correspondences with the final Rama-Ravana duel. In this Rama and Ravana hurl enormous spears at each other, and these collide. Ravana is about to be killed when his charioteer decides to drive him away.70 Poseidon's rescue of Aeneas is paralleled in Iran, in one of the later sections of the Book of Kings. There a historical king, Khusraw II (590-628 CE), is presented as being in mortal peril before he is snatched up and rescued by a Mazdean archangel, 'Obedience', whom we have identified, like Poseidon, as representing sub-concept 1.2 and who thus saves the Iranian royal line.71

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BOOK X X I : THE BATTLE OF THE GODS Achilles drives a large number of Trojans into the water of the Xanthus (which presumably represents concept 3, like other rivers), and kills many of them. Then he takes 12 young prisoners, to be sacrificed later in vengeance for the death of Patroclus. Achilles goes on to catch a son of Priam called Lycaon, whom he has previously captured and sold as a slave: this time he shows him no mercy. After this he attacks a grandson of another river, called Asteropaeus. The Xanthus, angered by Achilles' activities, puts courage into Asteropaeus' heart, but Achilles kills Asteropaeus, and boasts that he himself is of superior lineage: on his father's side his great-grandfather is Zeus. Now the Xanthus is absolutely furious, and complains to Apollo that the latter has been told by Zeus to protect the Trojans until evening, but in fact is doing nothing to help them. The Xanthus itself swells up and rushes against Achilles, chasing him over the plain. Achilles cries out to Zeus that none of the gods seems ready to save him. Poseidon and Athena come and reassure him, and Athena makes him stronger than ever. He turns and charges the Xanthus, which calls on its brother-river, the Simoeis, to join in. The Xanthus is about to sweep over Achilles when Hera tells Hephaestus to start a fire and drive the river back. Hephaestus obeys and the Xanthus is forced to stop fighting. Other gods proceed to join battle, much to the amusement of Zeus. Ares attacks Athena, to no effect, and is sent sprawling by her. She points out that he has been cursed by his mother, Hera, for leaving the Achaean side. Aphrodite leads Ares away, but is spotted by Hera, who tells Athena to catch her: Athena duly knocks Aphrodite over with a blow of her hand. Poseidon addresses Apollo, reminding him of the time when Zeus had sent the two of them away from the other gods to work as labourers at Troy. In this version of the story Poseidon relates that he built the city wall while Apollo worked as a herdsman. Since they were cheated of their wages, Apollo, says Poseidon, should not be helping the Trojans. Apollo replies that as gods they should not fight on behalf of humans, and moves away. Artemis is furious with him, and points out that he has boasted that he could fight Poseidon, but her words have no effect. She herself is rebuked by Hera, who boasts of her superior physical strength: Artemis is no match for her, even with her bow and Zeus-given right to kill all women. She should stick to killing wild animals on the mountainside. Then Hera boxes her ears

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and spills her arrows. Artemis escapes in tears. Meanwhile Hermes declines to fight Leto, on the grounds that she is one of Zeus' wives. The gods return to Olympus, with the exception of Apollo, who goes into Troy, worried for its safety. Achilles is still killing large numbers of Trojans, and the city gates have to be opened for the retreating defenders to run back in to safety. Apollo comes out of the city again, and encourages one leading Trojan warrior, Agenor, to stand up to Achilles. Agenor wonders if he should run back into Troy or to the plain outside, but decides to fight. He fails to pierce Achilles' armour, but Apollo snatches him away and then assumes his form, leading Achilles across the plain. The book ends with the Trojans reaching safety. Commentary

One noteworthy element here is the role of Hera: she is a sovereign who gives orders to other deities, in her loyalty to the Achaeans [1.1b]. Athena is a strong war-goddess [2], and Hermes a clever fighter who knows when it is better not to fight [2.1], while Ares is just a brutish fool [2.2]. Apollo is a strong ex-herdsman [3.2], and Artemis a weak huntress [3.3]. Modern commentators have seen this battle of the gods as intended to provide light relief and a contrast between divine frivolity and human tragedy. It also serves to delay still further the final encounter between Achilles and Hector. In the Ramayana, as we have observed, the delaying of Ravana's death is achieved by other means: the duel is prolonged while the supernatural spectators cheer the protagonists on. Moreover, the duel is interrupted when Ravana's charioteer drives him away. We have already compared this intervention to Apollo's rescue of Hector at the end of Book XX. It also parallels Apollo's rescue of Agenor here, although, as we shall see, there is in addition a correspondence with Hector's flight from Achilles in Book XXII. Agenor's self-questioning about the merits of running away or standing one's ground will be repeated by Hector there. BOOK X X I I : FLIGHT, DEATH AND LAMENTATION Fate keeps Hector outside the city wall, while Apollo reveals his divine identity to Achilles. The latter sets off towards Troy. Priam sees him and begs Hector to come into the city. The king cannot see two of his sons, Lycaon and Polydorus, and says that if they have been captured

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he will ransom them with the bronze and gold in his house (their mother had brought a large dowry). Hector's mother also begs him to come inside. He wonders what to do, and considers offering to return Helen and her property, along with half of the wealth which Troy contains. Eventually he decides to fight Achilles. However, when Achilles arrives Hector is seized by trembling and runs away from the gates and around the city. Achilles gives chase, and they pass two springs, beside which stand the washing-troughs used by the Trojan women in peacetime. Zeus has pity on Hector, who has often sacrificed to him, and suggests to the other gods that his life might be spared. Athena replies that they will not approve of saving a man who has long been doomed. Zeus says that he had not been speaking seriously, and tells Athena not to delay in doing what she wants. She goes down to intervene. Hector's speed is being kept up by Apollo, but now Zeus weighs his fate against that of Achilles. When Hector's fate sinks down, Apollo abandons him. ^thena joins Achilles and tells him that they are now going to kill Hector, however much Apollo may grovel before Zeus on his behalf. Then she goes to Hector, taking the form of one of his brothers, Deiphobus, and treacherously persuades him to stop running, so that they can fight Achilles together. He suggests to Achilles that they should agree to the return of the body of the loser in the duel for a proper funeral. Achilles refuses, and declares that Athena will soon bring Hector down with his spear. Then he throws his spear, but Hector ducks and avoids it. Athena, without Hector noticing, returns it to Achilles. Hector casts his own spear, but it bounces off Achilles' shield. He calls for Deiphobus to give him another spear, and then realizes that his brother is not there and Athena has tricked him. Presumably, he declares, this has been the long-term plan of Zeus and Apollo, in spite of the aid which they have given him: now fate has caught up with him. He draws his sword and swoops to attack Achilles, who examines his opponent's body for a vulnerable spot. Hector is completely covered by the armour taken from Patroclus, except at his throat. Achilles drives his spear in there, and Hector falls. He begs Achilles to let his parents ransom his body. Achilles says that he will refuse. Hector prophesies that Paris and Apollo will kill Achilles, and dies. Achilles, after declaring that he will face his doom when Zeus and the other gods desire it, strips the corpse. He thinks of making a show of force against the Trojans, to see if they will still fight on. Then he remembers Patroclus, and the need to give him a funeral. He inserts

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straps in Hector's feet and drags his body behind his chariot. Hector's parents see this and lament grievously. So do the people of Troy. Andromache, who is busy weaving at home, is not told what has happened, but the noise brings her to the city wall. She throws away her fine headdress, and speaks of the miserable existence which awaits her son, who will now be rejected at a feast, whereas previously he would eat very well. Andromache ends by saying that she will burn the splendid clothes stored for Hector in their home. Commentary

The involuntary flight of Hector, after he has bravely decided to stand his ground, is paralleled in the Ramayana. Ravana, wounded, is disheartened and agitated, and stops trying to fight back. His charioteer turns their chariot round and drives away, much to Ravana's anger, since this looks like cowardice. Similarly, in the History of Rome, the Sabine leader Mettius Curtius, fighting outside the citadel which his side has occupied, is put to flight. This, we are told, is achieved more easily because he happens to be on horseback: doubtless the idea is that the horse, being frightened, causes an involuntary flight on the part of a redoubtable warrior. The horse then becomes even more frightened by the noise of the pursuers, and Mettius plunges into a swamp before making his escape.72 As for the encouragement given by Athena to Achilles, this also finds an echo in the Ramayana. When Ravana is driven away by his charioteer, the holy man Agastya teaches Rama the 'Hymn to the Sun', which ensures victory, and the Sun itself approaches Rama to urge him on. After Rama has returned to the fight, the charioteer sent by the gods to help Rama advises him to use a special weapon. Divine portents make Rama and Ravana realize what the outcome will be.73 The actual killing of Hector is well paralleled in Iran. As is the case with Achilles' spear, a special missile is used in the Book of Kings. Isfandiyar is invulnerable apart from his eyes, and so a two-pronged arrow has to be discharged into them. This, as in the Iliad, is the climax of the epic. The Simurgh has told Rustam that he will be successful if he follows the instructions given him. Isfandiyar has realized that Rustam has benefited from the use of magic to heal his wounds. When Isfandiyar has fallen, mortally wounded, Rustam's father repeats the prophecy that whoever kills Isfandiyar is doomed. Isfandiyar himself says that his own death was fated to happen, and tells Rustam that the latter's ruin is now assured.74

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In the Ramayana the lamentation following Ravana's death has a pattern like that of the lamentation after Hector's. First Ravana's brother Vibhishana mourns, and he is imitated by the female ogres. Finally we are given a long speech by Ravana's principal consort, in which she refers to the magnificent and sumptuous existence which the two of them have shared, and which is now ended.75 BOOK X X I I I : THE DISTRIBUTOR OF GOODS Achilles begins the arrangements for Patroclus' funeral and dishonours Hector's corpse still further. Many animals are roasted 'across the flame of Hephaestus' (who as in Book XXI represents fire). Achilles tells Agamemnon to have wood gathered for the pyre. Then he falls asleep, and Patroclus' ghost appears to him, complaining that he cannot pass through the gates of Hades' domain. Patroclus reminds Achilles of his own impending death and says that he wants their bones to be placed in the same urn, as they had grown up together. The next day Achilles cuts off a lock of his own hair, which he had intended to dedicate to a river in his native land, and places it in Patroclus' hands. A pyre is built, and animals are sacrificed, along with the 12 young Trojan captives. (Hector's body, in contrast to the honour shown to that of Patroclus, is just left lying on the plain. However, Achilles keeps the dogs away from it and Apollo shields it from the sun.) The pyre will not burn, and Achilles has to pray to the winds. Iris fetches them, and the pyre is duly kindled. Later a mound is built as a tomb. After the funeral itself Achilles brings prizes for the funeral games, over which he presides. First comes the chariot race, which is preceded by a speech in which Achilles refers to the gentleness of Patroclus and the care which he gave to his own horses. One of the entrants is Antilochus, who is given a long lecture by his father, Nestor, on what he should do. In the race the Thessalian Eumelus takes the lead. His horses have been bred by Apollo. Diomedes is about to overtake him with the horses which he has taken from Aeneas (when the latter had to be rescued by Apollo). Apollo now knocks the whip out of Diomedes' hands, but Athena gives it back to him and smashes Eumelus' chariot. With Eumelus out of the race, Menelaus is in second place behind Diomedes, but Antilochus contrives to overtake him by driving so dangerously when the road narrows that Menelaus is forced to drop behind. Meanwhile, among the spectators, Idomeneus is sitting apart

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from and above the rest. He gives his comments on the race and tells the others to stand up and look for themselves. Ajax the Runner replies insultingly, and a quarrel develops, which Achilles, speaking with authority, stops. Diomedes comes in first, Antilochus second, Menelaus third and Eumelus last. Achilles has pity on Eumelus, and wants to give him the second prize, but Antilochus objects and points out that Achilles has plenty of riches, out of which Eumelus can be given something else. This suggestion meets with Achilles' approval. Then Menelaus accuses Antilochus of cheating, and challenges him to swear by Poseidon (who is especially associated with horses) that he is innocent. Antilochus, in order to end the quarrel, gives Menelaus his prize, and Menelaus, molified, gives it back to him. One prize has been left unawarded, and Achilles gives it to Nestor. The latter reminisces about his triumphs as a young sportsman, and his defeat in a chariot race by a pair of twins. Next comes the boxing match, with a mule for the winner and a cup for the loser. Achilles mentions Apollo as the god who will give victory here (he was particularly associated with festivals and games). The winner is one Epeius, who appears in the Odyssey as the maker of the Wooden Horse which brings about the fall of Troy, and seems to be of very low social status.76 After this comes the wrestling match, in which Odysseus competes against Ajax the Greater, until Achilles puts a stop to things, telling them not to wear each other out, but to share the prizes. In the foot-race Odysseus competes again. He is about to be beaten by Ajax the Runner when the latter is sent sprawling by Athena. Odysseus comes first, Ajax second and Antilochus third. Antilochus comments that Odysseus is a strong old man, and it is difficult for others to keep up with him, except Achilles. Achilles, in reward for this ingratiating remark, doubles Antilochus' prize. The next three events have been seen by scholars as later additions. There is a spear fight, in which Diomedes has the upper hand over Ajax the Greater, so that the terrified spectators tell the combatants to stop and divide the prizes equally. Achilles, however, gives the first prize to Diomedes. One Polypoetes wins in the discus throw. Then there is an archery contest. Teucer omits to vow to make a sacrifice to Apollo as the patron god of archers, and is beaten by Meriones, who does not omit to do so. Finally, there is to be the spear-throwing. Agamemnon and Meriones rise to compete, but Achilles tells Agamemnon that everyone knows he is the best at this, and suggests that he take the first prize while Meriones is given the second. Agamemnon agrees.

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Commentary

There are many important points to be noted here. Hephaestus, as fire personified, corresponds to the Indian god of fire, Agni, who is often placed last in lists of gods, just as Hephaestus comes last in rank.77 Patroclus brings out well the twin-like character of his relationship with Achilles. The offering of a lock of hair to a river was customary among boys in ancient Greece. Since hair corresponds to vegetation in Indo-European-speakers' theories of cosmic harmony, the presence of concept 3 is particularly evident.78 Particularly Indo-European also is the human sacrifice in Patroclus' funeral. Modern scholarship has found close similarities between the details of this funeral and those of Hittite royal funerary rites: in both the bones are collected at dawn on the second day and placed in a precious vase filled with oil or fat and covered in a fine cloth, and in both sheep, cattle and horses are sacrificed.79 Another detail found here and in the Hittite (and Indian) evidence is the use of fat to cover the body before it is burnt. 80 Apollo's third-concept character is evidenced throughout the games: he breeds horses and patronizes festivals. Poseidon is more particularly associated with horses, aptly enough, since he represents sub-concept 1.2: horses are especially connected with sovereignty in Indo-European myth and ritual, and so belong to concept 1, but they are also used by the warrior class, and thus are second-concept as well.81 Most of the contests in Patroclus' funeral games are found in Hittite texts, as is the element of a cup as the prize for the loser.82 What is most important, however, is the change in the role of Achilles. Now he is regal and generous, as he gives everyone a share of his riches. No longer humiliated, he is kind, sensitive and quick to end a quarrel. Towards Agamemnon he is a tactful fellow-sovereign. There is a very close parallel with the case of Vibhishana after Ravana's death. He refers to Ravana's role as a bestower of gifts and distributor of treasure. Since Ravana is dead, Vibhishana will of course succeed him. He conducts the funeral rites: a huge pyre is built and the cremation takes place. Afterwards Vibhishana is crowned king of Lanka. He subsequently bestows riches of every kind on all the monkeys who have taken part in the siege. Vibhishana also travels in the company of Rama and the king of the monkeys: in status he seems to come just after them. One has the impression that he has been promoted from concept 3 to sub-concept 1.3. The same appears to be true of Achilles: marked by the shadow of death for Hades' domain, to which Patroclus has gone, he conducts the funeral games as a human

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equivalent of Hades. Something very similar happens near the end of the Mahabharata: a blind figure, Dhritarashtra, is raised to a position of honour and, as the human equivalent of Bhaga [also 1.3], becomes a distributor of riches.83 In the Iranian Book of Kings, after Isfandiyar has killed his archenemy, who had abducted his sisters, he makes a distribution of money. He had previously vowed, when released from his imprisonment, that he would make large-scale benefactions after his victory. Subsequently he declares that his father should abdicate (as he had promised to do if victory was obtained), and threatens to depose him and distribute land to the people.84 We have already seen how, in the legends of early Rome, Servius and Menenius Agrippa are moved up from the level of concept 3 to that of sub-concept 1.3. The goddess Fortuna would appear to have experienced a similar upward movement in the development of Roman religion itself, replacing Terminus and joining Faith [Lib] and Hope [1.2] (a substitute for Juventas) on the level of sovereignty.85 Likewise, in Scandinavia, after the last of wars, the young embodiment of hope, Balder [1.2], and the blind incarnation of destiny, Hoder [1.3], will be united in peace and promoted to sovereign status, presiding over a bountiful earth.86

BOOK X X I V : SUBMISSION AND AGREEMENT Achilles continues to drag Hector's corpse around, but Apollo preserves its flesh intact. Most of the gods want Hermes to steal the body, but Hera, Poseidon and Athena are against it. They still hate Troy, because of Paris' behaviour: he had found fault with Hera and Athena when they came to his inner courtyard (where he was looking after cattle), and chosen instead Aphrodite, who used the power of lust to bribe him. Eventually Apollo urges the gods to intervene against Achilles' deplorable conduct. Hera replies that Achilles is the son of a goddess whom she herself has brought up, and whose wedding Apollo attended with his lyre. Zeus calls for Thetis to be summoned, so that the ransoming of Hector's body can be arranged. Iris fetches Thetis, and Athena (who sits at Zeus' right hand) 87 gives her her place. Zeus tells Thetis to give Achilles his order to return Hector's body in return for a ransom. She joins Achilles, and tells him to stop abstaining from food and sex: it is good to have intercourse with a woman, and he does

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not have long to live. Then she transmits Zeus' order, and Achilles accepts it. Zeus also sends Iris to Priam, to tell him to go to Achilles with the ransom, and not be afraid, since Hermes will escort him. Priam tells his wife Hecabe of this message, and she is horrified at the danger involved. However, he insists on going, and assembles a munificent ransom. He rails at the Trojans, and in particular his surviving sons, whom he sees as fit only for dancing. Hecabe tells him to pray to Zeus for a good omen, and this is granted. When Priam sets off with an old herald, Zeus has pity on the king and sends Hermes to guide him. Hermes puts on his golden sandals, which take him fast over earth and water, and flies to join Priam, disguised as a young man. He persuades Priam that he is a lieutenant of Achilles, and guides him past the Achaean guards to Achilles' hut. Then Hermes explains who he really is and that he has to leave, and tells Priam to approach Achilles as a suppliant. After Hermes has returned to Olympus, Priam goes in, takes Achilles' knees in his arms and kisses his hands. He begs Achilles to release Hector's body in return for the ransom, and they both cry. Achilles says that Zeus has two jars, one full of good gifts and the other full of evil ones. His own father and Priam have been brought from opulence to tragic loss. When Priam refuses to obey Achilles' command to sit down, Achilles is angered and warns him that he may be provoked, against Zeus' orders. Priam sits down, and Achilles goes and takes the ransom off the cart on which it has been brought. He has Hector's body washed where Priam cannot see it, to avoid mutual provocation. Then he puts it on a bier and on to the cart. After this Achilles returns to Priam, and urges him to think of food, observing that even the bereaved mother Niobe thought of food after Apollo and Artemis killed her 12 children with their arrows, as a punishment for her boast of having so many children as opposed to Leto's two. He kills a sheep and they eat and drink wine. Achilles tactfully observes that Priam must sleep outside in case some Achaean comes and reports his presence to Agamemnon (this is a polite hint, to enable Priam to leave without trouble). They agree that Achilles will hold the Achaeans back from fighting so that Hector can be mourned for nine days. When they have gone to bed, Hermes comes and tells Priam that he must leave. The king, his herald and the god take Hector's body away without anyone noticing. Hermes again returns to Olympus, while the bier is brought to Troy. The beautiful Cassandra sees it first, and the Trojans gather to mourn. Andromache looks ahead to the sack of

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Troy. Hecabe says that Hector's body looks fresh, like that of someone killed by Apollo's gentle arrows. Helen (like Briseis speaking of Patroclus) praises Hector's gentleness towards her. For nine days wood is gathered for the pyre. On the tenth day the body is burnt, and the next morning the bones are gathered and buried. A mound is made, and a feast held. Commentary

Here the characterization of the gods follows what we have already found. Thetis, as a concept 3 figure, is a fitting advocate of sex, and Hermes, representing sub-concept 2.1, is an ideal god of crafty action. Apollo appears throughout in familiar roles: an opposing counterpart to Achilles, a lyre player and an archer whose arrows bring a gentle death. In these respects he echoes his original appearances in Book I: thus scholars have seen the first and last books of the Iliad as standing in a symmetrical relationship. The submission of Priam to Achilles, followed by their eating and drinking together, corresponds to the ending of the conflict of the gods in India and Scandinavia. There, when the gods of concept 3 are reconciled with the others, they are admitted to the common consumption of an intoxicating drink, and a united association of gods is brought into existence. Likewise, in Rome, when the Romans and Sabines make peace, they join to form a combined community: later, Menenius Agrippa succeeds in persuading the dissident plebeians to rejoin the Roman state. Everywhere the representatives of concept 3 are integrated in an arrangement which makes them recognize the superior position of the representatives of concepts 1 and 2. In the Ramayana the war ends with Ravana's death. His funeral resembles those of Patroclus and Hector: carts are used to bring wood for an enormous pyre, and fat is applied to the body before the

CHAPTER 3: THE ODYSSEY BOOK I: EXILE AND OCCUPATION The Odyssey begins with Odysseus detained on his homeward journey by the goddess Calypso. At last the gods have pity on him, with the exception of Poseidon, whose son he has blinded. Zeus addresses the other gods, and starts by observing that they are unfairly blamed by men for the consequences of the latter's sins: for example, Agamemnon's murderer, Aegis thus, had been warned in advance by Hermes, acting as the gods' messenger, that his crime would be avenged by his victim's son, Orestes. Athena expresses her concern for Odysseus, and Zeus suggests that they all plan to bring him home. It is proposed by Athena that Hermes be sent to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go, while she herself visits Odysseus' son, Telemachus, and sends him in search of news of his father. Then she puts on her magic golden sandals, which enable her to fly rapidly over land or water, and reaches Odysseus' house. Athena now takes the form of a male friend of the family, Mentes. She sees Penelope's suitors, surrounded by meat and wine. Telemachus entertains her, and she advises him to summon an assembly and tell the suitors to go away. Then he is to set sail for Pylos and Sparta and question Nestor and Menelaus about his father. Her advice given, Athena flies off, making her divine status obvious. Telemachus rejoins the suitors, who are listening to a bard, Phemius, whom they have forced to serve them. He is singing about the disasters inflicted on the Achaeans by Athena after the sack of Troy. Penelope appears and tells him to sing about something else. Telemachus objects that it is Zeus, not poets, who is responsible for what happens to humans. He tells his mother to go back to her loom, and she retires to her bedroom, crying until Athena puts her to sleep. Her son gives the suitors notice of the 99

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assembly, to be held the next day, in which he will tell them to go. He exchanges words with their leader, Antinous. Then they busy themselves with their revels while Telemachus goes to bed. An old slavewoman called Eurycleia lights his way: she has been bought by Odysseus' father and treated by him with the respect due to a wife. Commentary

This book corresponds to an important part of the Mahabharata. There, after the heroine, Draupadi, has been insulted and the kingdom of her five co-husbands has been taken over by their enemies, she and her husbands go into exile. Her favourite husband, Arjuna, goes off on a journey to the heaven of the god who is his father, Indra [2.1]. There he spends five years. A seer called Lomasha visits Indra and is sent by him to tell Arjuna's brothers (who evidently correspond to Telemachus) to go on a pilgrimage. They are also visited by another seer, who tells the famous story of King Nala, a monarch who loses his kingdom and queen but eventually regains them. Arjuna's wife and brothers are immersed in grief at his absence. Yet another seer visits them, and they are given more encouragement and advice about the sacred fords to be visited on their pilgrimage. Finally, Lomasha himself arrives and persuades them to set off.1 The Odyssey's first book also corresponds to part of the History of Rome. Camillus captures the city of Veii after a siege which lasts 10 years (like that of Troy). Subsequently he is forced into exile from Rome and fined in his absence. Then the Gauls occupy the whole of Rome except the Capitol, to which they lay siege. Camillus organizes resistance to the Gauls elsewhere, pointing out that their greedy consumption of food and wine leaves them open to attack. At Rome itself one young citizen (reminiscent of Telemachus) walks straight through the middle of the Gauls to perform an annual sacrifice incumbent on his family. At Veii there is a widespread feeling that Camillus must be recalled, and it is decided that the Senate at Rome should be consulted in order for this to be done.2 Eurycleia is a fascinating figure. As a sort of honorary aunt to Odysseus she resembles the Roman goddess of dawn, Mater Matuta, to whom Roman aunts commended their sisters' children - because the Sun is the child of the Dawn's sister, the Night.3

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BOOK II: COURAGE AND A JOURNEY The action of the second book of the Odyssey begins at dawn. Telemachus summons the assembly, and Athena makes him look superbly handsome. He expresses his anger at the suitors' behaviour in consuming his family's property. Antinous says it is Penelope's fault: she has repeatedly delayed choosing a new husband by acts of trickery, taught her by Athena. Telemachus replies by telling the suitors to go away and invoking the gods. Zeus sends two eagles, who flap their wings and conduct themselves violently. One Ithacan interprets this as an omen of Odysseus' imminent return and vengeance. A leading suitor, Eurymachus, declares that this is nonsense. Telemachus says that he wants to go by ship to Sparta and Pylos to ask for news of his father. A friend of Odysseus, Mentor, calls on the majority of the Ithacans to rally against the suitors. One of the latter replies that they would be able to kill Odysseus if he returned. Then the assembly breaks up. Telemachus now prays to Athena, who appears to him in the form of Mentor, and says that she will provide him with a ship. He rejoins the suitors at his family's house, and they mock him. Then he goes to the house's storeroom and tells Eurycleia to pack provisions for him and his ship's crew, so that they can leave in secret. Meanwhile Athena obtains a ship and a crew, and puts the suitors to sleep when night has fallen. She sends Telemachus and the crew sailing off through the night and the ensuing dawn. Commentary

This narrative is paralleled by passages in the Mahabharata which follow the account of the seer Lomasha's visit to Indra. The villains' father, Dhritarashtra, declares that his sons will be killed by Arjuna. He observes that Arjuna's brothers and allies are strong. Arjuna's eldest brother, Yudhishthira, also prophesies that Arjuna will kill his strongest adversary, Kama. When Lomasha reaches Yudhishthira he gives him the message from Indra that he should not be afraid of Kama, but go on a pilgrimage, since Arjuna will soon return with special weapons and will prove too strong for his enemy. Preparations for the pilgrimage are duly made. Yudhishthira is warned of the dangers on the way. He, his brothers, Draupadi and their companions set off. (The astuteness of Draupadi, akin to that of Penelope, in foiling the threats to her has been made clear before.)4

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The expressions of sympathy for Odysseus among the Ithacans resemble those for Camillus in the History of Rome. There we are told that a lot of Romans and Italian allies are gathering at Veil and feeling increasingly courageous. It seems to them that they are strong enough to expel the Gauls from Rome, but they lack a leader. Remembering Camillus, they decide that he should be recalled, but only after the Senate at Rome has been consulted: constitutional legality has to be respected, whatever the circumstances. But to pass through the enemy lines and transmit a message to the Senate is an extremely dangerous task. One brave young man volunteers to do this, and, lying down on a strip of cork, floats down the River Tiber to Rome. On reaching Rome he climbs up a cliff which is so steep that the Gauls have not bothered to guard it, and delivers the message. Shortly afterwards the Gauls attempt a silent night attack on the Capitoline citadel, but are foiled by the goddess Juno's sacred geese, which gabble and clap their wings, awaking the Romans to the peril.5 BOOK I I I : SENIORITY AND THE FRAME-FIGURE It is still dawn when the action of the third book begins. Telemachus and his companions reach Pylos and find its inhabitants sacrificing black bulls to Poseidon. Athena (still in the form of Mentor) encourages Telemachus to put questions to Nestor, in spite of his embarrassment at having to do this to a much older man. When they reach Nestor his son Peisistratus, a young man, gives wine to Athena first, because she looks old. Telemachus asks Nestor if he has news of Odysseus, and recalls the siege of Troy. Nestor reminisces about the siege and the wisdom shown by Odysseus during it. He explains that, after the sack of Troy, Zeus was angry with the Achaeans because of their foolish and unjust behaviour, and his anger was shared by Athena. (We are told elsewhere that this was because of a rape attack by Ajax the Runner on Cassandra in Athena's temple.)6 Athena made Agamemnon and Menelaus quarrel, so that the latter left with part of the army, including Nestor and Odysseus. Odysseus, however, soon returned to Agamemnon. Nestor himself came back to Pylos with no knowledge of the fate of the other leaders. Later he heard about some of them, and the revenge exacted for Agamemnon by Orestes, to whom he now compares the young Telemachus. Telemachus turns the subject to the suitors' wickedness. Nestor speaks of the special relationship between Odysseus and Athena. The

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young guest praises his host's vast knowledge and refers to the long span of his reign. The king gives more details of the recent history of Agamemnon's family and of the adventures of Menelaus, whom he urges Telemachus to visit. Athena says that as the only senior person in the party she will return to the ship, leaving Telemachus to spend the night in Nestor's palace. Then she assumes the form of a vulture and flies off. Nestor realizes who she is and prays to her. Telemachus sleeps next to Peisistratus. At dawn a sacrifice is made to Athena, and Telemachus, after taking a bath, sets off with Peisistratus for Sparta by land. They arrive in the evening of the following day. Commentary

This book has some similarities with part of the Mahabharata. Arjuna's brothers go on their pilgrimage to the various fords and bathe in them. They are guided by the holy man Lomasha. One of them, Bhima, is separated from the rest and meets the famous monkey Hanuman (who, as we have seen, corresponded to Odysseus in the Ramayana). Hanuman relates the story of Rama (including his own part therein) and explains that he himself had asked to be allowed to live as long as this story would. Many thousands of years have now elapsed. He explains how he has changed according to the change of time itself. Then he tells Bhima where to go next. Bhima declares that with Hanuman's protection he and his brothers are sure of victory over their enemies. Hanuman replies that he will perch on Arjuna's flagstaff (thus giving it a monkey as its emblem) and terrify the latter's enemies with his roars. Bhima, following Hanuman's advice, goes on his way. The Hanuman of the Mahabharata, then, would seem to correspond to Nestor, as the frame-figure [0] who lives before and after everyone else.7 As for the History of Rome, the parallel passage is presumably that which refers to the meeting between the Roman magistrates (representing seniority) and the brave young man who has floated down the Tiber. He delivers the message from the army, and the Senate duly decides that Camillus should be summoned back from exile and appointed dictator. The same young man will convey these decisions to Veii.8

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BOOK IV: A WEALTHY HOST The long fourth book begins with Telemachus and Peisistratus arriving at Menelaus' palace at Sparta. A double wedding is being held, with feasting, music and dancing. Menelaus5 equerry asks him if the two visitors should be entertained or sent on their way. He says that they should be entertained. Telemachus and Peisistratus are astonished by the palace's magnificence. After taking a bath they dine with Menelaus, who explains that he has accumulated a vast amount of wealth over a long period of travelling and hardship. He refers to Odysseus, and Telemachus, whose identity has not yet been disclosed, weeps. Helen comes in, accompanied by female attendants. She remarks that one of the visitors must be Telemachus. The latter, Menelaus and Helen all weep for Odysseus together, while Peisistratus mourns for his brother, Antilochus, who was killed at Troy by the son of the Dawn (Memnon). Helen puts a drug into their wine to put an end to their crying. Then she tells how Odysseus once came to Troy during the siege, heavily disguised. Only Helen recognized him, and they spoke to each other before he killed a number of Trojans and went back to the besiegers with plenty of information. Menelaus recalls the famous episode of the Wooden Horse, inside which the Achaean leaders remained hidden as it was taken into Troy, thus ensuring the city's downfall. Helen, presumably prompted by some pro-Trojan god, had tried to tempt the Achaeans into betraying their presence, but Odysseus had made them keep quiet until Athena led her away. At dawn the next day Telemachus tells Menelaus about the suitors and asks for news of Odysseus. Menelaus, after swearing by Zeus, Athena and Apollo that he would like Odysseus in all his strength to come and massacre the suitors, explains that he has heard about him from Proteus, the 'old man of the sea'. (This is not the same 'old man of the sea' as Thetis' father, mentioned earlier.) Marooned on a desert island, Menelaus had been advised by Proteus' daughter to lie in wait for him and force him to explain how he should get home. Concealing himself at daybreak, he had caught Proteus when he came out of the sea at noon. As Menelaus wrestled with him, Proteus changed himself into various forms. Eventually he gave in and told Menelaus what he wanted to know. The hero had to sacrifice to the gods, who would then let him go home. Then Menelaus asked Proteus about the fate of his comrades in the Trojan War. Proteus replied that Ajax the Runner had been shipwrecked by Poseidon, who at first rescued him from the

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sea (showing his character of 1.2), and then drowned him for boasting that he had escaped from the gods. Agamemnon had been helped homeward by Hera, only to be murdered on his return. Odysseus was held captive by Calypso. Menelaus himself, said Proteus, would not die, but would be sent to the distant Elysian fields and join a figure called Rhadamanthus (a son of Zeus, according to the Iliad, XIV: 321-2), because, as Helen's husband, he was Zeus' son-in-law. Telemachus is invited by Menelaus to stay with him for a while before returning. He replies that he does not want to stay long. Meanwhile, the suitors learn of his departure for Pylos and plot to ambush him on his voyage home and kill him. One of Penelope's attendants overhears them and warns her. She is extremely upset, but Eurycleia consoles her and tells her to pray to Athena. She does so, while the suitors prepare their ambush. Athena sends her a dream to tell her that Telemachus is safe under her own protection. Commentary

Here again the story corresponds to part of the Mahabharata. After Bhima leaves Hanuman, he comes to the park of Kubera, the god of riches. The ogres who guard it fight with him, but are defeated, and go to Kubera, who tells them that Bhima can stay and gather all the flowers that he wants. Bhima is joined by his brothers and they all stay there for a short while. Then they continue their travels, and again Bhima goes off on his own and fights ogres who are under Kubera's command. His brothers leave Draupadi behind, join him and see Kubera's palace. They all have an amicable meeting with Kubera. He tells them that Arjuna is staying in Indra's heaven. Then they, after rejoining Draupadi, wait for Arjuna, who duly arrives.9 Thus whereas the Menelaus of the Iliad corresponds to the Indian god Mitra [1.1b], the Menelaus of the Odyssey corresponds to an Indian god of concept 3. This fits in with a fragment of Hesiod, the famous early Greek poet seen as roughly contemporary with Homer. In this, as Yoshida has pointed out, Agamemnon and Menelaus are characterized by wealth, as opposed to Achilles and Ajax the Greater, who are characterized by strength, and Adrastus and Amphiaraus (kings of Argos in southern Greece), who are characterized by intelligence.10 Agamemnon was indeed celebrated for being extremely rich, and the audience which originally heard the Iliad would have known this.11 At one point in the Iliad his wealth is obvious enough, when he makes his munificent offer to Achilles, but in general the Iliad emphasizes his role

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as a sovereign leader. As brothers who rescue a female figure, Agamemnon and Menelaus are, in one perspective, reflections of the Divine Twins. Likewise, in the Ramayana, Rama and Lakshmana come from a wealthy city which resembles Lanka, and in the Iranian Book of Kings Isfandiyar and Bishutan have a third-concept background (their father and grandfather, Gushtasp and Luhrasp, are transposed versions of the Divine Twins). It would appear that at a very early date two myths were combined in one story: that of the Divine Twins' rescue of a female figure, and that of the war between the gods of concepts 1 and 2 on the one hand and the gods of concept 3 on the other. Since the Divine Twins belong to concept 3 their disguised presence on the side of the representatives of the first two concepts produces a degree of contradiction, which the Iliad brilliantly exploits. The story of Odysseus' secret visit to Troy and encounter with Helen there is paralleled in the Ramayana, as we have seen above: Hanuman slips into Lanka, meets Sita and leaves after gathering plenty of useful intelligence and causing much destruction. In the Iranian Book of Kings, Isfandiyar, in order to take the main Turanian stronghold, the Bronze Castle, disguises himself as a merchant and succeeds in gaining entrance, with plenty of soldiers hidden inside chests. Once inside he is recognized by his sisters (one of whom is also his wife), and has a conversation with them. Afterwards he kills a large number of people, and the castle is taken.12 Dumezil has argued that the three homeward journeys of Ajax the Runner, Agamemnon and Odysseus reflect his three 'functions'. Ajax is killed by a god as a punishment for blasphemy; Agamemnon is killed in a fight - here the text gives an unusual account of his death, in which there is a full-scale battle between his followers and those of Aegisthus, instead of the usual version, in which Aegisthus commits the murder on his own; Odysseus is delayed by a voluptuous goddess.13 BOOK V: GODDESSES AND TRAVEL Book V again shows the gods discussing Odysseus' detention by Calypso. Athena complains about this, and Zeus sends Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go. Zeus also prophesies that Odysseus will reach the rich land of the Phaeacians, who will give him an enormous amount of wealth. Hermes puts on his magic golden sandals and picks up the wand with which he can make humans sleep or wake up. Then he flies over the sea to Calypso. After admiring her beautiful home he

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tells her that Zeus has sent him, and that no other god can thwart Zeus. Odysseus is destined to return home. Calypso recalls earlier examples of the gods' interfering in order to end a relationship between a goddess and a man. She realizes that Zeus cannot be thwarted. Hermes leaves, and Calypso goes to Odysseus. He is unhappy, since he does not desire her, though she desires him, and they continue to make love. She now tells him that she will help him to go home, and swears by the Earth, the Sky and the underground River Styx that she is not planning to harm him. Later she observes that, although Odysseus is always thinking of Penelope, the latter can hardly rival a goddess in attractiveness. Odysseus agrees, but explains that he still wants to go back to Ithaca. Then they spend the night together and make love. At dawn Calypso starts to help Odysseus to build a boat. This takes a few days, and then she sends him off. Odysseus sails on his course, and on the eighteenth day sees the land of the Phaeacians. Poseidon, however, is on his way back from a visit to Ethiopia, and notices him. He knows that Odysseus is destined to reach the Phaeacians, but none the less decides to treat him to a storm. Odysseus' boat is badly damaged, but he is joined by the goddess I no, who takes pity on him. She gives him a special veil to wind round his waist: it will protect him until he reaches land. Poseidon shatters his boat completely, and he has to swim. Then Poseidon goes home, and Athena brings an end to the storm. After two days Odysseus comes close to the coast. It looks as if he will be dashed against the rocks and killed, but Athena inspires him to swim along the coast until he finds a safe spot. He comes to the mouth of a river and prays to it, asking for the kindness due to a suppliant. The river carries him to dry land, and he gives it the magic veil to return to Ino. Finally, he climbs up into a copse and lies down. Athena puts him to sleep. Commentary

In this book there is yet another correspondence with the Mahabharata. During an earlier exile Arjuna is, as later, separated from Draupadi and his brothers. He goes to bathe in the Ganges, and is about to emerge when he is pulled under the water by the daughter of the king of the snakes, Ulupi, who, we are told, can travel wherever she likes. They come to her father's palace, and Ulupi explains that she is madly in love with Arjuna and wants to make love with him. He replies that he has to live a hermit's life for 12 months. She answers that she knows

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why. When the five brothers were living with Draupadi it was agreed that if one brother entered a room in which another was sitting with their wife, then the penalty would be one year's exile as a hermit. But this exile, argues Ulupi, is with reference to Draupadi alone, and consequently Arjuna can make love with another partner. Even if this is a slight breach of the Law, it will be meritorious for Arjuna to make love with her because of her extreme love for him. Arjuna agrees, and they spend the night together. At daybreak he gets up and goes away. After visiting many sacred fords he comes to the ocean. Following more journeying and pilgrimages he looks at a famous mountain, and then travels along the ocean coast. Then he comes to a country called Manalura and visits its holy fords.14 BOOK VI: A PRINGESS In the sixth book of the Odyssey the action begins in the night. Athena comes to the city of the Phaeacians and visits Nausicaa, the daughter of their king. Taking the form of one of Nausicaa's friends, the goddess speaks to her in her sleep and tells her to go and wash her clothes, as she may get married soon. Every nobleman in the country wants her to be his wife. Then Athena returns to Olympus. At dawn Nausicaa wakes up and tells her father that she wants to wash her family's clothes. She points out that she has three unmarried brothers who always want clean clothes for dances. The poet tells us that she is talking like this because she is too embarrassed to mention the subject of her own marriage, but her father understands this perfectly well. He gives orders for a waggon to be brought to take all the clothes to the river. Mules are harnessed to it, and Nausicaa's mother provides choice food and wine. Nausicaa sets off, accompanied by her maidservants. They reach the river, do their washing and start playing with a ball. Nausicaa herself looks like Artemis surrounded by nymphs. When they are about to go home, Athena causes the ball to fall into the river, so that the maidservants cry out and wake Odysseus up. He comes out of the copse like a lion forced by hunger to attack cattle or sheep. The maidservants run away, but Nausicaa remains, emboldened by Athena. Odysseus addresses her, comparing her to Artemis and saying that the man who will marry her will indeed be blessed. He explains his predicament and expresses the hope that Nausicaa will have a happy marriage, since that is a source of grief to one's enemies.

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Nausicaa replies that good and bad come from Zeus, and that she will assist Odysseus. She reminds her maidservants that strangers and beggars are under Zeus' protection. Odysseus bathes and gets dressed, and Athena covers his head and shoulders with beauty, just as a craftsman trained by Hephaestus and herself covers silverware with gold. Nausicaa now gives Odysseus instructions. She describes her city, with its temple of Poseidon, and explains that the people have no interest in archery, but care only for sailing. It is important that they should not see Odysseus with her, since they would suspect her of finding a husband from abroad, and comment adversely on this. Odysseus must wait in a wood sacred to Athena and come to the city after a discreet interval. Then he will go to the palace and clasp Nausicaa's mother's knees as a suppliant. After giving Odysseus these instructions, Nausicaa takes him to the wood and leaves him there. He prays to Athena, observing that she did not listen to him when he was shipwrecked by Poseidon. Athena listens to him but does not appear before him, out of respect for Poseidon, who continues to be hostile to Odysseus until his eventual homecoming. Commentary

This book would appear to be paralleled by two episodes in the Mahabharata's account of Arjuna's first exile. We last saw him visiting the holy fords of a country called Manalura. Here, we are told, he goes to visit the country's king, who has a beautiful daughter, Chitrangada. Arjuna sees her in the city, where she happens to be walking, and desires her. The king tells him that he wants his daughter to give birth to a son to continue their dynasty: this son will be the price paid by Arjuna for his daughter. Arjuna agrees, and lives with Chitrangada in the city for three months. After another journey he returns to the city and sees his baby son before resuming his travels. In a second episode he comes to a country called Prabhasa and meets Krishna there. Krishna entertains Arjuna in the city of Dvaraka. A festival is held on a nearby mountain, and there Arjuna sees Krishna's beautiful sister, Subhadra, in the middle of her friends, and falls in love with her. Krishna advises him to try a marriage by forcible abduction. Subsequently Arjuna, having heard that Subhadra has gone to the mountain, sets off in a war chariot on the pretext of going hunting. When Subhadra is about to go back to the city, Arjuna rushes at her and abducts her. The people of the city manifest their hostility towards

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him, and Krishna and Subhadra's brother expresses his anger at Arjuna's behaving like this after coming as a suppliant.15 Near the end of the Mahabharata, Arjuna is killed by the son born to him by Chitrangada. Ulupi then appears as a sort of honorary second mother to this son. Similarly, in extra-Homeric legend, Odysseus is eventually killed by a son whom he has sired on his travels. This son's mother is said to be Circe, whom we shall encounter in Book X. There we shall see that Circe corresponds to an Indian nymph who appears in the Mahabharata in between Chitrangada and Subhadra. Now Circe and Calypso are very similar figures, and are seen by modern scholars as duplicates of each other. As we have observed, Calypso corresponds to Ulupi.16 In the Byzantine Two-Blood Border Lord the hero's mother, when young, unmarried and smitten by the darts of Love, asks her own mother's permission to leave the house and go for a walk. Her mother grants permission, hitches horses to a carriage, puts choice food and drink in it and sends her daughter off with her nurses, slave-girls and gentlewomen. They walk to an agreeable spot, and she is abducted by her future husband.17 BOOK VII: THE FAMILY OF THE PRINCESS Book VII opens with Nausicaa's return to her city. After a discreet interval Odysseus starts off in the same direction. Athena wraps him in a mist, so that he will not be insulted by any of the Phaeacians. Then she disguises herself as a young girl and joins him. Odysseus asks her the way, and she becomes his guide. The goddess explains that the Phaeacians do not like strangers. She adds that they have extremely fast ships, thanks to Poseidon's generosity. When they reach the palace, Athena gives an account of the king and queen's genealogy. The king, Alcinous, is a grandson of Poseidon. His brother has been killed by Apollo, but has left a daughter, Arete, who is now married to her royal uncle and is immensely respected by everyone. Then Athena goes away. Odysseus is astonished by the palace's glorious radiance and its magnificent doors, which are guarded by gold and silver dogs made by Hephaestus. Inside there are thrones ranged along the walls, with finely woven covers. Here the Phaeacian chieftains are accustomed to eat and drink wine, with golden statues of youths holding torches. The poet tells us that Athena has given the Phaeacian women great skill in

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crafts and also fine minds. The palace's orchard, vineyard and kitchen garden are miraculously productive all the year round. Odysseus enters the palace and finds the leading Phaeacians pouring libations to Hermes, as is their custom before going to bed. (Hermes, as we have seen, has the power to give sleep.) When Odysseus reaches the queen he grasps her knees in the usual gesture of the suppliant, and the mist granted by Athena vanishes. He asks to be taken to his homeland. Then he sits in the ashes by the hearth. The Phaeacians' elder statesman, Echeneus (who appears to be a frame-figure), tells Alcinous that he should give the stranger due honour and order that wine be provided for a libation to Zeus as the god of suppliants. Alcinous does this, and announces that the visitor will be escorted to his own country, after which he will suffer what Destiny and the 'Spinners' spun for him at the moment of his birth. The king adds that if this is a god in disguise then the gods have changed their ways, since they have never played such a trick on the Phaeacians before. Odysseus replies that in his wretched condition he does not look like a god, but feels extremely hungry. The guests retire, and Arete asks Odysseus who he is. He does not disclose his identity, but explains that Calypso had kept him as a prisoner after Zeus had wrecked his ship. After he left Calypso his boat had been smashed by Poseidon, and then, after reaching dry land, he had found Nausicaa. Alcinous, swearing by Zeus, Athena and Apollo, expresses the wish that his guest should stay and become his son-inlaw. However, he fully realizes that Odysseus may prefer to go home instead, and promises to have him taken back. Odysseus prays to Zeus that this will happen. Commentary

Some elements here correspond to the episode of Arjuna's abduction of Subhadra in the Mahabharata. Arjuna, as we have seen, meets Krishna and tells him about his travels. Then he is entertained in Krishna's wonderful home, which is full of jewels and other fine objects. After Arjuna abducts Subhadra, the warriors of the city sit on their magnificent golden thrones, which are covered with splendid cushions, decorated with gems and shining like blazing fires. They have been drinking, and their immediate reaction on hearing of the abduction is to prepare to fight Arjuna. Krishna and Subhadra's brother, Bala-Rama, however, points out that Krishna has to be consulted first, and this wise advice is heeded. Bala-Rama addresses

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Krishna and, as we have already noted, manifests his indignation that Arjuna has behaved in this way after coming as a suppliant. Krishna replies that Arjuna will be an excellent in-law. If he went back to his own city after defeating them in battle then their reputation would be destroyed. Consequently, he should be invited back. Arjuna duly returns and spends the rest of his 12-month exile there before returning to Draupadi. 18 The 'Spinners' who determine one's fate at the moment of birth are paralleled by similar figures in the Indo-European field: in England, Germany and Scandinavia there are beings who bestow skills upon humans by spinning when they are born.19 BOOK V I I I : SPLENDID GIFTS The eighth book is yet another that begins at dawn. Alcinous takes Odysseus to the place where the Phaeacians hold their assemblies. Athena, disguised as a herald, calls on the citizens to gather there and makes Odysseus look extremely handsome and impressive. Then Alcinous addresses the assembly and tells his people to make arrangements for Odysseus' return. He invites everyone to a feast in his palace, and this is duly prepared. A bard, Demodocus, arrives, and we are told that he is loved by 'the Muse', who has granted him the gift of singing well but has also blinded him. Now the Muse makes him sing of a quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles, which had delighted Agamemnon, since it fulfilled a prophecy made to him by Apollo. (That, we are told, was at the start of the disasters which were to overtake the Achaeans and the Trojans, by the will of Zeus.) Odysseus weeps when he hears this song, and Alcinous, noticing that the guest of honour is upset, orders those present to go outside and demonstrate their skill in various sports. When the games take place, Odysseus is insulted by a man called Euryalus, who suggests that he is devoid of prowess as an athlete, and looks like a ship's captain, greedy for profits. Odysseus replies that the gods bestow gifts of different kinds - evidently not brains in Euryalus' case. Then he picks up a discus and throws it further than the Phaeacians have so far managed. Athena, disguised as a Phaeacian spectator, speaks out admiringly, and Odysseus is pleased to find that he has a friend. He challenges all the young men present (except Alcinous' son Laodamas, because he is his host) to compete with him. Then he boasts of his skill as an archer, saying that here he is virtually

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without equal. Alcinous replies that Zeus has given the Phaeacians certain skills. They are not great boxers or wrestlers, but are fine runners and sailors. What they really like is the pleasure given by feasting, music, dancing, changes of clothes, hot baths and beds. Then he gives orders for an exhibition of dancing. The dancing, organized by nine 'umpires', begins. Then Demodocus sings of a love affair between Ares and Aphrodite. In this long story Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus, who is informed of the affair by the Sun. He manufactures a network of chains and attaches these to his marriage bed. Ares and Aphrodite are duly trapped in them, and the outraged husband calls on Zeus and the other gods to come and have a look. The male deities arrive, but the female ones stay at home. The gods observe that Ares' outstanding speed has not saved him. Apollo asks Hermes if he would like to take Ares' place, and Hermes replies that he certainly would. The other gods laugh, with the exception of Poseidon, who wants Hephaestus to let Ares go. He promises Hephaestus that Ares, if freed, will pay appropriate compensation. Hephaestus replies that if Ares defaults he would not be able to put Poseidon in chains instead. Poseidon declares that if Ares does default then he will pay the damages himself. To this Hephaestus answers that he cannot refuse, and lets both Ares and Aphrodite escape. Aphrodite goes to Cyprus, where she is bathed, anointed and dressed by the Graces. After this song there is more dancing, and Odysseus expresses his admiration. Alcinous is pleased, and urges the Phaeacian leaders to provide Odysseus with gifts. He observes that his people have 12 chiefs along with himself. Each should give Odysseus a cloak, a tunic and a talent of gold. He also tells Euryalus to give Odysseus a present to atone for his insult. Euryalus gives Odysseus his sword. Alcinous also tells his wife to bring a splendid chest and put a cloak and tunic in it. He himself will give Odysseus a golden cup, so that he will remember his host when pouring libations to Zeus and the other gods. Arete now has a bath prepared for Odysseus and packs his gifts. He fastens the chest's lid with a special knot which he has learnt from Circe, and then takes his bath. He has not enjoyed such comfort since leaving Calypso, who had looked after him like a god. Afterwards Nausicaa tells him that she hopes he will remember her. He asks Zeus to let him reach home, and says that there he will pray to her as to a deity. Dinner is served, and Odysseus sends a choice cut of meat to Demodocus, remarking that bards deserve respect, since the Muse loves them and has taught them songs. He says that Demodocus has

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been instructed by either the Muse or Apollo himself, and asks him to sing of the Wooden Horse. Demodocus obliges, and tells how the Trojans rejected the options of piercing or smashing the horse, and left it as an offering for the gods - for it was their destiny to perish when the horse entered their city. He goes on to sing of how Odysseus went to Deiphobus' house with Menelaus, and was victorious in the most terrible of fights, thanks to Athena. Odysseus weeps, and again Alcinous notices. He asks Odysseus to say who he is and where he is from, so that the Phaeacian ships may exercise their magical powers to direct their course to his homeland. For these ships go instinctively, wrapped in mist, and very quickly. Then he recalls his father's warning that Poseidon was angry with the Phaeacians for giving escorts to everyone without coming to any harm, and his saying that one day Poseidon would wreck one of their ships on its return and surround their city with a great mountain range. Finally, Alcinous asks Odysseus for an account of his adventures, and why he weeps on hearing of the Trojan War (which had been brought about by the gods, weaving disaster for men). Commentary

Here again there are similarities with the continuation of the narrative in the Mahabharata. When Arjuna returns to Draupadi and his brothers, who are in the city of Indraprastha, Krishna follows him there with a vast number of companions and an enormous dowry for Subhadra. Indraprastha is full of perfumes and freshly bathed people. Krishna presents his lavish gifts (enumerated as chariots, horses, cows, mares, mules, women, gold and elephants) and feasting and drinking ensue. All the people of the city continue to live happily, as Yudhishthira cultivates the triad of Law, Profit and Pleasure. After a few days Krishna and Arjuna organize a picnic, with playing and dancing. As they recall past feats they are approached by a brahmin, who explains that he is Agni, the god of fire, and wants to burn up the forest there. Since he needs their help he arranges for Arjuna to be given a great bow, called Gandiva, two quivers and a chariot whose flagpole has a monkey as its emblem, while Krishna is given a discus (to be used as a weapon). Then Agni starts to burn up the forest, while Arjuna and Krishna use their weapons to defeat the manifold forces which oppose him — these include all the other gods. Eventually Indra himself, impressed, comes down and promises Arjuna all sorts of special weapons.20

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As for the presents given by the Phaeacians to Odysseus, Dumezil himself has provided a 'trifunctional' analysis of them. The gold and clothing given by the chiefs represent the opulence of the city's merchants [3]; the sword given by Euryalus, who is compared to Ares, represents the young men's fighting strength [2]; the cup given by the king represents sovereignty and libations poured to 'Zeus and the other gods' [1]. All this, argues Dumezil, reflects the structure of the country's aristocracy: a king presides over young warriors and rich traders.21 Other elements in this book are of particular interest: the specially bestowed skill given to the bard in exchange for being blinded (as in the cases of Odin, Bhaga and the Greek seer Teiresias, whom we shall encounter below); the role of Poseidon when speaking to Hephaestus, as a sovereign god who maintains the unity, solidarity and continuity of the community of the gods [1.2]; and the magical and exceptionally fast ships, which many scholars have compared to those which, in northern European belief, ferry the souls of the dead to their abode.22 BOOK IX: THE INHOSPITABLE GIANT The Odysse/s ninth book begins with Odysseus disclosing his identity and speaking of his love for his native Ithaca, which has prevented him from staying for ever with Calypso and Circe, in spite of their desire to have him as a husband. Then he starts the account of his voyage from Troy (which for convenience's sake I shall summarize in the present). On leaving Troy, Odysseus and his followers come to the land of a people called the Cicones, whose city they sack. Other Cicones come from inland and kill six men from each of Odysseus' 12 ships. The rest escape, but Zeus sends them a gale. They survive this, but later are blown off course and come to the country of the Lotus-eaters. These people give the lotus fruit to three of Odysseus' men, who consequently lose all desire to go home. He has to use force to make them embark before the party sets sail again. The fleet now reaches the land of the Cyclopes, a lawless people whose crops grow without any work being done, thanks to the gods. Odysseus' ships come to an island off the coast of the country, and are guided by some god into its harbour through the night. After daybreak the Nymphs (daughters of Zeus) send some mountain goats to be hunted and eaten by the Achaeans. The next day Odysseus takes his

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own ship to the mainland to find out about its inhabitants. He and his companions see the cave of one gigantic Cyclops (the name means 'Round-eyed') who lives and pastures his flocks on his own, having nothing to do with his neighbours. Odysseus picks 12 men to visit this cave with him and tells the rest to stay with the ship. He fills a goatskin with some wine which has been given to him by a priest of Apollo in the Cicones' city, in return for sparing him out of respect. Odysseus and his 12 companions advance to the Cyclops' cave, but he is not there. They help themselves to some of the food in the cave. The Cyclops returns and proves to be a monster of cruelty. Odysseus explains that he and his men have got lost, as Zeus had doubtless intended. They are suppliants and guests, and thus protected by Zeus. The Cyclops replies that his people do not bother about Zeus or the gods in general, and asks where Odysseus' ship is. He answers that it has been wrecked by Poseidon. The monster then eats two of the men, while the others lift up their hands to Zeus. After this he goes to sleep. Odysseus' first impulse is to kill him, but he realizes that then he and his companions would not be able to escape from the cave where they find themselves, since its entrance is closed by a huge rock which only the Cyclops can move. The next morning the giant eats two more men and continues to imprison the rest in the cave while taking his flocks out. Odysseus prays to Athena and has an idea. He sharpens a piece of wood and prepares to blind the Cyclops (who evidently has only one eye) when he is asleep. In the evening the monster eats two more men. Then Odysseus offers him the wine which he has brought, and gets him drunk. He tells the Cyclops that his name is Nobody. When the giant is asleep Odysseus and his fellow-survivors blind him with the stake. He screams out to his neighbours, who gather outside and ask if someone is trying to kill him. The Cyclops replies that Nobody is trying to kill him. They say that if nobody is hurting him then illness (which is presumably what is making him cry out) is an unavoidable thing sent by Zeus, and he should pray to his father, Poseidon. Then they go away. It is still necessary for Odysseus and his men to escape from the cave. They do so at dawn, by clinging to the bellies of the Cyclops's rams as he lets them out. When Odysseus has got his ship out to sea again he shouts out to mock the Cyclops, saying that Zeus and the other gods have punished him. He also tells him that his real name is Odysseus. The Cyclops prays to Poseidon to prevent Odysseus from returning to Ithaca, or, if he is destined to return there, to make him do so late and alone, and find trouble in his house. Poseidon hears the

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prayer. Odysseus' ship rejoins the others, and he sacrifices a ram to Zeus (who, he subsequently observes, does not accept the sacrifice, but plans destruction for his ships and comrades). At dawn the next day the fleet sails on. Commentary

There would appear to be a corresponding passage in the Mahabharata, at the end of the twelfth year of the Pandavas' exile, just before they have to live in disguise. All of the brothers except Yudhishthira go in search of drinking-water, come to a lake, drink its water and collapse, lifeless. Yudhishthira finds them, goes into the water and encounters a giant demon with strange eyes, who declares that the water is his property and not to be drunk by others. Then the demon makes Yudhishthira answer questions about the universe, life and religion. Yudhishthira answers correctly, and the demon grants him the life of one of his brothers. He chooses Nakula as the brother to be revived, and the demon expresses astonishment that Arjuna and Bhima, who are stronger, have been passed over. Yudhishthira replies that as a king he must practise 'uncruelty', the highest of laws, and treat a halfbrother (Nakula has a different mother) as a full one. The demon, impressed, revives all four of Yudhishthira's brothers, because he prefers 'uncruelty' [1] to profit [2] and pleasure [3]. Then the demon reveals his real identity: Yudhishthira's divine begetter, Dharma (Law).23 Here, it would seem, the Mahabharata provides a characteristically and distinctively religious development, whereas the Odyssey, also characteristically, engages in what might be called 'folklorization' or 're-folklorization'. For with the Cyclops we enter the world of international folk-tale. The story is paralleled in folk-tales from Ireland to Korea, and from Iceland to Africa. Areas in which it is found include Arabia, Turkey and the Caucasus.24 However, the apparent absence of Indian examples of the blinding of a giant leads one to doubt whether the story would have been Proto-Indo-European or Indo-Iranian before being spread elsewhere. On the other hand, one may wonder if the attack on a strong figure who is off his guard might be seen in the framework of the 'three sins of the warrior', as a sin against the warrior's ethic itself [2 or 2.2]. What is perhaps more important for our purposes is the emphasis on Zeus and hospitality, as opposed to the lawlessness of the Cyclops, and the role of Odysseus as the cunning

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warrior who is forced by an evil enemy to resort to a crafty ruse - one for which he will have to pay a price. BOOK X: A GODDESS, FOUR NYMPHS AND TRANSFORMATIONS At the start of Book X, Odysseus' fleet comes to the island inhabited by Aeolus, the steward of the winds, and his six sons and six daughters. Aeolus entertains Odysseus and his followers for a month and gives the hero a bag containing the various winds entrusted to him by Zeus. Then he gives the fleet a breeze to blow it back to Ithaca. After nine days Ithaca is in sight, but the crew of Odysseus' ship open the bag, thinking that it contains treasure, and the winds blow the fleet back to Aeolus' island. Aeolus, deciding that Odysseus must be hated by the gods, tells him to go away. The fleet sails on for six days, and comes to the land of the Laestrygonians, where dawn comes just after sunset. Here the people massacre the crews of all of Odysseus' ships except his own. This sails on to the island of the goddess Circe, a daughter of the Sun by Perse, daughter of the Ocean. Some god guides the ship into the island's harbour. After two days Odysseus sees the smoke from Circe's house, but decides to rejoin his men before exploring further. Again, some god intervenes to help, putting a stag in his path, and he kills it and gives it to his men to eat. He tells them of the smoke, and they weep bitterly, afraid of some new danger. Odysseus divides his crew into two parties, one led by himself and the other by his comrade Eurylochus. The latter leads his 22 men off to Circe's house, while Odysseus and his party stay by the ship. The house is surrounded by wolves and lions, bewitched by Circe. Eurylochus' men enter the house, but he stays outside. Circe drugs the men and turns them into pigs. Eurylochus returns to Odysseus and reports that his party has been wiped out. Odysseus decides to go to the house, although Eurylochus emphasizes the danger. The hero sets off alone and meets Hermes, disguised as a youth. Hermes gives him an antidote to Circe's drug and tells Odysseus what to do. When Circe hits him with her stick he must draw his sword and rush at her as if to kill her. She will invite him to her bed. Before accepting he must make her swear a great oath not to harm him. Then Hermes goes away. Odysseus carries out these instructions, and duly goes to bed with Circe, after she has observed

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that Hermes had told her to expect him. Four maids are working in her house. They are daughters of springs, groves and rivers (i.e. nymphs), and prepare for Odysseus to be entertained luxuriously. He, however, insists that Eurylochus' men be freed first. Circe does this and turns them back into human form. Odysseus goes and fetches his other followers (in spite of Eurylochus' warnings) and they stay for a whole year. At the end of the year Odysseus tells Circe that he and his men want to go home. She says that first he must go to the Underworld, to consult the blind prophet Teiresias, to whom the queen of the Underworld, Persephone, has granted the unique privilege of keeping his wits. Then Circe gives Odysseus detailed instructions. Before Odysseus embarks his youngest follower, Elpenor, who is neither a good fighter nor intelligent, gets drunk and falls asleep on the roof of Circe's house. When he wakes up he falls to his death. Commentary

Here again various elements are reproduced in the Mahabharata, in the account of Arjuna's 12-month exile from Draupadi and his brothers. After spending three months with Chitrangada, Arjuna comes to the sacred fords by the 'southern ocean'. He is told that five of these fords are to be avoided, because they are inhabited by five crocodiles. Although the ascetics who live nearby try to restrain him, he none the less goes to them. A crocodile seizes hold of him, but he grabs it in return and it turns into a nymph. She explains that she is called Varga and that, along with four fellow-nymphs, she had been turned into a crocodile by an ascetic as a punishment for interrupting his studies. The seer Narada had told them that Arjuna would come and release them from their predicament. Arjuna duly delivers her companions from their curse.25 Dumezil has argued that the assistance and advice given by Hermes correspond to the three 'functions': the antidote belongs to number 3, the sword to number 2 and the oath to number 1. He points to a Scandinavian tale in which a giantess is finally won over by the threat of curses, after gold and a sword have failed.26 It has been noted that the death of Elpenor, Odysseus' most dispensable comrade, looks suspiciously like a disguised version of a sacrifice performed as a preliminary to a consultation of the dead.27

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BOOK XI: THE FINAL J O U R N E Y AND SACRIFICES Odysseus' ship now sails for a whole day before reaching a land of perpetual darkness. He digs a trench and pours libations to the dead: honey mixed with milk, then wine, lastly water. After praying he sacrifices a ram and a black ewe. The souls of the dead swarm up, notably that of Elpenor, who asks to be buried with his oar planted on his barrow. Teiresias tells Odysseus that he and his men must not touch the cattle of the Sun on their way home. He also says that after killing the suitors the hero must take an oar and journey until he finds a people totally ignorant of the sea, so that someone will call the oar a 'winnowing-fan'. Then he must plant the oar in the earth and sacrifice a ram, a bull and a boar to Poseidon. After this he is to go home and sacrifice to all the gods. He will die away from the sea, and of old age. When Teiresias has finished, Odysseus sees a number of dead women. His mother says that she has died because she missed him so much. Then Odysseus sees Nestor's grandmother, who gave birth to his father after having intercourse with Poseidon, disguised as a rivergod. Other women seen by Odysseus include Leda, the mother of Castor and Polydeuces, who are alive and dead on alternate days. The narrative is interrupted when Odysseus tells his Phaeacian hosts that it is time for him to sleep. Arete says that he should be given more presents, and Echeneus [0] agrees, while pointing out that it is for Alcinous [1] to make the decision. Alcinous agrees as well, and tells Odysseus to continue his story. Odysseus' account now has him meeting the souls of Agamemnon, Achilles and Ajax the Greater. He sees the special punishments inflicted on legendary sinners, and finally meets Heracles, who compares Odysseus' sufferings with those that he himself endured, and recalls his own descent to the Underworld, when he was guided by Hermes and Athena. Finally, the souls of the dead all gather round Odysseus and frighten him into returning to his ship, which immediately departs. Commentary

The advice given by Teiresias is echoed in the Mahabharata. When the usurpers have all been killed the great seer Vyasa tells Yudhishthira to perform the horse sacrifice, so as to purify himself. Later the seer says that Arjuna must accompany the horse which is to be sacrificed

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during the preliminary ritual, in which it is allowed to wander at random as far as it likes. The horse, protected by Arjuna, then goes to many countries. Eventually he and the horse come back and the sacrifice is performed.28 Planting a winnowing-fan in the earth is a widely attested practice in many countries: it signifies that one's work is finished.29 Sacrificing a ram, a bull and a boar is typically Indo-European: the Romans had a triple sacrifice of a pig, a ram and a bull, offered to Mars, and the Indians would offer an ox, a sheep and a goat to Indra. Thus in Rome and India the deity is one of concept 2, whereas here he symbolizes the reflection of concept 2 within concept 1. In both Rome and India the ritual is one of self-purification. At Rome it also marks the completion of a census.30 The information that Nestor's father was born to Poseidon in the disguise of a river-god is particularly interesting, since in the Mahabharata the main corresponding frame-figure, Bhishma, is the son of a river-goddess, the Ganges.31 Likewise, the story that Hermes and Athena guided Heracles to the Underworld is also significant: in Nuristan another 2.1 deity, Mon, makes a visit to the realm of the dead below.32 BOOK X I I : T H E THREE TESTS OF THE WARRIOR At the beginning of Book XII Odysseus and his crew return to the home of the Dawn and Circe's island. Elpenor is buried at sunrise, with his oar planted on his barrow. Circe entertains her visitors all day long, and then gives Odysseus instructions for his homeward journey. First, he must avoid being seduced by the bewitching Sirens, female singers who entice all men who come near them. He should put wax in his men's ears and instruct them to keep him firmly tied to the ship's mast. Secondly, he must bravely drive his ship past a rock inhabited by a monster called Scylla, and let his crew suffer inevitable casualties from her six heads, so as to avoid being sucked into the whirlpool, called Charybdis, which is situated beneath another rock close by. Odysseus must curb his instinct to fight Scylla, against whom there is no defence. Thirdly, when he comes to the island of the Sun, he must avoid touching the Sun's seven herds of cattle and seven flocks of sheep (with 50 head in each). These are shepherded by nymphs. Dawn comes again, and the ship sails on. Odysseus passes his first test, that of the Sirens. When he comes to the second, that of Scylla,

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he defies Circe's instructions and dons his armour, picks up a couple of spears and prepares to fight. Unfortunately, he fails to see Scylla, and when all eyes are fixed on the whirlpool she suddenly appears and snatches and devours six of his men. As for the third test, Odysseus does his best to persuade his men that they should not land on the island of the Sun. When they insist on resting there he makes them swear not to kill the cattle or sheep. He and his crew disembark, and Zeus brings bad weather, stranding them on the island for a month. Their provisions run out, and Odysseus goes inland to pray to the gods. They respond by putting him to sleep, and in the meantime his men decide to sacrifice some of the cattle to the gods and eat them. Odysseus wakes up, makes his way back, and smells the roasted meat. He reproaches Zeus and the other gods, who are simultaneously being addressed by the Sun, demanding vengeance. The gods show alarming portents: the dead cattle give signs of life. After six days of feasting the weather improves and the ship sails off again, but Zeus immediately wrecks it and kills the crew. Odysseus ties the mast to the keel, and, seated astride the two timbers, endures the buffeting of the winds. All night long he is blown back, until at daybreak he is again between Scylla and Charybdis. He grabs hold of a great fig-tree on the rock above the whirlpool when the latter sucks the timbers down. In the evening they are spewed up again, and he drops down, climbs on to them, and paddles away with his hands. Zeus prevents Scylla from seeing him. After nine more days he reaches Calypso's island. (Here his narrative ends.) Commentary

Odysseus' tests in this book clearly follow the pattern of concepts 3, 2 and 1 [or sub-concepts 2.3, 2.2 and 2.1], in the same order as in the tests endured in the Book of Kings by the Iranian hero Siyawush, as we saw in the analysis of Book VI of the Iliad. There Siyawush passed the test produced by the unacceptable advances of a woman [3 or 2.3], distinguished himself in war [2 or 2.2], and acted nobly and honourably when put in a near-impossible position involving religious duty and diplomacy [1 or 2.1]. The Mahabharata presents the same pattern in Arjuna's second individual exile, when he is staying with Indra. First, Indra tells a beautiful nymph called Urvashi to go to Arjuna and teach him how to conduct himself with a female companion. She makes herself as alluring as possible, goes to Arjuna and urges him to have intercourse with her. He refuses, on the grounds that she is the

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mother of his people. She curses him, saying that he will have to spend his time among women, despised as a eunuch and a dancer. Afterwards Indra reassures Arjuna, praises his self-control and tells him that the curse will stand him in good stead. Subsequently Indra puts Arjuna to a second test: he sends him to kill demons who live in an inaccessible spot by the ocean bay. Arjuna crosses the ocean and fights the demons, who at first use conventional weapons, and then resort to magic. They produce a shower of rocks as large as mountains, and then enormous jets of water. After Arjuna has defeated them he is faced, while returning, with a third test. He sees a city in the air, inhabited by other demons, who, he learns, cannot be killed by the gods but only by a human. Overjoyed by the idea of killing enemies of the gods, he attacks them, but they are too strong for him. He is obliged to resort to a special missile, which produces thousands of apparitions - these kill the demons off. (Bellerophon, in his corresponding test, kills the Chimera, a monster of divine birth, following signs provided by the gods.)33 BOOK X I I I : DISASTER, TRICKERY AND DISGUISE Book XIII starts with the Phaeacians' reaction to Odysseus' narrative. Alcinous suggests that their guest be given extra presents: each chief should donate one tripod and one ordinary cauldron, and later have himself reimbursed by the people. Next day, at daybreak, the gifts are brought and an ox is sacrificed to Zeus. Odysseus keeps looking at the sun, wanting it to set so that he can leave. When it does, libations are poured to the gods and the ship speeds off. Near dawn it reaches Ithaca and a cave sacred to the Nymphs. The Phaeacian crew put Odysseus, fast asleep, on the beach, along with his gifts. Then they go home. Meanwhile Poseidon complains to Zeus that the Phaeacians are not showing him respect. He had agreed to Odysseus' return after Zeus had promised it, but he had wanted the hero to suffer, whereas now he is profiting from the Phaeacians' generosity. Poseidon declares that he will wreck the ship and surround the Phaeacians' city with a ring of mountains. The ship is duly turned into stone in full view of the Phaeacians, and Alcinous recalls the old prophecy: Poseidon would wreck one of their ships and put mountains round their city. They prepare to sacrifice 12 bulls to the god to try to avert the second of these disasters.

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Odysseus now wakes up, but fails to recognize Ithaca, because Athena has covered the spot with a mist. He thinks that the Phaeacians have deposited him somewhere else, and hopes that Zeus, as the god of suppliants, will punish them. Athena appears in the guise of a young shepherd and explains that this is Ithaca, unsuitable for horses but good for goats and cattle. Odysseus pretends to be a Cretan exile, and Athena smiles, resuming her usual form. She observes that they are pre-eminent in cunning among gods and humans. Now they are to hatch a plot. Odysseus replies that her kindness towards him was interrupted after the fall of Troy. Athena explains that she could not oppose Poseidon. She disperses the mist, and Odysseus prays to the local Nymphs. The goddess and the hero hide the gifts and scheme the destruction of the suitors. Athena says that she will make Odysseus look old, unrecognizable and contemptible. He should go to his loyal swineherd while she fetches Telemachus. The transformation is accomplished, and they go their separate ways. Commentary

Again, the Mahabharata provides close parallels. The Phaeacian city, as we have seen, corresponds to the Indian city of Dvaraka. Arjuna's hosts there bring plenty of gifts for him to his home at Indraprastha. As Allen has well observed, the natural disaster with which the Phaeacians are faced is echoed by that which overtakes Dvaraka: it disappears in the ocean. The trickery of Athena, helping Odysseus to kill the suitors, is paralleled at a similar stage in the Indian epic. As has been noted above, during Arjuna's second individual exile he is told by Urvashi that he will spend his time in the contemptible form of a eunuch, and Indra adds that this will stand him in good stead. This is because Arjuna and his brothers have to spend the final year of their collective exile in disguise. Now, after Arjuna has rejoined his brothers, and at the start of that final year, Indra resorts to trickery in order to ensure that Arjuna will kill his strongest adversary, Kama. Disguised as a brahmin, he approaches Kama when the latter is praising the Sun at noon, a time when he cannot refuse a brahmin anything. Kama is forced to part with his armour and earrings, thus sacrificing his invincibility. Shortly afterwards Arjuna, his brothers and Draupadi disguise themselves as servants: Arjuna himself, as forecast, takes the guise of a eunuch.34

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BOOK XIV: A FAITHFUL HERDSMAN At the beginning of Book XIV Odysseus comes to Eumaeus' hut. This is in a courtyard with 12 pig-sties, each containing 50 sows. Outside sleep the boars, reduced by the suitors to 360, and guarded by four dogs. Eumaeus also has four assistants. He stops his dogs from tearing Odysseus to pieces, and welcomes him (still unrecognized) to his hut, observing that strangers and beggars come from Zeus. After this he serves his visitor a meal, and inveighs against the suitors' wickedness. Eumaeus extols his master's riches: on the mainland he has 12 herds of cattle, 12 flocks of sheep, 12 droves of pigs and 12 herds of goats. On Ithaca itself he has 11 more herds of goats. Unfortunately, he is now probably dead. Odysseus replies that Eumaeus' master will return very soon, when one moon wanes and another begins. Eumaeus asks who his visitor is, and Odysseus again spins a yarn about how he has come to be an exile from Crete. Ares and Athena, he says, had made him a brave warrior, and he had loved the warrior's life, presumably because the gods had so inclined him. Zeus had brought about the Trojan War, in which he had fought, and afterwards had planned more trouble for him. He had gone to Egypt with nine ships, and his men had attacked the Egyptians. Zeus had caused the invaders to panic and be killed or enslaved, but he had thrown himself on the mercy of the local king. The latter protected him from his people, so as not to anger Zeus, who as the god of hospitality is infuriated by evil actions. Later he had been taken on board a ship by a treacherous Phoenician, who intended to sell him as a slave, but Zeus had wrecked the ship and drowned everyone else. He himself, clinging to the mast, had reached the land of Thesprotia and come to its king. The pseudo-Cretan now talks about the real Odysseus, and claims to have heard from the Thesprotian king that he will soon be returning to Ithaca. He also claims, in order to explain his own presence, that a Thesprotian ship's crew were planning to sell him into slavery, but he had escaped when they stopped at the island. The swineherd refuses to believe the good news about his master, and says that he has been taken in by the same sort of story before by someone to whom he had given hospitality. Odysseus offers, literally, to bet his life on it, but Eumaeus points out that to take his guest's life would be a crime against Zeus. He sacrifices a pig, making offerings to the gods in general and to the Nymphs and Hermes in particular. Host and guest dine, and afterwards the latter tells a story. He claims that

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once, when he was in an ambush alongside Odysseus and had no cloak, Odysseus had saved him from dying of cold by sending a comrade off with a message: the messenger had left his own cloak behind. Eumaeus takes the hint and provides his visitor with a thick cloak for the night. Commentary

In order to understand the character of Eumaeus it is necessary to look ahead to the armed confrontation between Odysseus and the suitors in Book XXII. There Odysseus has on his side Athena (who briefly takes the form of Mentor), Telemachus, Eumaeus and a cowherd from the mainland. Now when, in the Mahabharata, Arjuna and his brothers begin their period of living in disguise, his youngest brothers, a pair of twins, assume the guises of a groom and a cowherd. This corresponds to the usual Indo-European pattern in which the representative of the more warlike Divine Twin is connected with horses and his counterpart is connected with cattle. Later, of course, all five brothers will fight against the enemy. The fact that Eumaeus looks after pigs, not horses, is presumably due to the circumstance that Ithaca is not suitable for the latter.35 It is from about this point that the Odyssey strongly resembles an epic outside the Indo-European linguistic field. In the Central Asian Turkic epic Alpamysh, the returning hero of the title meets his sister, who is looking after a herd of camels. (This might correspond to Odysseus' encounter with Athena in the guise of a shepherd in Book XIII.) Then Alpamysh meets his old slave Kultai, a shepherd. Kultai has been given false hope by strangers who have given him good news, and so distrusts his visitor, but then recognizes him thanks to a birthmark. Host and guest share a feast. Alpamysh dons Kultai's clothes and thus, disguised and not recognized, observes the insolence being shown to his family. (As we have noted above, experts rule out an influence from the Odyssey as geographically and historically impossible. We shall see reasons for believing that an ancient Central Asian folk-tale has gone into both epics.)36 BOOK XV: A RETURN AND A SEER Athena goes to Telemachus, who is still at Sparta, and tells him to go back to Ithaca, avoiding the suitors' ambush, and to visit Eumaeus

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before doing anything else. At daybreak Telemachus tells Menelaus that he must leave, and is given presents and a meal before his departure. An eagle flies past on the right, carrying a goose. Menelaus wonders how to interpret the omen, but Helen has the answer: Odysseus will pounce on the suitors. Telemachus and Peisistratus set off, and after stopping for the night drive on at dawn the next day. When they reach Pylos, Telemachus insists that he must embark at once. He sacrifices to Athena, and is approached by a prophet called Theoclymenus. Apollo had made this man's father the finest of all prophets. Theoclymenus has killed a man, and asks Telemachus for sanctuary. Telemachus takes him on board, and, given a following wind by Athena, sails for home. Meanwhile, Odysseus tells Eumaeus that he wants to go to the suitors in the hope of finding a job with them: Hermes, the deity of work, has made him skilful in performing servants' tasks, such as laying fires, splitting logs, cookery, dividing up food and serving wine. Eumaeus replies that the suitors would kill him, and that he should await Telemachus' return. His visitor asks about Odysseus' father and mother. The swineherd explains that the former is miserable and the latter is dead. Eumaeus recalls that he himself had been brought up together with their daughter, who was their youngest (or younger) child, before the two children reached their youth and she was married off. Odysseus proceeds to inquire how the swineherd came to be spending his childhood in Ithaca in the first place. Eumaeus explains that he is the son of a king of a distant island, where the people are always killed in old age by Apollo and Artemis. One day some Phoenician traders came there and one of them seduced a female compatriot who was working in the house of Eumaeus' father. She agreed to run away with them, taking some gold and Eumaeus himself, who was to be sold into slavery. The woman took three goblets and the child, and embarked on the Phoenicians' ship, but after a few days Artemis killed her and the crew threw her corpse overboard. Eumaeus was sold to Odysseus' father. Soon Telemachus reaches Ithaca, and tells his companion to go to the city while he visits his family's farms. He advises Theoclymenus to go to the house of Eurymachus, the keenest of those who wish to marry Penelope and have Odysseus' place of honour, and expresses the opinion that Zeus knows if the suitors will meet destruction before it comes to a wedding. A hawk appears on the right as a messenger from Apollo, holding a dove and scattering its feathers between Telemachus

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and the ship. Theoclymenus interprets this as an omen: no family in Ithaca is more royal or powerful than that of Telemachus. The latter responds by telling one of his companions to take care of Theoclymenus in his own home, and himself makes his way to Eumaeus. Commentary

The narrative concerning Telemachus seems to correspond to part of the Mahabharata, as we have seen in our analysis of Books I-IV. Telemachus5 adventures are paralleled by those of Arjuna's brothers in his second individual exile. The brothers have met the god of riches, Kubera, who corresponds to Menelaus and who now bids them farewell, prophesying that they will soon be reunited with Arjuna. They are to return to the hermitage of the seer Arshtishena. Arjuna's brothers subsequently see Arshtishena and also their special priest, who is called Dhaumya, and who now imparts knowledge about the course of the sun to Yudhishthira. After a while Arjuna rejoins them.37 This part of the Odyssey also corresponds, it would appear, to the History of Rome's account of the young man who, having floated along the Tiber and climbed a cliff to reach the Senate, now has to take the same dangerous route back, past the enemy, in order to return to Veii, so that Camillus can be legally recalled.38 As for Odysseus' conversation with Eumaeus, it may be noted that the depiction of Hermes as the god of work, making servants clever and skilful at their tasks, fits in with our interpretation of him as a deity of sub-concept 2.1. Eumaeus' portrayal of himself as a sort of honorary brother, having about the same age, of Odysseus' younger (or youngest) sister is highly significant. Odysseus, we learn later, is an only son. Whether he had other sisters is not clear. The narrative also makes Eumaeus a kind of honorary younger (or youngest) brother to Odysseus, like Nakula to Arjuna. We have seen that in Alpamysh the returning hero meets first his sister, who is looking after camels, and then the loyal shepherd. It is noteworthy that Eumaeus is a king's son who has become a swineherd; Nakula is a prince who disguises himself on

as a groom. The story of Eumaeus' abduction is a typical variation on the notorious Indo-European theme of the traitor. 'Gold-drunkenness' is the name of the Scandinavian female being sent by the enemy to sow corruption; in Rome the treacherous woman Tarpeia is bribed with gold, or in another version with love - she is soon killed.40

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BOOK XVI: REUNION AND A WAR-DEITY Telemachus comes to Eumaeus' hut, and he and the swineherd share a meal with Odysseus. The latter asks if Telemachus is being let down by his brothers, since the suitors are being allowed to behave in so appalling a manner. Telemachus replies that Zeus has made only sons the rule in his family. He tells Eumaeus to inform Penelope of his safe return. Eumaeus wonders if he should also inform Odysseus' father, who is sitting on his farm with the flesh withering on his bones. Telemachus says that Penelope should send someone else to let him know. After the swineherd has left, Athena makes herself visible to Odysseus, but not to Telemachus. The dogs, however, do see her. Odysseus goes outside and is advised by Athena to reveal everything to his son. She transforms him into a well-dressed, handsome and dark-skinned man, and then disappears. Odysseus goes back to his son, who at first thinks that he must be a god, and convinces him of his identity. Telemachus warns him of the enormous number of the suitors, but his father declares that Zeus and Athena will be on his side. He instructs his son to go home at dawn and wait for the right time to attack. In the meantime the suitors learn of Telemachus' return. Antinous suggests that they should make another attempt to kill him, but another leading suitor, called Amphinomus, argues that first they should find out what the gods want. This view is approved by the rest. Penelope now confronts the suitors and addresses herself to Antinous. She points out that it is an act of the grossest impiety for him to plot against Telemachus, because Antinous' own father had taken refuge with Odysseus from the rest of the Ithacans, who wanted to kill him for joining pirates in a raid on the Thesprotians and thus breaching a pact with the latter. Odysseus had saved his life. Eurymachus makes a hypocritical profession of affection for Telemachus, and Penelope goes to bed. Eumaeus, who has given her his message, rejoins Odysseus (whom Athena has again turned into an old man in dirty clothes) and his son. They have another meal together before going to sleep. Commentary

Of particular interest here is the presentation of Odysseus' father as having his flesh withered, as opposed to Odysseus himself, who is rendered dark-skinned when Athena wants him to look younger. In

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the Mahabharata Arjuna's official, human father also lives away from his palace and city, in the forest. His name, Pandu, means 'pale', and Dumezil has argued that this, along with his remoteness, connects him with Varuna: in some rituals the god is represented by a man who must be extremely white and also, like Pandu, impotent.41 (In the History of Rome, when the Gauls attack Rome during Camillus' absence, the old Romans who have enjoyed the highest honours just sit passively in their homes outside the citadel.)42 Also of interest is the information that Antinous' father had had his life saved by Odysseus. In the Mahabharata, while Arjuna and his brothers are in their collective exile, their enemies go on an ill-advised expedition, and their most wicked representative, Duryodhana, is captured by the Gandharvas. He has to be rescued from the latter by Arjuna.43 The action of Book XVI itself is also to some extent paralleled in the Mahabharata. When Arjuna rejoins his brothers after his second individual exile, Indra, like Athena, puts in a personal appearance.44 (Athena's being seen by the dogs but not by Telemachus is a phenomenon echoed in Germanic folklore, where gods who are invisible to humans are none the less perceived by animals.)45 Arjuna, like Odysseus, has to remain disguised and humiliated before the final showdown. In Alpamysh the returning hero's son, Yadgar, also joins him when he is being entertained by his loyal servant, the shepherd, and the three figures eat together. There too the villain of the epic, Ultan the Bald, threatens to kill the hero's son. Alpamysh's grey-haired father is humiliated.46 BOOK X V I I : LIVESTOCK AND DISGUISED STRENGTH At dawn the next day Telemachus sets off for the city, telling Eumaeus to take Odysseus there too. He enters the palace and is greeted by Penelope, who looks like Artemis or Aphrodite. He tells her to pray to all the gods, promising offerings if Zeus gives their family its revenge on the suitors. Then he goes out again, endowed with surpassing handsomeness by Athena. He sees Theoclymenus and brings him inside. They bathe and eat together, and then Penelope asks Telemachus about Odysseus. He passes on the news given by Menelaus. Theoclymenus swears that Odysseus is on the island already. Subsequently, when it is time for dinner and the sheep are being brought back from the fields, the suitors prepare to eat, and various animals are slaughtered.

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Elsewhere, Odysseus and Eumaeus are preparing to follow Telemachus. They come to a fountain, beneath an altar dedicated to the Nymphs. A goatherd called Melanthius, who is bringing in some goats for the suitors to eat, insults them and kicks Odysseus. The latter is about to kill him, but manages to restrain himself and preserve his disguise of a weak old man. Eumaeus prays to the Nymphs to grant that Odysseus may return. Melanthius expresses the wish that Apollo may kill Telemachus. Odysseus and Eumaeus arrive at the palace. A fine old dog, bred by Odysseus, is now lying half-dead and abandoned on a dunghill. It lifts its head, pricks up its ears, recognizes Odysseus, wags its tail and drops its ears again, but is too weak to come near, and immediately dies. Eumaeus enters the palace and is followed by Odysseus. The feast is in progress, and Telemachus tells the swineherd to give some food to the stranger and tell him to beg from the suitors. Odysseus eats, and then Athena appears and tells him to go round collecting bits of food from the suitors, so as to sort out those who behave correctly from the rest. (Even so, we are told, she is not going to save any of them.) He obeys, and they all give him food, with the exception of Antinous, who expresses his anger with Eumaeus for bringing the beggar in. Odysseus tells Antinous his story of having got into trouble in Egypt, but Antinous reacts by ordering him to go away from his table. As Odysseus goes back to his place Antinous throws a stool, which hits him in the back. The other suitors are shocked, and point out that the beggar might be a god in disguise. Penelope, who is in another part of the palace, hears of this incident, and says that she hopes Apollo will strike Antinous in the same way. Then she summons Eumaeus and tells him to fetch the stranger. When she utters a wish that Odysseus will come back, Telemachus gives a resounding sneeze, which she hears and recognizes as a good omen. The swineherd goes to fetch Odysseus, but the latter says that it will be better to wait until sunset. Eumaeus, after transmitting the answer to Penelope, tells Telemachus to look after himself, and after finishing his meal goes home. Commentary

The Mahabharata also shows livestock being taken from its owners when Arjuna and his brothers are living in disguise, during the final year of their collective exile. Their enemies decide to make a cattle raid on the kingdom where the Pandavas are staying, and send their allies in to raid first. At this point the fixed period of exile comes to an end,

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and Arjuna's brothers intervene when the king whom they are serving is captured. Yudhishthira, however, tells Bhima not to reveal his superhuman strength when rescuing the king (just as Odysseus conceals his superior strength when kicked by Melanthius). Now the Pandavas' enemies themselves invade and drive off an enormous quantity of cattle. Arjuna goes to confront them, and they think that perhaps they recognize him.47 In Alpamysh the hero also arrives in disguise (in the clothing of his faithful shepherd) at his own home. A wedding feast is being held, and his wife is being forcibly married to the usurper, Ultan the Bald. Nobody recognizes Alpamysh, who notes Ultan's insulting behaviour towards his family, and observes which servants are still loyal to their master. An old camel has been lying for seven years, immobile, on the ground. When Alpamysh draws near it suddenly rises to welcome him.48 BOOK X V I I I : A F I G H T AND EXPULSION A beggar known as Irus insults Odysseus, and tells him to go away or be thrown out. Odysseus replies that there is room for both of them. Irus challenges him to a fight, and Antinous offers a stuffed goat's paunch as a prize. When Odysseus tucks up his rags it is clear that he is a strong man, and Athena comes and makes him look even stronger. Irus is frightened, but the servants drag him forward. Odysseus wonders whether to hit him really hard or lightly, and decides on the latter course, so as not to arouse suspicion. He knocks his opponent down and drags him out of the palace. The suitors tell Odysseus that they hope that Zeus and the other gods will fulfil his wishes, and promise to send Irus off to a tyrannical king on the mainland. Odysseus takes these words as a good omen. He makes a speech to Amphinomus, saying that one has to endure the vexations brought by the gods: the disposition of a human being varies according to what Zeus vouchsafes. Amphinomus, he hopes, will not be there when Odysseus attacks the suitors. Then he pours a libation, drinks and gives the cup to Amphinomus (who, we are told, has already been marked down for death by Athena). At this point Penelope is inspired by Athena to go and show herself to the suitors. The goddess makes her look extremely beautiful, and the suitors are overwhelmed. Penelope rebukes Telemachus for allowing Antinous to throw his stool at the stranger. He replies, invoking Zeus, Athena and Apollo, that he would like to see the suitors beaten

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like Irus. Eurymachus praises Penelope's beauty, and she replies that now, unfortunately, she will be obliged to remarry. However, she continues, the suitors should stop devouring her family's livestock, and should bring her presents instead. Odysseus is delighted by her method of extorting gifts from them. Sumptuous presents are duly brought, and Penelope retires. The suitors' revels continue into the night. Odysseus tells the maidservants to go away while he stokes the braziers which light the hall. One of the maidservants, Melantho, replies by insulting him, but he speaks to her so severely in return that the women all run away. Athena, who wants Odysseus to feel more pain, makes the suitors insult him more. Eurymachus comments on his complete baldness, and suggests that he prefers begging to work. Odysseus replies that he would be happy to compete with Eurymachus and see which of them could reap or plough better, and adds that if the master of the house returned, Eurymachus would soon be running for his life. Eurymachus loses his temper and throws a stool at Odysseus, who ducks, so that it hits a cup-bearer instead. A commotion ensues, and Telemachus tells the suitors that they should go home. After a final round of libations and drinking they do so. Commentary

As we have already seen, Odysseus' concealing of his real strength is paralleled in the Mahabharata, when Bhima has to avoid showing that he is supernaturally strong (this is because of uncertainty about whether or not the periods of exile and concealment are really over). During the period in which Arjuna and his brothers are living in disguise, there is another episode in which Bhima's strength has to be used. At a public festival the king whom they are serving orders Bhima (who is disguised as a cook) to fight a champion wrestler, who is duly left lying beaten on the ground. The hairlessness of Odysseus' head corresponds to the hairlessness of Arjuna's skin in his guise of a eunuch.49 Apart from the expulsion of Irus, which anticipates the final massacre of the suitors themselves, Book XVIII also presents the expulsion of the maidservants from the hall, and finally a curt and authoritative command from Telemachus, which makes the suitors go home for the night. Now there would seem to be some correspondence with the Roman rite in which women, some time before the summer solstice, brutally expel from the temple of Mater Matuta ('Mother

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Dawn') a female slave, whom they have themselves brought in, infringing the usual rule that no slaves are admitted there. The idea seems to be that the dawn needs assistance and strength in its task of expelling evil darkness from the sky.50 The treatment meted out by Odysseus to Irus resembles that meted out by Alpamysh to a cook at Ultan the Bald's wedding feast.51 BOOK X I X : A RECOGNITION As soon as the suitors have gone home for the night, Odysseus tells Telemachus that they must take all the weapons which are in the hall and hide them in the storeroom. They do so, while Athena lights their way. Telemachus goes to bed, and Odysseus is left to talk to Penelope, who comes down to question him. Melantho again insults Odysseus, who replies that Telemachus, thanks to Apollo, is a son worthy of his father, and will take note of the maidservants' behaviour. Penelope asks Odysseus who he is, and he again pretends to be a Cretan. He mentions the various peoples who have settled in Crete, notably the Dorians, who are described as living in three divisions. The stranger says that he has met Odysseus, and describes his clothes so accurately that Penelope is convinced. Then he announces that Odysseus is about to return, and gives an account of his adventures. He says that the hero has gone to the oracle of Zeus at Dodona and will be back in a short period of time, when one moon wanes and another waxes. Penelope then tells her maidservants to give their visitor a bath. He says that he wants just one elderly maidservant to give him a wash. Eurycleia prepares to do so, lamenting her absent master and complaining that Zeus must have hated him a lot, in spite of receiving frequent sacrifices from him. When she starts to wash the stranger she recognizes a scar which Odysseus had received when young. He had been to stay with his mother's father, an unsurpassed thief and perjurer, whose talents had been given him by Hermes. Odysseus, when hunting at daybreak, had been wounded in the thigh by a boar, which he had none the less killed. When Eurycleia realizes that the stranger is her master, she turns towards Penelope, but the latter's attention is distracted by Athena. Odysseus orders Eurycleia not to reveal his identity. After Odysseus has had his wash, Penelope questions him again. She wants him to interpret a dream, in which she has seen an eagle kill a flock of 20 geese. The stranger replies that obviously her husband

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will kill the suitors. Penelope, however, declares that she will set the suitors a test. They will be called upon to string Odysseus' great bow and shoot an arrow through the apertures of 12 axes. She will marry whoever succeeds in doing this. Odysseus replies that the test should proceed without delay, since Penelope's husband will return before it is successfully completed. Penelope retires to bed. Commentary

In the Mahabharata, when Arjuna gradually re-emerges from his longest exile and his period of living in disguise, the first person to recognize him is also a senior figure, his teacher Drona. Moreover, the situation in Book XIX is also paralleled in one of the Mahabharata's most famous stories, that of King Nala, who also returns from exile when his wife is about to choose a new husband. Nala is disguised as a hunchback. A maidservant operates as an intermediary between Nala and his wife as the former's identity is gradually established.52 As we have already seen, the episode of Eurycleia's recognizing Odysseus by his scar is echoed in the story of the faithful shepherd's recognizing Alpamysh by a birthmark on his shoulder. Alpamysh, like Odysseus, prefers to prolong his incognito, noting which of his servants have betrayed him.53 Apollo is represented as being the cause of Telemachus' merits: this is because he is the god of youthful male beauty and excellence. As a deity of concept 3 he brings the young male and his qualities to fruition and maturity.54 Much attention has been given to the description of the Dorian Greeks as 'living in three divisions'. This has been seen as reflecting Indo-European social tripartition, since elsewhere in Homer the inhabitants of Rhodes are portrayed as 'arranged in threefold divisions', and this would appear to refer to a Dorian settlement. However, the Greek word applied to the Dorians here, trikhaikes, has also been taken as meaning 'with waving horsehair plumes'.55 BOOK XX: A PROTECTOR, A COWHERD AND A PROPHET Odysseus lies down to sleep, but is kept awake by the apparently insoluble problem of how to deal with the suitors, given their numerical superiority. Athena comes to him, and he explains why he is worried,

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adding that even if he kills all the suitors it is not clear where he could go to escape vengeance from their relatives. The goddess replies that she is powerful enough to give him victory over any number of enemies. Then she puts him to sleep and goes away. Penelope then wakes up, cries and prays to Artemis to grant her death. She says that she would be happy with a fate like that of the legendary daughters of Pandareus. They were nourished with cheese, honey and wine by Aphrodite; Hera granted them form and judgement, making them superior to all other women; Artemis made them tall; Athena taught them to work extremely well. Afterwards Aphrodite went to see Zeus (who knows everything that is destined), to ask him to give them husbands, and they were snatched away by the Stormwinds and handed over as slaves to the Erinyes. Dawn comes, and Odysseus asks Zeus for good omens. Zeus thunders and makes a woman utter propitious words. She is one of the 12 women who grind barley and wheat at handmills. The others have finished working, but she is not so strong as they are. Now she prays to Zeus that today the suitors will eat their last dinner. The rest of the servants get up and start their work. Eumaeus comes and greets Odysseus, and then Melanthius turns up and insults him again. Odysseus' cowherd Philoetius arrives, bringing animals which have come from the mainland. He speaks kindly to the stranger and reproaches Zeus for making people miserable after he has caused them to be born. Philoetius then laments the absence of his royal master. At the same time the suitors are again plotting how to kill Telemachus. An eagle with a dove in its claws appears on their left, and they at once realize (an omen on the left being unfavourable) that their schemes are doomed to failure. They come to the palace and begin to enjoy another splendid feast. Telemachus seats Odysseus by the threshold and tells the suitors to behave themselves. (In the meantime, we are told, the townsfolk are gathering in a grove sacred to Apollo for a festival in his honour.) Athena again inspires the suitors to insult Odysseus and make him suffer yet more. A rich man called Ctesippus makes a sarcastic speech about the beggar and throws a cow's hoof at him. Odysseus ducks and it hits the wall. Telemachus rebukes Ctesippus and the rest of the suitors as well. They are silent for a long time, until one of their leading figures, called Agelaus, responds. He agrees that the stranger should not be maltreated, but urges Telemachus to tell Penelope to find a new husband. Telemachus says that he is encouraging his mother to do just that, but will not drive her out against her will. Athena makes the suitors burst into laughter at this

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reply. Then they start grimacing and weeping, as blood appears on the food which they are eating. Theoclymenus tells them that they are covered in darkness, while the walls are splashed with blood and the courtyard is full of ghosts. The suitors laugh at him, and he goes away. They continue to provoke Telemachus by pouring ridicule on his guests. Commentary

The presentation of Athena as Odysseus5 companion in the face of a large number of enemies is echoed in the Mahabharata, when the period of the Pandavas' exile and life in disguise is over and the great battle with their enemies is about to begin. Krishna gives Arjuna the choice between himself and his army. Arjuna chooses the god, to stand beside him as his charioteer, while Krishna's enormous army is given to the leader of the Pandavas' enemies.56 Odysseus' kind-hearted cowherd, Philoetius, corresponds to Arjuna's brother Sahadeva, who pursues this occupation when living in disguise, having previously gained experience at working with cows.57 Philoetius forms a pair with Eumaeus, as does Odysseus' sister; an opposing pair is formed by Melanthius and his sister Melantho. Theoclymenus' warning to the suitors that they are doomed is also paralleled in the Mahabharata, when, as the final battle draws ever nearer, a bard called Samjaya, who has obtained special knowledge through religious devotion, warns the family of the Pandavas' befuddled and lawless enemies that Krishna will destroy them.58 The details of Theoclymenus' vision are found elsewhere in the Indo-European field: the cloud of darkness which envelops the suitors appears in Celtic literature, and the walls dripping with blood are instanced in the Scandinavian sagas.59 BOOK X X I : THE TEST OF THE BOW Athena proceeds to inspire Penelope to test the suitors with Odysseus' great bow. This had been given to him by a hero called Iphitus, who was subsequently killed by Heracles in spite of being the latter's guest. Penelope fetches the bow and brings it to the suitors. She tells them that she will marry whoever succeeds in stringing it and shooting an arrow through the apertures of 12 axes. Eumaeus and Philoetius weep when they see the bow, and are rebuked for this by Antinous.

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Telemachus puts the axes in position and tests his own strength with the bow. At the fourth attempt he comes close to stringing it, but Odysseus signals to him not to do so. Antinous calls on the other suitors to attempt the test in the order of their seating arrangements for feasting, starting from where the wine is poured. Thus the first man to try is one Leodes, the augur who takes the omens from the entrails of the sacrificed animals, and always sits in the corner by the winebowl. He strongly disapproves of the suitors' behaviour. Leodes' hands are soft, and he fails to string the bow. He declares that it will deprive many fine men of their lives. Antinous is angered by these words, and tells Melanthius to make up a fire and bring some tallow, so that the bow can be warmed and greased. This is done, but more suitors fail the test. In the meantime Eumaeus and Philoetius have gone outside. Odysseus joins them and asks if they would fight for their master. They respond with prayers for the latter's return. He reveals his identity, and comments that they are the only two of his men who will be happy to see him back. Then he promises that if he beats the suitors both of them will be Telemachus' brothers in his eyes. Finally, he proves that he is Odysseus by showing them his scar. The three of them embrace, and then the hero gives his instructions: Eumaeus is to take the bow and put it in Odysseus' hands, and also tell the women to stay in their quarters, while Philoetius is to secure the gate of the courtyard. They return to the hall. The bow has now reached Eurymachus, who also fails to string it. Antinous points out that it is a holiday, sacred to Apollo. They should postpone the test until the next day, and meanwhile have some more wine. This suggestion meets with general agreement. After the suitors have had more to drink, Odysseus makes a speech. He would just like to test his strength on the bow. Antinous replies angrily that the stranger must be drunk, and recalls the disastrous drunkenness of a famous centaur, which started the legendary quarrel between the Centaurs and the Lapiths. Penelope interrupts, observing that the stranger obviously does not want to marry her: she will give him new clothes and weapons if he strings the bow. Telemachus declares that he alone is the owner of the bow, and orders his mother to go to the women's quarters. She obeys. Eumaeus is already carrying the bow towards Odysseus, but the suitors are howling their disapproval. He puts it down, but Telemachus tells him to continue. Odysseus is duly given it, and his other instructions are also carried out. The suitors ridicule him and his

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chances of stringing the bow. He strings and twangs it. Zeus thunders in reply. Odysseus shoots an arrow through the apertures of the axes, and tells Telemachus to have the suitors' supper prepared. Then he nods, and his son stands, armed with a spear and a sword, by his side. Commentary

The Mahabharata also has a story about stringing a bow in order to win a wife, but it comes very early in the epic, when Arjuna has to win Draupadi. Draupadi's father celebrates a great festival, and has a very hard bow made, which is almost impossible to bend. He also has a special contraption built in the sky, with a golden target fixed on it. The winner has to string the bow and fire the arrows through the contraption (more precisely, through a hole in a wheel) and into the target. Many barons fail to string the bow. Arjuna and his brothers have come disguised as brahmins, begging for food. When Arjuna stands up to enter the contest some real brahmins ridicule his chances of stringing the bow. He duly succeeds in stringing it and fires arrows into the target. Yudhishthira and the twins now go away. All the barons who have failed the test give vent to their anger at the idea of Draupadi being given to a brahmin, and Arjuna and Bhima confront them.60 Leodes is clearly a frame-figure, like Bhishma in the Mahabharata: he sits at the end, is the first to attempt the test and (like Bhishma in the great final battle) is the last to be killed. Like Bhishma, he also has a special religious function, and is virtuous but on the wrong side. In Alpamysh the episode of the bow comes near the end. The hero, wearing shepherd's clothes and pretending to be a beggar, has noted which of his servants have stayed loyal and which have not. When an archery contest takes place he is the only person who can draw his enormous old bronze bow. This is brought to him by his son.61 Gabriel Germain has argued that the evidence points to a Central Asian origin. The reflex bow was probably invented by Central Asian nomads (probably Turko-Mongols) before 3000 BCE. It would have reached some Indo-European speakers, notably Indo-Iranians on the Central Asian steppes. The story of the king who wins his wife and his kingdom through his prowess as an archer would also have belonged to the steppes before ending up in the Odyssey and the Mahabharata.62

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BOOK X X I I : VICTORY THANKS T O GUILE Odysseus jumps on to the hall's threshold, where he invokes Apollo and shoots an arrow at Antinous. The latter is just lifting his cup to his lips, apparently secure among his friends, when the arrow hits him in the neck and kills him. At once there is uproar: the other suitors look in vain for shields and spears, and then tell the stranger that he will have to pay for Antinous3 life with his own. They think that he has killed Antinous by accident, but now he reveals his identity and tells them that they are about to die. They are terrified, but Eurymachus replies that the main culprit is dead, and asks for mercy for the rest, saying that they will pay a massive indemnity. Odysseus refuses, and Eurymachus calls on the others to draw their swords. When he himself does so Odysseus shoots him dead. Amphinomus charges at Odysseus, sword in hand, but Telemachus, who is no longer standing beside his father, kills him from behind with a spear. He then goes to fetch arms for Odysseus and the two loyal servants. The four of them stand together while Odysseus picks the suitors off one by one. When he runs out of arrows he arms himself with a couple of spears. At this point Melanthius manages to bring some arms to the suitors. When he sets off to fetch some more he is spotted by Eumaeus. Odysseus tells the swineherd and the cowherd to catch him, tie him up with his back to a plank and his hands and feet bound behind it, and haul him up to the top of a pillar. This they do, and Eumaeus mocks Melanthius, saying that the latter will stay there till dawn. Then he and Philoetius rejoin Odysseus and Telemachus. Athena also comes to them, taking the form of Mentor. The suitors welcome her with abuse and threats. She urges Odysseus on, and then leaves him, flying up to the roof. Six of the suitors throw their spears at Odysseus, but Athena makes them all miss. The four men on the threshold cast in turn, and kill four more of the suitors. A second volley from the latter is again made to miss by Athena, and four more suitors are killed. One of these is Ctesippus, killed by the cowherd, who tells him that this is in return for the cow's hoof which he threw at Odysseus. Athena raises the aegis, and the remaining suitors panic and are cut down. The last of the suitors to be killed is Leodes, who clasps Odysseus' knees and begs for mercy, saying that he has done nothing wrong but just acted as an augur. Odysseus replies that Leodes must often have prayed for his return to be delayed. Then he picks up a sword and

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beheads him. Phemius, the bard, also pleads to be spared, pointing out that his art is connected with the gods. Medon, the herald, who has been crouching beneath a chair, wrapped up in a newly flayed oxhide, throws this off and also comes forward to beg for mercy. Odysseus, prompted by Telemachus, spares their lives. He summons Eurycleia, who on seeing the dead suitors starts to utter the ritual trilling lu sound with which Mediterranean women greet a happy event.63 Odysseus tells her that it is impious to exult over men who have been killed, and says that the suitors have been vanquished by the 'fate of the gods' and their own wicked actions. He orders Eurycleia to fetch those of the maidservants who had been disloyal. Then he tells Telemachus and the herdsmen that they are to make these women help them take the corpses outside. After the hall has been cleaned the women are to be taken to the space between the palace's roundhouse and the courtyard wall, and put to the sword. Most of these instructions are carried out, but when the women are brought to the designated spot, Telemachus (after referring to the fact that they have slept with the suitors) decides to hang them from a ship's cable. Next, Melanthius has his nose and ears sliced off; he is castrated, and his genitals are fed to the dogs; and his hands and feet are cut off as well. Odysseus fumigates the palace and is welcomed by the loyal maidservants. Commentary

The battle with the suitors has many points of similarity with the main battle in the Mahabharata. There the Pandavas are repeatedly obliged to kill their leading enemies by descending to cheating. The killing of Antinous evidently corresponds to Arjuna's slaying of Kama. Kama is put at a disadvantage when one of the wheels of his chariot begins to sink into the earth. By the rules of combat Arjuna should wait until Kama has extricated the wheel, but Krishna declares that the Kauravas' wicked behaviour has rendered respect for the rules unnecessary. When Kama jumps down from his chariot to try to pull the wheel out, Arjuna fires a great arrow from his famous bow, and it cuts Kama's head off. Arjuna utters lion-like shouts, and his remaining enemies are terrified, but the main villain, Duryodhana, succeeds in rallying them.64 Duryodhana's own death resembles that of Eurymachus, just as they resemble each other in character, foolishly evil but cunning in deceit. Eurymachus is killed by an arrow before he can fight hand-to-

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hand with his sword. Duryodhana is killed by a blatant act of cheating: Bhima literally hits him below the belt, with a mace, against the rules of combat. Krishna says that this is a justified punishment for Duryodhana's wicked behaviour, in particular his trying to poison Bhima and burn all the Pandavas to death (just as Eurymachus had tried to murder Telemachus). When one's enemies are numerous one should resort to trickery.65 The unheroic killings of Amphinomus (from behind, when he is attacking another warrior) and Leodes (when he has given up trying to defend himself) are also paralleled in the Mahabharata. Amphinomus and Leodes are the only two decent people among the suitors, and correspond to the teacher Drona and the frame-figure Bhishma, two good people fighting on the Kauravas' side. Yudhishthira, urged on by Krishna, deceives Drona into thinking that the latter's son has been killed. Drona, overwhelmed by grief, stops fighting and has his head cut off. Bhishma also gives up trying to defend himself. Arjuna, encouraged by Krishna, attacks him and he falls mortally wounded. Later on Arjuna is told that he has sinned by killing Bhishma when the latter was engaged in combat with another warrior.66 As Dumezil has pointed out, the mishap which befalls Kama's chariot is prefigured in the Vedas: Indra, helping a hero called Kutsa in a battle, steals (or in other versions pulls out of place or pushes down) one of the chariot wheels of the Sun. Kama, it will be recalled, has the Sun as his father.67 On the Greek side, in the legend of Jason, the hero has the Sun's grandson treacherously lured to a meeting and then murders him when he is defenceless.68 In Scandinavia we find a similarly treacherous murder. Balder (a figure connected with midsummer) and the other gods amuse themselves by having him stand up for the rest to throw things at him. He can never be hurt until the trickster-god Loki gets the blind Hoder to throw a dart of mistletoe: this alone is fatal.69 Among the Ossetians' neighbours a witch (who has clearly replaced the trickster-figure Syrdon) arranges the killing of a hero called Soslan in the course of an apparently harmless game, in which there are a number of players. Soslan is killed by a cutting wheel, sent rolling down a hillside, and evidently linked, as is shown by parallels in traditional European practices, to midsummer. Thus in ninteenth-century eastern France, at midsummer, a wheel would be sent rolling down a hillside into a river. Women would be rigorously excluded from this rite.70 The comic incident in which Medon casts aside his freshly flayed oxhide would seem to represent an adaptation of an archaic element.

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In Ossetian folklore a young friend of Soslan is killed by Syrdon, acting deceptively. Soslan has been besieging a fortress in order to obtain a woman who has been promised to him. When his young ally is killed, Soslan kills an ox, takes its entrails out, and enters its belly, 'just between the months of June and July'. This evidently means midsummer. Odysseus returns 'when one moon wanes and another waxes', not at midsummer, but at a fairly mild time of year, as scholars have noted from various indications. However, in the Ossetian evidence materials related to midsummer are also related to the winter solstice and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. The Ossetians' ancient Scythian ancestors had a special form of supplication. If a man had suffered a wrong from someone and wanted to defend his interests, but could not do so alone, he would sacrifice an ox, put the skin on the ground and sit on it, his arms brought back behind his back as if tied by the elbows. That, we are told, was the most pressing form of supplication. When the meat was cooked, relatives or strangers would take a bit and put their right feet on the skin, promising given numbers of fighters.71 Odysseus' intervention, when Penelope is about to be given to a new husband, also corresponds to that of Camillus, when a large amount of gold is about to be given to the Gauls and their arrogant leader. Camillus arrives, tells the Gauls to prepare for battle, draws up his men in an advantageous position on uneven ground (like Odysseus and his supporters on the threshold) and confronts the Gauls' charge. Victory is easily won.72 Modern scholarship has expressed the gravest reservations about the method used for executing the disloyal maidservants: the details seem physically impossible. Fernand Robert has produced a plausible solution: the story would reflect a mythical explanation for the origin of a widespread ritual practice (also found in Roman religion), that of hanging up dolls, representing a female figure, apparently as emblems of fertility. Similarly, Oedipus' daughter Antigone is shown hanging herself in a roundhouse, which, as in Odysseus' palace, would have been a monument of an ancestor cult.73 In Alpamysh the story continues in a rather different way. The hero remains disguised, and sings verses in alternation with the usurper's mother and with his wife. Only after this is his identity revealed. Then he and his friends massacre Ultan's followers and doom the villain himself to a lingering death.74

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BOOK X X I I I : IMPENDING VENGEANCE Eurycleia informs Penelope that Odysseus has returned and killed the suitors. She replies that the gods must have made the old woman mad. Eurycleia insists that the news is true, and Penelope wonders how the suitors could have been overcome by one man on his own. The old woman says what she has seen, but her mistress thinks that the suitors must have been killed by a god because of their wickedness. Penelope comes downstairs and sits opposite Odysseus, uncertain whether or not she recognizes him. Telemachus rebukes her, but she insists that if the stranger is Odysseus she will establish the fact through secrets known to only the two of them. Odysseus tells Telemachus not to worry about Penelope, but to consider the problem of impending vengeance from the suitors' relatives: even if one kills just a single man with no friends, one still has to go into exile. Then the hero orders his son and servants to dance to the sound of Phemius' lyre, so that the neighbours will think that a wedding feast is in progress. He himself has a bath, and Athena makes him look tall and handsome. When Odysseus and Penelope confront each other again, the latter tells Eurycleia to move the bed out of their bedroom. Odysseus expresses his outrage at the thought that the bed could have been disconnected from the bedroom floor. He recalls that he had secretly built the room round an olive tree, turning its trunk into one of the bedposts. Penelope realizes that the stranger must be her husband, and embraces him, complaining that the gods have prevented them from sharing their youth together. She and Odysseus continue to embrace while Athena intervenes to delay the dawn from interrupting. Odysseus tells Penelope of the adventure predicted for him by Teiresias. Then they go to bed together. After they have made love Odysseus gives an account of his travels, before suddenly falling asleep. When Athena thinks he is ready to get up she makes the dawn come. He tells Penelope that he is going to see his father, and sets off with his son and the herdsmen. The goddess hides them in darkness on their way. Commentary

The Mahabharata, after recounting how Duryodhana falls in the battle, goes on to describe the total victory of the Pandavas: their enemies

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have been almost entirely wiped out. However, there is to be vengeance exacted on them by Drona's son Ashwatthaman. He creeps into their camp in the night when they and Krishna are absent, and massacres all their sons and followers.75 As we have seen, the Mahabharata also describes how there has to be a journey and sacrificing for the purpose of self-purification. At one point Yudhishthira asks Krishna why Arjuna has to suffer so much. Krishna replies that it is because Arjuna's cheekbones are too high. Draupadi is angered by this criticism of her husband.76 Many scholars have taken the view that the 'digression' in which Odysseus faces the threat from the suitors' relatives before being definitely recognized by Penelope is a later addition, and that this is also true of the rest of the poem after the pair to go to bed together. But there have been strong counter-arguments for the authenticity of the passages in question, and the Indian evidence supports the view that the problem of vengeance for the killing of the suitors has to be solved.77

BOOK XXIV: SKIRMISHING AND RECONCILIATION In the meantime Hermes conducts the suitors' souls to the Underworld. There Achilles is speaking to Agamemnon. He expresses the wish that Agamemnon had died when enjoying the honour of leading the Achaean forces at Troy. Agamemnon replies that Achilles had been fortunate to die there, with a day-long battle over his corpse, ended only by a storm sent by Zeus. Then Thetis and the other seanymphs had come up from the sea, and their wailing had made the army panic and start to run away. Nestor had restored order by explaining what the sound was. The nymphs were joined by the Muses, singing a dirge for Achilles, who was mourned for 17 days before his funeral. Thetis provided a golden amphora, given by Dionysus (the god of wine) and made by Hephaestus. Achilles' bones were placed in this, mingled with those of Patroclus and along with, but separately from, those of Antilochus, the comrade whom he honoured most after Patroclus' death. The souls of the suitors now arrive, and Agamemnon addresses Amphimedon, recalling how he had visited the latter's house when he and Menelaus had come and spent a whole month persuading Odysseus to join them in their expedition against Troy. Amphimedon

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explains what has happened, and Agamemnon praises Odysseus' good fortune in having so excellent a wife, unlike his own. At the same time Odysseus, Telemachus and the herdsmen are nearing the farm of Odysseus' father, Laertes. Odysseus tells the others to go and kill a pig for them to eat, while he goes to see his father. He finds him in a wretched state, and decides not to disclose his identity straightaway. Accordingly he pretends he last saw his son five years before. Laertes is very upset, and Odysseus' heart is melted. He reveals his true identity, and proves it with his scar and detailed reminiscences of the trees and vines given him by his father. The two of them join the others and Laertes has a bath. Athena makes him look taller and stronger, and he tells Odysseus, swearing by Zeus, Athena and Apollo, that he wishes he could have fought the suitors with the strength that he had in his youth. The meal is served, and the party is joined by Laertes' old servant Dolius and his sons. Meanwhile the people of Ithaca hear about the massacre of the suitors and lament for them. They hold an assembly, in which Antinous' father, Eupeithes, is the first to speak. He calls on those present to attack Odysseus before he can escape. However, Medon and Phemius arrive and explain that a god was seen helping Odysseus to kill the suitors. The prophet Halitherses tells the Ithacans that they are to blame for allowing the suitors to behave so badly, and should leave Odysseus alone. Nevertheless, the majority rush to arms and set off. Athena asks Zeus if he will make the conflict continue. He replies that it was her idea that Odysseus should exact vengeance. She can do as she likes, but he would prefer to see a peace treaty, with Odysseus made king. He himself and Athena can efface the memory of the massacre from the relatives' minds. Athena duly descends to Ithaca to carry out the plan. When the meal at the farm is over the enemy are seen advancing. Odysseus and his party arm themselves and go out to fight. Athena joins them, taking the form of Mentor. She tells Laertes to pray to her and Zeus, and then throw his spear. He obeys, and kills Eupeithes. Odysseus and Telemachus attack the enemy, and are about to wipe them out, but Athena calls out loudly, demanding that the fighting stop. Eupeithes' followers are terrified and start to run away. Odysseus falls on them, but Zeus casts a thunderbolt, which hits the ground in front of Athena. She tells Odysseus to restrain himself, and establishes peace.

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Commentary

Here the Indian parallels are to be found first in the Ramayana. The battle over Achilles' body is, as we have seen, believed by modern scholars to have been the prototype for the battle over that of Patroclus, and both correspond to the fighting over that of Lakshmana when he has been felled, apparently mortally wounded, by Ravana. As for the protracted visit to Ithaca made by Agamemnon and Menelaus, this is echoed by Rama and Lakshmana's extended trip to the monkey kingdom in order to obtain allies (including Hanuman) there for the recovery of Sita.78 The Odyssey's account of the end of the conflict between Odysseus and his enemies has a corresponding passage in the Mahabharata. Drona's son Ashwatthaman continues to pose a threat to Arjuna and his brothers, since he possesses a special weapon which can exterminate them all. Krishna and the Pandavas confront Ashwatthaman, who launches his weapon at the five brothers. However, Krishna orders Arjuna to neutralize the missile with a special weapon of his own. Arjuna duly shoots his missile, and the world is filled with fire. Two great seers interpose themselves between the magic weapons and try to pacify Arjuna and Ashwatthaman. Eventually Krishna manages to establish peace.79 In Scandinavia Hermes has as his counterpart Loki, who also has special links with the Underworld. After Loki has had Balder killed, he intervenes again to prevent Balder from being ransomed from the realm of the dead.80 The History of Rome also has a second battle. After Camillus has routed the Gauls from the Capitol they rally eight miles outside the city, and a more regular engagement takes place. Camillus' leadership and auspicious fortune ensure victory.81 Alpamysh, like the Odyssey, has the consumption of a meal as its penultimate episode. The epic then ends with the establishing of peace between the hero and his enemies.82 EPILOGUE: WANDERING AND PARRICIDE The end of the Odyssey does not mean the end of Odysseus' adventures. As we have seen, he has to wander from city to city until he finds a people who know nothing of the sea. Then purificatory sacrifices have to be made and Poseidon has to be appeased. Finally, death will come

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to Odysseus 'out of the sea'. The Greek expression ex halos, which is as ambiguous as its English equivalent, is now generally thought to mean 'away from the sea5. However, in extra-Homeric legend it was taken to mean 'coming from the sea'. Odysseus was presented as having a son by Circe, called Telegonus, who was supposed to have landed on Ithaca and then fought and killed his father as the result of a misunderstanding.83 In the Mahabharata, as we have already noted, when the conflict is over the great seer Vyasa advises Yudhishthira to perform the selfpurificatory horse sacrifice. He also directs that Arjuna should accompany the horse on its obligatory random wandering before the sacrifice. (In ancient Indian belief and ritual this wandering by the horse established the sacrificer's sovereignty over the regions which it visited.) When Arjuna and the horse proceed on their way they encounter his son by Chitrangada (a figure in the amatory adventures of his first individual exile). Father and son fight, and the former is killed. Another of Arjuna's partners in his original exile, Ulupi, brings him back to life. She is presented as a sort of second mother to the son who has killed him. Ulupi explains that Arjuna has been cursed for killing Bhishma when he was engaged in combat with someone else, in violation of the warrior's code. This is why he has been killed by his

CONCLUSIONS Our analysis of the Homeric epics and comparisons with materials in other languages lead to predictable questions. What processes could have produced such extreme similarities between the Greek and Indian epics? What ideology is conveyed by the Iliad and the Odyssey? To what extent did the Greeks continue to retain this ideology and how successful were they in moving away from it? From these questions, and the answers which they elicit, yet more problems arise. What is the relationship between the tripartite ideology reconstructed by Dumezil and the 'three orders' of medieval Europe? How does The Two-Blood Border Lord correspond to other epics in IndoEuropean languages? In what ways did the Islamic world inherit and adopt the tripartite ideology? To what degree has it been present in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe? Did it become a component of Nazism? What general correlations can be drawn from the parallels which we have found? Evidently, all these questions can be answered only on a provisional basis.

THE ORIGINS OF THE HOMERIC AND INDIAN EPICS There are four main lines of explanation available to account for the similarities between the Homeric and Indian epics. First, there could have been Proto-Indo-European epics, from which they would have been derived. Secondly, there might have been transmission of IndoIranian epics to the Greeks. Thirdly, the Iliad and the Odyssey could represent Greek adaptations of early Indian versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Fourthly, the Indian epics might be adapted versions of translations of Greek originals. To these four lines of explanation one could add composite theories, combining two or more of them in hypothetical reconstructions of renewed influences or counter-influences. 149

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The first line of explanation, which argues for the existence of a Proto-Indo-European epic tradition, has been taken by Allen. He argues that Arjuna and Odysseus, at least in their romantic adventures as exiles, must derive from a very ancient proto-hero who belonged to neither India nor Greece. Allen points to the work done by linguists on reconstructing phrases from Proto-Indo-European poetic language, and suggests that the original story would probably have been in verse. Puhvel has also claimed that there is evidence for a Proto-IndoEuropean epic tradition, which he would put in the fourth millennium BCE. He notes the idea, common to the Mahabharata and the postHomeric Greek epic tradition, that death on a large scale (in the Greek case, the Trojan War) was decided upon by the supreme god in order to relieve the earth of the pressure put on it by the weight of so many humans. (However, this motif is also found outside the Indo-European field, in Babylonian mythology, and may well have spread from it to Greece and India in the first millennium BCE).1 In my view this line of explanation does not quite work. The main argument for it would have to be that the underlying structures pointed to a common origin, while the surface details were so different that they could not represent borrowings or transmission of an epic from one people to another. This kind of argument was often invoked by Dumezil to support claims for the Proto-Indo-European origins of stories found in both India and Scandinavia. However, all our work on the Greek and Indian epics has pointed to a mass of similarities on the level of surface detail (along with corresponding internal structures as well). The attempt to prove the existence of a Proto-Indo-European epic or epics cuts the ground from beneath its own feet: the more resemblances are found, the more they appear to be what is attributable to diffusion or borrowing, rather than a common, independent source. Thus the second line of interpretation, that of a transmission of Indo-Iranian epics to the Greeks, is to my mind the most convincing. Enough evidence has been adduced to indicate that an Indo-Iranian narrative tradition would have existed. The Greek epic tradition must have existed well before the end of the second millennium BCE: on this scholars are agreed, and there is reason to believe that it already existed in the fifteenth century. Given the arguments that have already been advanced with reference to the similarities between the Odyssey and Alpamysh, it seems likely that both of the Homeric epics have a Central Asian origin. Archaeology has confirmed the presence of the Indo-Iranians in Central Asia (more precisely in northern Kazakh-

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stan). It seems probable, then, that the Iliad'and the Odyssey have their origins in an Indo-Iranian setting in Central Asia in the early second millennium. The story of the two brothers who besiege a city in order to retrieve a stolen wife would have been transferred to the location of Troy after the real destruction of Troy around 1200.2 As for the third line of interpretation, which would postulate a purely Indian source for the Homeric epics, it seems unlikely for chronological reasons. The specialists date the cores of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana to around 700 BCE, long after the rise of the independent Greek epic tradition. On the other hand, the fourth line, that the Indian epics would be the result of Greek influences, is more promising. Greek writers of the first three centuries CE declared that the Indians and Iranians had translated Homer into their own languages. On the other hand, Plutarch attributed this activity to the influence of the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great (reigned 336-323 BCE), who conquered Iran and invaded India long after the cores of the Indian epics were (apparently) composed. It has been normal to explain away the Greek assertions of'translations of Homer' as due to travellers' misapprehensions concerning the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. But one wonders whether the Indians could have been influenced by pre-Homeric Greek epic, or whether those parts of the Indian epics which most resemble Homer represent later borrowings and additions.3 Consequently, a composite theory seems more plausible. It seems best to combine elements of the first, second and fourth lines of explanation, while giving most emphasis to the second. Some narratives concerning a war of the gods or the rescue of a stolen wife may well go back to Proto-Indo-European originals, or at least to a time before 2000 BCE when the daughter-societies would have been in close contact. The main reason for the similarities between the Greek and Indian epics, however, is probably diffusion from the Indo-Iranian side after 2000 BCE. This would reflect the appearance of the IndoIranian ideology of castes, which is characteristic of more advanced social development, and would also reflect the greater prominence of the tripartite ideology among the Indians and Iranians. Finally, we can easily allow for continuing counter-influences from the Greeks, spread over a long period.

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T H E IDEOLOGY OF T H E ILIAD The ideology of the Iliad would appear to be the tripartite ideology itself. Representatives of fertility, the Trojans, have to be vanquished by and submit to representatives of sovereignty and warlike strength, the Achaeans. Priam has to come as a suppliant to Achilles, and Achilles himself, in order to win his promotion to the level of sovereignty, has to return to fighting under Agamemnon's leadership. It would seem, then, that Homer was preceded by a Greek epic tradition which sang of a siege of a city which symbolized fertility. In this siege one leading besieger would have been a twin (or a disguised version of a twin), like Lakshmana, who would have been killed by the city's leading warrior. Homer, in bringing in the story of Achilles' quarrel with Agamemnon, and the subsequent confrontation between Hector and Patroclus, would have introduced a new dimension and a new architecture of counterparts. Here our findings are in close agreement with much-admired 'neo-analytical' reconstructions of Homer's sources. They also tally with the opinion expressed by a number of scholars, most recently in 1992 by the Oxford classicist Oliver Taplin, that the Iliad consists of three parts or 'movements'. The first of these, argues Taplin, takes up Books I-IX, and thus ends with the night before Hector's great day of victory. Book X is rejected as spurious by Taplin (in agreement with most other scholars). The second 'movement' lasts from the start of Book XI until the sunset at XVIII: 239-42: it covers the day in which Hector has his greatest triumphs. As for the third 'movement', it naturally consists of the rest of the Iliad.4 Do these three 'movements' correspond to concepts 1, 2 and 3? I think one may say that they do. The first 'movement' is taken up with Agamemnon's abuse of his sovereignty, with problems of religion and impiety and with the gods. 'Movement' 2 is devoted to a day of fighting. The third 'movement' is concerned with Achilles, a& concept 3 figure who is promoted to level 1.3. In any case, the Iliad's ideology is, I suggest, essentially Indo-European: forces of fertility, or producers, must submit to rulers and their armed assistants. Such an ideology anticipates the totalitarian states of the twentieth century, with their parties of intellectuals surrounding a leader and using military or paramilitary forces to dominate industrial workers and peasants. Fortunately, however, Homer displays his greatness in overcoming this ideology and moving away from it, in the humanity with which, for example, he anticipates

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the wretched fate of the Trojan women, and also in the famous extended similes in which he evokes humankind's direct and immediate relationships with its natural environment. T H E IDEOLOGY OF THE ODYSSEY The Odyssey's ideology is no less sinister. When one puts the Odyssey beside the Mahabharata their underlying Indo-European message is clear enough: the end justifies the means, and against an evil enemy any form of cheating is to be recommended. The Mahabharata repeatedly drives home the point, as the Pandavas confront their adversaries, that the latter's wickedness makes departure from the warrior's code permissible, and, given the Kauravas' superior strength, obligatory. To be sure, the Mahabharata also contains nobler and more elevated teachings: the Indians, like the Greeks, were able to rise above their Indo-European inheritance. But it must be pointed out that the doctrine that everything is justified when one faces an evil enemy is as pernicious as it is absurd, and merely opens the door wide to every possible abuse. Do the Odyssey and the Mahabharata contain the cycle of the 'three sins of the warrior'? Odysseus suffers because of sins, but more often sins committed by others: the rape attack on Cassandra [3], the blinding of the strong Cyclops when off his guard [2] and the offence given to the Sun-god [1]. One might find the 'three sins' in Book XXII: Odysseus uses unfair means to kill Antinous when he eats and drinks [3], Eurymachus when he tries to fight with the sword [2], and an augur who approaches him as a suppliant [1]. Arjuna is exiled when he infringes the rules of Draupadi's polyandrous marriage, and, after a possible alternative sin at this level, is cursed when he offends the nymph Urvashi [3]; he uses unfair means to kill the warrior Kama [2] and is again cursed when he kills the brahmin Bhishma [1]. However, it must be said that these are not particularly clear or convincing indications of the 'three sins' cycle (especially since the killing of Bhishma is condemned, not because Bhishma is a brahmin, but as an example of unfair fighting). More convincing would be the case of Ajax the Runner: he kills fellow-warriors when they run away (in India this is banned), attacks Cassandra and finally ends his life blaspheming. What of the solar character of the Odyssey? It now seems evident enough that nineteenth-century scholars were not entirely mistaken in

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insisting on this, although one would not wish to repeat their assertions that Odysseus was a sun-god and Penelope a moon-goddess, and that the Odyssey was about harmonizing the solar and lunar calendars. The poem is partly based upon a solar myth, in which a cunning warriordeity intervenes to help the dawn, and it is linked to rituals of solstices and equinoxes. However, Odysseus himself does not usually represent the sun, and Penelope, with her wisdom, skill and beauty, is a triconceptual figure like Draupadi and Shri. Repeated references to the dawn and Odysseus' having subordinates and classes of objects in groups of 12 are surely significant, but are less important than the epic's moral-amoral message: the suitors' wickedness brings them destruction through recourse to deceit. T H E GREEK TRANSCENDING AND RENEWAL OF T H E TRIPARTITE IDEOLOGY The way in which the Greeks moved away from the tripartite ideology is illustrated, I suggest, by the development of Athenian tragedy in the fifth century BCE. Aeschylus (525-456), the earliest tragedian whose work has been preserved, is still very much in the world of Homer. Traces of the tripartite ideology have been found in his plays, but what interests us more is its possible reflection in the structure of his trilogies. Like other dramatists, he composed his tragedies in groups of three. One lost trilogy of his was based on the Iliad. Apparently, in the third play Priam actually paid Achilles Hector's weight in gold.5 Aeschylus also wrote the only surviving Greek trilogy, the Oresteia, which has as its themes Agamemnon's murder, the revenge taken by his son Orestes and the latter's subsequent exoneration. In the first play, Agamemnon, concept 1 is paramount. Agamemnon's sinful sacrifice of his daughter is recalled and is presented by Clytaemestra as the justification for murdering him. His sovereignty is usurped by Aegisthus. The second play, The Libation Bearers, is dominated by the figure of the clever and strong young warrior, Orestes himself, who has to kill Aegisthus and Clytaemestra. Finally, the third play, the Eumenides (The Kindly Ones, a euphemism for the Erinyes), sees the deities who avenge matricide turn into productive goddesses of fertility.6 By the time of Euripides (c.485-406), the last of the great Greek tragedians, all had changed. The views put forward are no longer part of a set, formalized tradition, but are shockingly unconventional. Heroes, women and slaves are presented in a new, quizzical and

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sceptical perspective, which concentrates on real human problems and sufferings. The old emphasis on behaviour which conformed to fixed social status has given way to an uncompromising realism.7 This Greek revolution, with its spirit of critical inquiry, is one which we are still experiencing today. The tripartite ideology, however, was to have a spectacular revival in the fourth century BCE, thanks to Plato. As we have seen, his Republic is largely based on a threefold theory of the state which corresponds to a threefold theory of the soul. It seems likely that here he was inspired by Spartan and Cretan institutions. Sparta appears to have been extremely Indo-European in its political conservatism, with its archaic military training for boys and its peculiar system of having two kings reigning at the same time, which may well reflect IndoEuropean dual sovereignty.8 It might seem odd, given Plato's espousal of the ideology inherited by the author of the Iliad, that in the Republic he advocates that Homer's works be banned from the ideal state. However, the answer is that Plato is concerned with the emotional effect of reciting or singing poetry in childhood: the ancient Greeks, given their usual practice of reading Homer aloud, would, Plato feared, take on the roles of his characters and be led astray by the variety of their viewpoints.9

THE THREE ORDERS OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE Clearly, one of the most important manifestations of the tripartite ideology was the one which dominated the Middle Ages in Europe: society, it was then felt, should be and was divided into three 'orders' or 'estates', consisting of 'those who pray, those who fight and those who work'. The first medieval appearance of this doctrine comes in the writings of the English king Alfred the Great (reigned 871-99). Recent research has indicated that he was drawing not on a social reality which had survived up to his own time, but rather on a literary tradition which declared how things ought to be.10 In the same way, recent work on the Arthurian romances has suggested that motifs common to them and to Ossetian folklore, such as 'the sword thrown into the water', are attributable to a late diffusion of Scythian legends, rather than to the survival of Proto-Indo-European myths via the Celtic daughter-society.11 On the other hand, medieval European chivalry would seem to have genuinely archaic roots in the warrior

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bands of northern Indo-European speakers, whose traditions would have combined with those of ancient Rome's young fighting force.12 T H E BYZANTINE HEROIC EPIC: A REINTERPRETATION We have already seen how the Byzantine epic The Two-Blood Border Lord presents the cycle of the 'three tests of the warrior'. If we now look at the poem as a whole, its resemblances to materials in other Indo-European languages are most striking. The poem begins with the abduction of the hero's mother by an Arab invader. In one version, before her abduction, she leaves the house with a carriage filled with food and drink, accompanied by nurses, slave-girls and gentlewomen, like Nausicaa, and walks to an idyllic spot.13 She has five brothers, who parallel the five siblings married to Draupadi and the five counterparts of a feminine figure in ancient Indian and Iranian hymns. According to one version of the story she is the twin sister of the youngest of her brothers, while according to another she is born after all five (just as Odysseus' sister is his younger or youngest sibling).14 Her abductor suggests a duel with one of the brothers, and the youngest is selected by lot. His eldest brother gives him words of wisdom, and he has the upper hand in the duel. The Arab becomes a Christian and settles in Byzantine territory. When the hero himself is born he is called 'Digenes' (Two-Blood5) because he is of mixed parentage, like Arjuna's uncle Vidura. (Vidura is seen by Dumezil as having a 'qualifying disqualification': because he is of mixed blood he becomes, paradoxically, a great defender of his people's continuity.)15 When Digenes grows up he elopes with a general's daughter. They are pursued by a large number of soldiers, and also the girl's brothers, who are five in number in one version and two in another.16 Digenes fights the pursuers, but avoids killing the brothers. The general gives him his daughter in marriage. In a tripartite schema of gifts Digenes receives a number of eunuchs from the general's eldest child (a magnificent gift, showing his sovereign status), a shield and a lance from the intermediate brother or brothers, and a large dowry from the father accompanying the gift of the bride herself.17 Shortly afterwards the Byzantine emperor summons Digenes, who replies that he would rather not visit the emperor, because the latter has some inexperienced soldiers who might offend Digenes. In one version Digenes rebels and dethrones the emperor. Subsequently he

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comes across a girl who has been abandoned in a desert after eloping with her seducer. Digenes takes her to find the man and make him marry her, but rapes her on the way.18 Soon, as we have already noted, Digenes is put to the 'three tests of the warrior'. First, he and his wife are threatened by a dragon, which shows three heads: that of an old man, that of a young man and that of a serpent (these may symbolize wisdom, strength and the earth's fertility). Digenes cuts off all three. (In what looks like a reflection of Heracles' first two labours, the dragon is followed by a lion). Secondly, a multitude of soldiers comes and is routed by Digenes. Thirdly, the hero and his wife are threatened by an Amazon's associates and the Amazon herself. These associates constitute a group of five, but Digenes at first encounters only three of them. One is old and crafty; the second is strong and brave; the third, when faced with Digenes, is rather cowardly (as is often the case with representatives of concept 3). The remaining two make up a pair, whom Digenes lays low. Digenes defeats the Amazon in single combat, and she surrenders, offering to have intercourse with him. He accepts, but afterwards kills her. Later he dies, childless, of a wasting disease.19 The Two-Blood Border Lord, then, would also seem to contain the cycle of the 'three sins of the warrior'. Revolting against the emperor (who in the Byzantine Empire is not just a sovereign but has immense religious significance as well) would be the sin against concept 1; the killing of the Amazon, an enemy whose surrender has been accepted and who, to make things worse, is a woman, is a crime against concept 2; the rape of the abandoned girl, which is also an act of adultery, is a crime against concept 3. THE INDO-EUROPEAN INHERITANCE IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM The tripartite ideology was also to survive in the Islamic world. Here one main source was Iran, which for long maintained a rigid caste system, based on the division of society into priests, warrior-nobles and peasants, until this was broken by the Muslim conquest. It is to be noted that the pre-Islamic Iranian empires of the Achaemenids (559-330 BCE) and the Sasanians (224-651 CE) fell after extreme over-exploitation of their subjects, condemned by Greek writers whose observations are supported by the findings of modern economic analysts.20 One should also note that the Islamic empire of the

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Abbasids (750-945 CE)5 which was characterized by a revival of Iranian imperial grandeur, also collapsed after a horrific over-exploitation of its peasantry.21 I have argued elsewhere that the Islamic tradition of 'youngmanliness' (futuwwa), which has often been seen as an equivalent of European chivalry, is of Iranian and indeed Indo-European origin. This is most evident in its initiatory rituals, which are described as being destined for three classes of adherents: 'those of the drinking', 'those of the sword' and 'those of the saying'. Those of the drinking' are associated with Muhammad, Abraham and wool, the material worn by adherents of Islam's main mystical tradition, Sufism: they clearly represent concept 1. 'Those of the sword' are associated with Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali, who is venerated as the wielder of a legendary sword, and are also linked to leather, as suitable for the warrior. 'Those of the saying' are connected with Adam, as the founder of agriculture, and also with cotton. This threefold structure was preserved when the Ottoman Empire (c. 1300-1922 CE) took over the 'youngmanliness' tradition and made it the ideology of its craft guilds. The tradition was also fused with Sufism and the latter's adaptation of Platonist and neo-Platonist doctrines in order to advocate the subordination of society to a higher class of mystics.22 It is possible that the Indo-European motif of dual sovereignty is preserved in the veneration of Muhammad and Ali as an inseparable pair, sometimes viewed as a single person (rather as Varuna and Mitra are joined together and made to pool their seed to produce a single child). This is characteristic of Islam in India, Iran and the parts of the Ottoman Empire which saw marked Irano-Turkic influences. Thus in India and Iran a much-repeated line of verse declares that whoever is Muhammad's friend or protege is Ali's friend or protege as well, and Ali is called 'the friend of God' par excellence in Shiism, the main minority grouping in Islam, which is dominant in Iran. 23 T H E INDO-EUROPEAN INHERITANCE IN MODERN GERMANY The subject of the Indo-European inheritance in modern Germany is full of alarming and sinister overtones. It is not simply a matter of the conscious revival of ancient Germanic motifs, along with absurd adaptations of Indo-European studies to support doctrines of racial purity. There is also, I suggest, a dangerous continuity from the past

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of underlying philosophical and political patterns. Neo-Platonism lives on in the dialectics of Hegel and Marx, and is arguably the root of the horrors of Stalinism. Modern German philosophy has served all too often to justify the state's crimes, as war and bloodshed have been presented as admirable catalysts of progress. Here I shall confine myself to examining the revival of patterns seen as common to Greece and Scandinavia, and also the survival of the tripartite ideology itself. Particularly worrying is the notorious case of Wagner, whose rabid anti-Semitism, coupled with his enormous personal influence, was undoubtedly a major factor in the background to the Nazi persecution of the Jews. From our standpoint what is most noteworthy is Wagner's portrayal of Scandinavian gods in his 'music dramas', a portrayal which clearly reflects these gods' Homeric counterparts and Wagner's own well-attested familiarity with Homer. Thus Odin appears, under the name of Wotan, with features that are common to both him and Zeus: sovereign among gods, but also limited by destiny and the agreements into which he has entered, he becomes a wandering stranger, like his human protege. His wife, Fricka, is a Scandinavian Hera, insisting, against her husband, on contractuality and respect for marriage. Loki is born again, with the name of Loge and the traits of Hermes: a cunning fixer who is both the gods' necessary instrument and also the embodiment of deceit.24 As for the survival of the tripartite ideology itself, perhaps its most troubling expression came at the start of the Nazi period, when, in 1933, the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) delivered his infamous address as Rector of the University of Freiburg. He declared that 'academic freedom' was being banished as merely negative. Instead, the German student would discover real freedom and three bonds. The first bond would bind him into the community of the people, through Labour Service; the second would bind him to the nation's honour, through Armed Service; the third would bind the student body to the people's spiritual mission, through Knowledge Service. Heidegger ended by quoting from Plato's Republic, which was evidently his main source of inspiration.25 With reference to the possible survival of Indo-European social division in the Nazi state, it is noteworthy that the latter maintained a rigid distinction between two types of schools. On the one hand it had special military schools belonging exclusively to the SS, and absolutely closed to the men and sons of the Nazi Party itself. On the other hand there were rival schools belonging to the party, in which the sons of party leaders or intellectuals were to be educated.26

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FINAL OBSERVATIONS It remains to see what general conclusions can be drawn from the parallels which we have found between the Greek epics and materials in other languages. The resemblances to the Indian epics have been discussed above: the History of Rome and the Iranian Book of Kings present similar problems, in that the extent of influence from the Greek side is difficult to assess. Here again, however, there are structural parallels with Homer that often seem independent of the superficial similarities attributable to later contamination, and there would appear to be underlying Proto-Indo-European myths or Indo-Iranian narratives. The Scandinavian and Ossetian evidence does not look as if it is the product of influence from Greece, but here the results look like the remains of mere myths, rather than of an epic tradition. What is most striking, however, is the resemblance between the Homeric gods and heroes on the one hand and the gods and heroes of the rest of the Indo-European field on the other. The degree of similarity extends well into the subdivisions of the three main concepts, and reflects a system that is all too well-ordered. Such a system, one feels, is less likely to have been Proto-Indo-European, and more likely to be the reflection of a more developed society, probably IndoIranian: it would have spread from the Indo-Iranian and Iranian domains, more easily to other Indo-European speakers, but also to Japan. This system, with its alarming emphasis on order, is very different from what is found in the Turkic and Mongol sphere, where the main stress is on the motif of the animal, seen above all as the instructor of humans. Fortunately, however, Homer's poetry takes us far beyond the sad ideology which he inherited. It has well been said that a great author shows his greatness by rising above his own ideology, and in the case of Homer this could not be truer. He marks the beginning of the Greeks' escape from their prison, and the start of a new perception of nature as a real environment for human beings, as opposed to a grim reflection of a totalitarian dream. Thus his characters express a genuine humanity which challenges and questions the injustice of the stories themselves.

NOTES

Introduction 1. J.-P. Demoule, 'Realite des Indo-Europeens: les diverses apories du modele arborescent', Revue de Vhistoire des religions, 208 (1991), pp 169-202. 2. G. Dumezil, LfHeritage indo-europeen a Rome (Paris: Gallimard, 1949), pp 29-31. 3. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr R. P. Goldman et al. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984-91), vol 1, pp 22-3. 4. W. H . Roscher (ed), Ausfuhrliches Lexicon der griechischen und fdmischen Mythologie (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1890-1937), article 'Atreus'; Apollodorus, The Library, ed and tr J. G. Frazer (London: William Heinemann, 1921), vol 2, pp 168-71. 5. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr J. A. B. van Buitenen (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973-8), vol 1, pp xxiv-xxv. 6. Abu '1-Qasim Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, tr A. C. Warner and E. Warner (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1905-25), vol 5, pp 30-165. 7. G. Dumezil, Loki (Paris: Flammarion, 1986), pp 165-98; and Romans de Scythie et d'alentour (Paris: Payot, 1978), pp 273-82. 8. Livy, I: 12; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, II: 41-3; Plutarch, Romulus, 18. 9. Livy, V: 43-9. 10. G. Dumezil, Gods of the Ancient Northmen (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), pp 3-11. 11. Dumezil, Loki, pp 35-48 and 128-9. 12. D. B. Hull (tr), Digenis Akritas: The Two-Blood Border Lord (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1972); D. Ricks, Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 1990); N. J. Allen, 'Arjuna and Odysseus: a Comparative Approach', South Asia Library Group Newsletter, 40 (1993), pp 39-43. 13. V. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic of "Alpamysh" and the Return of Odysseus', Proceedings of the British Academy, 52 (1966), pp 267-86. 14. C. S. Littleton, 'Some Possible Indo-European Themes in the Iliad', in J. Puhvel (ed), Myth and Law Among the Indo-Europeans (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970), pp 229-46. 15. See below, pp 38-9.

161

162

Notes

Chapter 1: Comparative Mythology and the Homeric Epics 1. B. Feldman and R. D. Richardson, The Rise of Modern Mythology, 1680-1860 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972), pp 3-18. 2. Ibid, pp 165-7 and 267-75. 3. R. M. Dorson, The British Folklorists (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968), pp 161-74. 4. Ibid, pp 174-7; R. V. Chase, Questfor Myth (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1969), pp 44-8. 5. Dorson, The British Folklorists, pp 165-74 and 206-20. 6. C. S. Littleton, The New Comparative Mythology (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982), pp 43-57. 7. Ibid, p 58. 8. Ibid, pp 59-62; G. Dumezil, My the et epopee (Paris: Gallimard, 1968-73), vol 3, p 338. 9. G. Dumezil, Mythes et dieux des Germains (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1939), pp 90-91 and 155-7; D. Eribon, Faut-il bruler Dumezil? Mythologie, science etpolitique (Paris: Flammarion, 1992), pp 119-44. 10. G. Dumezil, Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty (New York: Zone Books, 1988). 11. G. Dumezil, Jupiter, Mars, Quirinus (Paris: Gallimard, 1941). 12. G. Dumezil, Naissance d'archanges (Paris: Gallimard, 1945). 13. Littleton, The New Comparative Mythology, pp 123-4 and 157. 14. See above, p 22. 15. Dumezil, VHeritage, pp 29-31; and Mythe et epopee, vol 3, p 338. 16. Dumezil, VHeritage, pp 241-2. 17. Littleton, The New Comparative Mythology, pp 118-28. 18. Ibid, pp 130-32. 19. Ibid, pp 134-5; Dumezil, Gods of the Ancient Northmen, pp 49-65. 20. G. Dumezil, Archaic Roman Religion (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970), vol 1, pp 297-303; J. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988), p 133. 21. Dumezil, Mythe et epopee, vol 1, pp 31-257. 22. Ibid, vol l , p p 261-84. 23. Ibid, vol 2, pp 13-132. 24. Ibid, vol 3, pp 93-199. 25. Eribon, Faut-il bruler Dume'zil?, pp 283-7; B. Sergent, Tenser - et malpenser - les Indo-Europeens', Annales, economies, societes, civilisations, 37 (1982), pp 679-81. 26. J. Champeaux, Fortuna (Rome: ficole Franchise de Rome, 1982-7), vol 1, p69. 27. G. Dumezil, Apollon sonore et autres essais (Paris: Gallimard, 1982), pp 25-50. 60-85 and 109-49. 28. G. Dumezil, UOubli de Vhomme et Vhonneur des dieux (Paris: Gallimard, 1985), pp 15-30; and Entretiens avec Didier Eribon (Paris: Gallimard, 1987), pp 162-6. 29. M. Mole, 'Le Partage du monde dans la tradition iranienne', Journal asiatique, 240 (1952), pp 455-63.

Notes

163

30. M. Mole, 'Deux notes sur le Ramayana', in Hommages a Georges Dumezil (Brussels: Latomus, 1960), pp 140-50. 31. M. Mole, Culte, my the et cosmologie dans Vlran ancien (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1963), pp 452-4. 32. A. Yoshida, 'Survivances de la tripartition fonctionelle en Grece', Revue de Vhistoire des religions, 166 (1964), pp 36-8. 33. A. Yoshida, 'L'fipopee au Proche-Orient et chez les Indo-Europeens', in C. Gregory et al. (eds), Encyclopaedia Universalis (Paris: Encyclopaedia Universalis France SA, 1968-73), vol 6, pp 377-80. 34. A. Yoshida, 'Japanese Mythology and the Indo-European Trifunctional System', Diogenes, 98 (1977), pp 93-116. 35. T. Obayashi, 'The Structure of the Pantheon and the Concept of Sin in Ancient Japan', Diogenes, 98 (1977), pp 117-34; Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 8, p 392. 36. Littleton, 'Some Possible Indo-European Themes', pp 229-46. 37. B. Sergent, 'Les Trois Fonctions indo-europeennes en Grece ancienne: bilan critique', Annales, economies, societes, civilisations, 34 (1979), pp 1155-70. 38. Ibid., pp 1170-76. 39. J. Grisward, Archeologie de Vepopee medievale (Paris: Payot, 1981). 40. J. G. Oosten, The War of the Gods: The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985), pp 91 and 155. 41. C. Grottanelli, 'Yoked Horses, Twins and the Powerful Lady: India, Greece, Ireland and Elsewhere', Journal of Indo-European Studies, 14 (1986), pp 125-52. 42. B. Lincoln, review of Dumezil, L'Oubli de Vhomme, in The Times Literary Supplement, 3 October 1986, pp 1107-1108; correspondence: ibid., 5 December 1986, p 1375; 19 December 1986, p 1425; 30 January 1987, p 111; 20 February 1987, p 185; Dumezil, Entretiens, pp 161-4 and 205-11; Eribon, Faut-il bruler Dumezil?, pp 157-63. 43. B. Lincoln, Myth, Cosmos and Society (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986). 44. Valmiki, The Ramayana, tr Goldman et al., vol. 2, p 195. 45. D. Dubuisson, La Legende royale dans llnde ancienne: Rama et le Ramayana (Paris: ficonomica, 1986), pp 17-112, 232-3 and 243-82. 46. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology, pp 123, 129-38, 229-9 and 236. 47. G. Nagy, Greek Mythology and Poetics (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990), pp 11-12 and 92-3. 48. N. J. Allen, 'The Ideology of the Indo-Europeans: Dumezil's Theory and the Idea of a Fourth Function', International Journal of Moral and Social Studies, 2 (1987), pp 23-39. 49. N. J. Allen, 'Some Gods of pre-Islamic Nuristan', Revue de Vhistoire des religions, 208 (1991), pp 141-68; G. S. Robertson, The Kafirs of the HinduKush (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1974), pp xxi and 381. 50. Allen, 'Arjuna and Odysseus', pp 39-43. 51. B. Mezzadri, 'Jason ou le retour du pecheur', Revue de Vhistoire des religions, 208 (1991), pp 273-301. 52. M. Jonval, Les Chansons mythologiques lettones (Paris: Librairie Picart, 1929), pp 11-15, 52-4, 74-7 and 100-103; M. Gimbutas, The Baits (London: Thames & Hudson, 1963), pp 199 and 202.

164

Notes

53. D. Ward, The Divine Twins (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968), pp 20-24. 54. Livy, I: 22-48; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, III: 1-45 and IV: 1-40. 55. Livy, I: 56 to II: 33; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, IV: 67 to V: 20; VI: 23-90. 56. Dumezil, Loki, pp 39 and 128-9. 57. Yoshida, 'Japanese Mythology', p 112. 58. Robertson, The Kafirs, pp 99-102. 59. G. Dumezil, From Myth to Fiction (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973). Chapter 2: The Iliad 1. Dubuisson, La Legende, pp 60-64. 2. N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard (eds), The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970), article 'Nereus'. 3. Robertson, The Kafirs, p 161. 4. Nagy, Greek Mythology and Poetics, pp 276-93. 5. G. S. Kirk (ed), The Iliad: a Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985-93), vol 1, p 262. 6. M. C. Howatson (ed), The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), article Thessaly'. 7. Yoshida, 'L'fipopee', p 379. 8. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr H. P. Shastri (London: Shanti Sadan, 1952-9), vol 3, pp 62-70. 9. Ibid., vol 3, pp 23-4 and 29-34. 10. Ibid., vol 3, pp 62-70. 11. Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 2, pp 152-9. 12. W. D. O'Flaherty (ed and tr), Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1988), pp 89-90; J. Baldick, 'Mazdaism (Zoroastrianism)', in S. R. Sutherland et al. (eds), The World's Religions (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1988), pp 559 and 562. 13. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 75—96. 14. Ibid., vol 3, pp 154-5. 15. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 1, pp 353-4. 16. Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 5, p 237. 17. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 109-27. 18. Ibid., vol 3, pp 125-81. 19. W. Burkert, The Orientalizing Revolution (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992), pp 96-9. 20. G. Wissowa et al. (eds), Paulys Real-Encyclopddie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlerscher Verlag, 1893-1980), article 'Helenos'. 21. G. Dumezil, Tarpeia (Paris: Gallimard, 1947), pp 234-6. 22. R. Ziegler et al. (eds), Der Kleine Pauly (Stuttgart: Alfred Druckenmiiller Verlag, 1964-75), article 'Amazones'. 23. Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 2, pp 200-263.

Notes

165

24. Howatson (ed), The Oxford Companion, article 'Heracles, Labours of; Apollodorus, II: 5. 25. Hull (tr), Digenis Akritas, pp 72-113; Ricks, Byzantine Heroic Poetry, pp 114-69. 26. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, vol 3, pp 164-73. 27. Ibid., vol 3, pp 176-209. 28. Dumezil, Gods of the Ancient Northmen, pp 8-9; Livy, I: 12, 1-3. 29. Howatson (ed), The Oxford Companion, article 'Tripod'. 30. Livy, I: 12, 1-7; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities II: 42, 1-2. 31. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 209-14. 32. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 3, p 117. 33. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 214-19. 34. Ibid, vol 3, pp 220-23. 35. Ibid, vol 2, pp 327-472. 36. See below, p 104. 37. See below, p 125-6. 38. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 60-61 and 71-2. 39. Ibid, vol 3, pp 223-47. 40. R. J. Glendinning and H. Bessason (eds), Edda (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), p 95. 41. Dumezil, ^Heritage, p 141. 42. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 3, p 303. 43. Dumezil, UHeritage, pp 130-31 and 140-41. 44. Dumezil, Apollon sonore, pp 122-4; and VOubli de Vhomme, pp 102-11. 45. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 94-6, 106, 281-2 and 283-5. 46. Ibid, vol 3, pp 242-8. 47. Burkert, The Orientalizing Revolution, pp 91-6. 48. Cf. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 4, p 261. 49. Ibid, vol 4, p 293. 50. Howatson (ed), The Oxford Companion, article 'Hades'. 51. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Goldman et al., vol 2, pp 16-19. 52. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 247-65. 53. Ibid, vol 3, pp 475-6. 54. Nagy, Greek Mythology and Poetics, pp 122-42. 55. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 272-96. 56. Firdawsl, The Shdhndma, vol 5, pp 89-152. 57. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 4, pp 310-12 and 409-14. 58. Ibid, vol 5, pp 115-16. 59. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 292-6. 60. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 5, p 132. 61. A. Yoshida, 'La Structure de l'illustration du bouclier d'Achille', Revue beige de philologie et d'histoire, 42 (1964), pp 5-15. 62. Firdawsl, The Shdhndma, vol 5, pp 234-40. 63. J. Griffin, Homer on Life and Death (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980), pp 38-9. 64. Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 292-8. 65. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 5, p 140. 66. Ibid, vol 5, pp 284-5. 67. FirdawasI, The Shdhndma, vol 5, p 239.

166 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88.

Notes

Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 314-15. Dumezil, Apollon sonore, pp 114-25. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 298-315. Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 8, pp 189 and 299. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 303-4; Livy, I: 12, 9-10. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 305-14. Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 5, pp 239-49. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 316-25. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 6, pp 16 and 241-2. Dumezil, Tarpeia, p 66. Lincoln, Myth, Cosmos and Society, pp 9-17, 31-4 and 87-98. L. Christmann-Franck, 'Le Rituel des funerailles royales hittites', Revue hittite et asianique, 29 (1971), pp 61-4. S. Lowenstam, The Death of Patroclus (Konigstein: Anton Hein, 1981), p 152. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology, pp 269-76. J. Puhvel, 'Hittite Athletics as Prefigurations of Ancient Greek Games', in W. J. Raschke (ed), The Archaeology of the Olympics (Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), pp 27-8. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 318 and 328-69; Dumezil, My the et epopee, vol 1, pp 157-9. Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 5, pp 103, 161 and 167-8. Champeaux, Fortuna, vol 2, pp 208-13; Wissowa et al (eds), Paulys RealEncyclopddie, article 'Spes'. Dumezil, Gods of the Ancient Northmen, pp 61-4. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 6, p 287. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 3, pp 326-7.

Chapter 3: The Odyssey 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 310-407. Livy, V: 21-46. Dumezil, Mythe et epopee, vol 3, pp 131-3. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 140, 312-15 and 398-407. Livy, V: 46-7. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 1, p 116. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 501-9. Livy, V: 46. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 509-36. Yoshida, 'Survivances', p 38. Kirk (ed), The Iliad, vol 3, p 219. Valmlki, The Rdmdyana, vol 2, pp 327-472; Firdawsi, The Shdhndma, vol 5, pp 143-58. Dumezil, Apollon sonore, pp 132-40. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 1, pp 401-2. Ibid., vol l , p p 402-8. See below, pp 118-19 and 148.

Notes 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54.

167

Hull (tr), Digenis Akritas, p 123. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 1, pp 404-9. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 1, p 334. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 1, pp 409-31. Dumezil, Apollon sonore, pp 141-9. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 1, p 383. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 795-804. J. Glenn, 'The Polyphemus Folktale and Homer's Kyklopeia\ Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 102 (1971), p 134. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 1, pp 402-4. Dumezil, Apollon sonore, pp 126-31. G. Crane, Calypso: Backgrounds and Conventions of the Odyssey (Frankfurt am Main: Athenaum, 1988), pp 95-6. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr K. M. Ganguli (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1883-96), vol 11, Agwamedha Parva, pp 4 and 184-223. Nagy, Greek Mythology and Poetics, p 214; W. F. Hansen, 'Odysseus' Last Journey', Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica, 24 (1977), pp 27-48. Dumezil, Tarpeia, pp 115-58; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, IV: 22. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 1, p 214. Robertson, The Kafirs, p 400. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr Ganguli, vol 2, pp 140-46; tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 543-51. Ibid., tr van Buitenen, vol 1, pp 410-11, vol 2, pp 779-95, and vol 3, pp 25-42; tr Ganguli, vol 11, Mausala Parva, p 18; Allen, 'Arjuna and Odysseus', p 41. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 3, pp 25-44; Ward, The Divine Twins, pp 20-24. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', p 278. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 531-6. Livy, V: 46. See above, p 126. Dumezil, Tarpeia, pp 253-60 and 274-87. Dumezil, Mythe et epopee, vol 1, pp 155-7. Livy, V: 39-41. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 669-86. Ibid, vol 2, p 537. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 2, p 272. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', pp 269-70 and 278. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 3, pp 63-84. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', pp 270 and 279. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 3, pp 43-4, 77, 91 and 97. Dumezil, Mythe et epopee, vol 3, p 133. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', p 279. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, pp 356-9, and vol 3, p 91. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', pp 270 and 278. K. F. Ameis et al. (eds), Homers Odyssee (Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 1964), vol 2, fascicule 2, p 7; Howatson (ed), The Oxford Companion, article 'Apollo'.

168 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84.

Notes

Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 3, pp 83-4. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 3, pp, 197—8. Ibid., vol 3, pp 29-30 and 39-40. Ibid., vol 3, pp 336-7. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 3, pp 124-5. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 1, pp 344-54. Zhirmunsky, T h e Epic', p 270. G. Germain, Genese de VOdyssee (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1954), p 53. E. Westermarck, Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco (London: Macmillan, 1914), p 22, n 2. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr Ganguli, vol 6, pp 359-73. Ibid., vol 7, pp 227-39. Ibid., vol 4, pp 422-44, vol 5, pp 630-9, and vol 11, Ac,wamedha Parva, p 205. Dumezil, Mythe et epopee, vol 1, p 131. Mezzadri, 'Jason', pp 274-8. Dumezil, Gods of the Ancient Northmen, pp 59-60. Ibid., p 65; Dumezil, Loki, pp 166-72 and 183-98; cf Dorson, The British Folklorists, p 173. Dumezil, Romans de Scythie, pp 273-82. Livy, V: 49. F. Robert, 'Le Supplice d'Antigone et celui des servantes d'Ulysse', Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique, 70 (1946), pp 501-5. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', p 270. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr Ganguli, vol 7, Qalya Parva, pp 239-42; Sauptika Parva, pp 24-32. Ibid., vol 11, A^wamedha Parva, p 218. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 3, pp 313-14, 342-5 and 353-4. Vyasa, The Rdmdyana, tr Shastri, vol 2, pp 152-265. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr Ganguli, vol 7, Sauptika parva, pp 44—54. Dumezil, Loki, pp 39 and 128. Livy, V: 49, 6. Zhirmunsky, 'The Epic', p 270. Heubeck (ed), A Commentary, vol 2, p 86; Howatson (ed), The Oxford Companion, article 'Odysseus'. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, to Ganguli, vol 11, Agwamedha Parva, pp 4, 182 and 197-206.

Conclusions 1. M. L. West, 'The Rise of the Greek Epic', Journal of Hellenic Studies, 108 (1988), p 155. 2. Ibid., pp 151, 156-9 and 161. 3. Cf J. D. M. Derrett, 'Homer in India: the Birth of the Buddha', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 3rd series, 2 (1992), pp 47-57. 4. O. Taplin, Homeric Soundings (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), pp 11-22. 5. Ibid., pp 19 and 245.

Notes

169

6. Aeschylus, Oresteia, tr H. Lloyd-Jones (London: Duckworth, 1982). 7. Cf H. P. Foley, Ritual Irony: Poetry and Sacrifice in Euripides (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988). 8. B. Sergent, 'Les Trois Fonctions', p 1176; and 'La representation spartiate de la royaute', Revue de Vhistoire des religions, 189 (1976), pp 3-52. 9. J. Annas, An Introduction to Plato's Republic (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), pp 94-8. 10. Cf. Dumezil, Apollon sonore, pp 205-53. 11. Littleton, The New Comparative Mythology, pp 262-4. 12. J. Baldick, 'The Iranian Origin of the Futuwwa\ Istituto Universitario Orientate, Napoli: Annali, 50 (1990), p 360. 13. Hull (tr), Digenis Akritas, p 123. 14. Ibid., pp 7 and 116. 15. Dumezil, Mythe et epopee, vol 1, pp 160-62. 16. Hull (tr), Digenis Akritas, p 49; Ricks, Byzantine Heroic Poetry, p 103. 17. Hull (tr), Digenis Akritas, pp 57-8. 18. Ibid, pp 60, 63-71 and 131-4. 19. Ibid, pp 72-113; Ricks, Byzantine Heroic Poetry, pp 114-69. 20. Baldick, 'Mazdaism', pp 563-4. 21. E. Ashtor, Histoire des prix et des salaires dans VOrient medieval (Paris: SEVPEN, 1969), p 37. 22. J. Baldick, Mystical Islam: An Introduction to Sujism (London: I.B.Tauris, 1989), pp77, 91-2, 117, 161 and 172; and 'The Iranian Origin', pp 347-58. 23. Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr van Buitenen, vol 2, p 187; R. B. Qureshi, Sufi Music of India and Pakistan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), pp 20-22; J. K. Birge, The Bektashi Order of Dervishes (London: Luzac, 1937), pp 96 and 132-4. 24. R. Wagner, The Ring of the Nibelung, tr A. Porter (New York: W. W. Norton, 1977); cf C. Wagner, Diaries, tr G. Skelton (London: Collins, 1978-80), indices, sv 'Homer'. 25. M. Heidegger, 'The Self-Assertion of the German University', The Review of Metaphysics, 38 (1985), pp 475-80. 26. M. Tournier, Le Vent Paraclet (Paris: Gallimard, 1977), pp 104-6.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, N. J., 'The Ideology of the Indo-Europeans: Dumezil's Theory and the idea of a Fourth Function', International Journal of Moral and Social Studies, 2

(1987), pp 23-39. Allen, N. J., 'Some Gods of Pre-Islamic Nuristan', Revue de Vhistoire des religions, 208 (1991), pp 141-68. Allen, N. J., 'Arjuna and Odysseus: a Comparative Approach', South Asia Library Group Newsletter, 40 (1993), pp 39-43. Baldick, J., Mystical Islam: An Introduction to Sufism (London: I.B.Tauris, 1989). Baldick, J., 'The Iranian origin of the Futuwwa\ Istituto Universitario Orientale, Napoli: Annali, 50 (1990), pp 345-61. Burkert, W., The Orientalizing Revolution (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992). Derrett, J. D. M., 'Homer in India: the Birth of the Buddha', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 3rd series, 2 (1992), pp 47-57. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, The Roman Antiquities, ed and tr E. Cary (London: William Heinemann, 1937-50).

Dubuisson, D., La Legende royale dans VInde ancienne: Rama et le Rdmdyana (Paris:

ficonomica, 1986). Dumezil, G., Mythe et epopee (Paris: Gallimard, 1968-73). Dumezil, G., Gods of the Ancient Northmen (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973). Dumezil, G., Romans de Scythie et d'alentour (Paris: Payot, 1978). Dumezil, G., Camillus (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980). Dumezil, G., Apollon sonore et autres essais (Paris: Gallimard, 1982). Dumezil, G., The Stakes of the Warrior (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983). Dumezil, G., Loki (Paris: Flammarion, 1986). Eribon, D., Faut-il bruler Dumezil? Mythologie, science et politique (Paris: Flamma-

rion, 1992). Firdawsi, Abu '1-Qasim, The Shdhndma, tr A. G. Warner and E. Warner (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner, 1905-25). Glendinning, R. J., and Bessason, H. (eds), Edda (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983). Grisward, J., Archeologie de Vepopee medievale (Paris: Payot, 1981). Heubeck, A. (ed), A Commentary on Homer's Odyssey (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988-92). Homer, The Iliad, tr M. Hammond (London: Penguin Books, 1987).

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Homer, The Odyssey, tr E. V. Rieu et al. (London: Penguin Books, 1991).

Howatson, M. C. (ed), The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1989).

Hull, D. B. (tr), Digenis Akritas: The Two-Blood Border Lord (Athens, Ohio: Ohio

University Press, 1972). Kirk, G. S. (ed), The Iliad: a Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985-93. Lincoln, B., Myth, Cosmos and Society (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986). Littleton, C. S., 'Some Possible Indo-European Themes in the Iliad', in J. Puhvel (ed), Myth and Law Among the Indo-Europeans (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970), pp 229-46. Littleton, C. S., The New Comparative Mythology (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982). Livy, Ab Urbe Condita: From the Founding of the City, vols 1-3, ed and tr B. O.

Foster (London: William Heinemann, 1919-24).

Mallory, J. P., In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth

(London: Thames & Hudson, 1989). Nagy, G., Greek Mythology and Poetics (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990). Puhvel, J., Comparative Mythology (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988). Renfrew, C , Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins

(London: Jonathan Cape, 1987). Ricks, D., Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 1990). Robertson, G. S., The Kafirs of the Hindu-Kush (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1974). Saxo Grammaticus, The History of the Danes, tr P. Fisher, vol 1 (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1979). Sergent, B., 'Les Trois Fonctions indo-europeennes en Grece ancienne: bilan critique', Annales, economies, societes, civilisations, 34 (1979), pp 1155-86.

Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr H. P. Shastri (London: Shanti Sadan, 1952-9). Valmiki, The Rdmdyana, tr R. P. Goldman et al. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984-91). Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr K. M. Ganguli (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1883-96). Vyasa, The Mahdbhdrata, tr J. A. B. van Buitenen (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973-8). Ward, D., The Divine Twins (Berkeley: University of Chicago Press, 1968). Yoshida, A., 'Japanese Mythology and the Indo-European Trifunctional System', Diogenes, 98 (1977), pp 93-116.

INDEX I: NAMES OF PERSONS, DEITIES ETC

Abraham 158 Achilles 2-3, 13, 31-2, 36-7, 44-50, 52, 54, 63-6, 68, 70, 72, 75-9, 81-98, 105, 112, 120, 145, 147, 152, 154 Adam 158 Adrastus 105 Aegisthus 99, 106, 154 Aeneas 3, 7, 11, 40, 43, 49-51, 55, 69-70, 72, 82, 87-8, 93 Aeolus 118 Aeschylus 154 Aesir 11,21,69 Aetolians, king of the 71, 76 Agamemnon 2, 7, 10, 29-30, 34, 44, 46, 48-51, 53-5, 57-8, 60, 62-9, 71, 73-4, 77, 82, 85, 93-5, 97, 99, 102-3, 105-6, 112, 120, 145-7, 152, 154 Agastya 86,92 Agelaus 136 Agenor 90 Agni 95, 114 Ajax the Greater 30, 48, 50, 53-5, 58, 60, 62, 64-5, 68, 70-2, 74, 76, 78, 81-2, 94, 105, 120 Ajax the Runner 30, 44, 48, 53, 55, 58, 62, 70-2, 74, 82, 94, 102, 104, 106, 153 Alcinous 110-14, 120, 123 Alexander the Great 151 Alfred the Great 155 Ali 158 Alpamysh 12, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134-5, 139, 143, 147 Amaterasu 31 Amazons, queen of the 59 Amenominakanushi 31 Amphiaraus 105 Amphimedon 145 Amphinomus 129, 132, 140, 142

Anahita 27 Ancus Marcius 27, 41 Andromache 58, 92, 97 Angada 56, 61 Antigone 143 Antilochus 93-4, 104, 145 Antinous 100-1, 129-32, 137-8, 140-1, 146, 153 Aphrodite 3, 26, 28, 32, 37, 43, 49, 51-2, 55-6, 64, 74-5, 86-7, 89, 96, 113, 130, 136 Apollo 3, 28, 33, 37, 42-3, 45-9, 53-6, 60-1, 64, 66-7, 69, 73, 75-6, 78-9, 81-2, 86-91, 93-8, 104, 110-14, 116, 127, 131-2, 134-6, 138, 140, 146 Appius Claudius 41 Ares 43, 54-6, 58, 75-6, 81, 84, 86-7, 89-90, 113, 115, 125 Arete 110-11, 113, 120 Arjuna 8-9, 13, 24, 26, 31, 38-9, 44, 100-1, 103, 105, 107-12, 114, 117, 119-24, 126, 128, 130-3, 135, 137, 139, 141-2, 145, 147-8, 150, 153, 156 Arshtishena 128 Artemis 3, 43, 54-5, 58, 64, 78, 85-7, 89-90,97, 108, 127, 130, 136 Aryaman 26, 31,40 Asclepius 30 Ashwatthaman 145, 147 Asius 69, 72 Assaracus 87 Astarte 37 Asteropaeus 89 Asuras 88 Ate (Blindness) 85 Athena 2-3, 8, 11, 26-8, 32, 38, 42-4, 46, 48, 50-60, 62, 64, 66-8, 73-8,

173

174

Index I: Names of Persons, Deities etc

82-4, 86-94, 96, 99, 101-12, 114, 116, 120-1, 124-7, 129-37, 140, 144, 146 Atreus 7 Aymeri 33 Bagisht 38 Bala-Rama 111 Balder 11,26,96, 142, 147 bears, king of the 65, 69, 74-5 Bellerophon 57-9, 122 Bhaga 26,31,39-40,85,96, 115 Bharata 29 Bhima 24, 103, 105, 117, 132-3, 139, 142 Bhishma 27, 121, 139, 142, 148, 153 birds, king of the 54 Bishutan 81, 106 Blindness (Ate) 85 Brahma 47, 80 Briseis 46, 85-6, 98 Calchas 30,46,48, 71 Calypso 3, 99, 105-7, 110-11, 113, 115, 122 Camillus 10, 27-8, 44, 100, 102-3, 128, 130, 143, 147 Cassandra 57, 72, 97, 102, 153 Castor 33-4, 50, 120 Centaurs 20, 59, 138 Cheiron 86 Chimera 57, 122 Chitrangada 109-10, 119, 148 Circe 3, 110, 113, 115, 118-19, 121-2, 148 Clytaemestra 154 Ctesippus 136, 140 Cuchulainn 84 Cyclops, the 116-17, 153 Dawn, the 100, 104, 121; see also Mother Dawn Death 78-9 Deiphobus 33, 91, 114 Demeter 59 Demodocus 112-14 Desire 74 Destiny 87, 111 Devotion 24 Dharma (Law) 117 Dhaumya 128 Dhritarashtra 26, 96, 101 Digenes 11,59, 156-7 Diomedes 45, 48, 53-8, 62-8, 73-4, 77, 85, 93-4 Dione 55

Dionysius of Halicarnassus 10, 63 Dionysus 32, 145 Disani 38 Dius Fidius 22, 27, 41, 85; see also Faith and Fides Dolius 146 Dolon 66 Don 71 Draupadi 8, 24, 27, 39, 42, 45, 71, 100-1, 105, 107-8, 112, 114, 119, 124, 139, 145, 153-4, 156 Dream 48 Drona 135, 142, 145, 147 Duryodhana 130, 141-2, 144 Dyaus 27; Dyaus Pita ('Sky Father') 18 Earth, the 50-1,85 Echeneus 111, 120 Elpenor 119-21 Empedocles 36 Epeius 94 Erinyes 85-6, 136, 154 Eumaeus 125-31, 136-8, 140 Eumelus 93-4 Eupeithes 146 Euphorbus 79, 81 Euripides 154 Euryalus 112-13, 115 Eurycleia 100-1, 105, 134-5, 141, 144 Eurylochus 118-19 Eurymachus 101, 127, 129, 133, 138, 140-2, 153 Eurypylus 68 Faith 96; see also Dius Fidius and Fides Farshidward 80 Fate (Moira) 85-6, 90 Fides 41; see also Dius Fidius and Faith Firdawsi 9 Fortuna 41,96 Frey 21 Freya 22 Fricka 159 Gandharvas 20, 130 Ganges, the 121 Ganymede 87 Gish 38 Glaucus 57-8, 79 God 37, 39 Gold-drunkenness 128 Good Thought (Greek goddess) 32 Good Thought (Iranian archangel) 24 Graces 32, 74, 113

Index I: Names of Persons, Deities etc Growth 32 Gushtasp 9, 37, 44, 106 Hades 42, 76-7, 85, 87, 93, 95-6 Hadingus 45 Halitherses 146 Hanuman 7, 36, 44, 52, 65-6, 68-9, 74-5, 80, 82, 103, 105-6, 147 Harmony 36 Health 24 Hebe 33 Hecabe 97-8 Hector 2, 32, 45, 49-50, 55-8, 60, 62-3, 65-72, 74-9, 81-4, 86-8, 90-3, 96-8, 152, 154 Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich 159 Heidegger, Martin 159 Heimdallr 27 Helen 2, 26, 33-4, 45, 48, 50-2, 58, 61, 67, 71,91,98, 104-6, 127 Helenus 57, 60, 69-70, 72 Hephaestus 40, 43, 47, 54, 74-6, 83-4, 86-7, 89, 93, 95, 109-10, 113, 115, 145 Hera 2, 26, 28, 32-3, 42, 44, 46-8, 52-3, 55-6, 59, 62, 67, 73, 75-6, 78, 83, 85-7, 89-90, 96, 105, 136, 159 Heracles 25, 27, 33, 59, 85, 120, 137, 157 Hermes 38, 40, 42-4, 55, 74-6, 78, 86-7, 90,96-9, 106-7, 111, 113, 118-21, 125, 127-8, 134, 145, 147, 159 Hesiod 105 Hippolochus 58 Hoder 11,26,96, 142 Homer 1, 12-15, 28, 37, 42, 44-5, 47, 62-3, 77, 82, 85, 105, 135, 151-2, 154-5, 159-60 Hope 96 Idomeneus 2, 44, 48-50, 52-4, 58, 62, 65, 71-3, 76, 93 Igor 37 Ilus 87 Imra 38 Indra 8, 21, 23-5, 36, 42, 44, 84, 100-1, 105, 114, 121-4, 130, 142 Indrajit 7, 54, 63, 68-70, 75, 77, 79-80 Ino 107 Iphitus 137 Iris 75-6,83,93,96-7 Irus 132-4 Isandrus 58 Isfandiyar 9, 44, 80, 84, 86, 92, 96, 106 Jason 39, 142 Jesus 18

175

Juno 27, 102 Jupiter 18,21-2,27,41,63 Juventas 26,41,96 Kalvaitis 40 Kamimusubi 31 Kama 101, 124, 141-2, 153 Kauravas 8, 141, 153 Khusraw II 88 Krishashva 29 Krishna 8, 42, 109-12, 114, 137, 141-2, 145, 147 Kubera 36,44, 105, 128 Kultai 126 Kumbhakarna 51, 56, 60-1, 63, 71 Kutsa 142 Laertes 146 Laima 39 Lakshmana 7, 29, 36, 44, 52, 54, 56, 68-70, 73-5, 77, 79-80, 82, 84, 106, 147, 152 Laodamas 112 Laodameia 58 Lapiths 138 Leda 120 Leodes 138-40, 140-2 Leto 55, 86-7. 90, 97 Lie, the 30 Livy 10,63 Loki 11, 24, 32, 40, 42, 44, 142, 147, 159 Lomasha 100-1, 103 Love 36, 74, 110 Luhrasp 37, 44, 106 Lycaon 89-90 Lycia, king of 57-8 Machaon 30, 53, 68 Manly Splendour 32 Mars 21,41, 121 Marx, Karl 159 Mater Matuta 100, 133; see also Mother Dawn Maurras, Charles 35 Medon 141-2, 146 Melanthius 131-2, 136-8, 140-1 Melantho 133-4, 137 Meleager 64 Memnon 104 Menelaus 2, 7, 29^30, 32-4, 44, 48-55, 57-8, 60, 65-8, 72, 81-3, 93-4, 99, 102-6, 114, 127-8, 130, 145, 147 Menenius Agrippa 41, 96, 98 Menesis 39

176

Index I: Names of Persons, Deities etc

Menestheus 53 Mentes 99 Mentor 101-2, 126, 140, 146 Meriones 82,94 Metis 50 Mettius Gurtius 63, 93 Mitra 22-4, 27, 40, 105, 158 Moira 85; see also Fate Mon 38, 121 monkeys, king of the 52, 61, 66, 73, 82, 95 Moon, the 39 Mother Dawn 27, 133-4; see also Mater Matuta Muhammad 38, 158 Muses 43, 112-14, 145 Myrmidons 36, 78-9 Nakula 117,128 Nala 100, 135 Narada 119 Nasatyas 23-4, 30, 32, 36 Nausicaa 108-11, 113, 156 Nereus 47 Nestor 27, 30, 32, 37, 45-6, 48, 53, 57, 60 62-6, 68, 73 76-7, 93-4, 99, 102-3, 120-1, 145 Nibelungs 81 ' Night, the 100 N i obe 97 Njord 21 Non-death 24 Numa 27, 41 Nymphs 115, 119, 123-5, 131, 145 Obedience 26,88 Ocean 74, 84, 118 Odin 11,21-2,69, 115, 159 Odysseus 1, 3, 7-9. 11, 13-14, 27, 30, 32, 37-9, 42, 44-6, 48-50, 53, 55-6, 62, 64-8, 73-4, 77, 82, 85, 94, 99-141, 143-8, 150, 153-4, 156 Oedipus 143 Okuninushi 31 Oleg 37 Order 24 Orestes 99, 102, 154 Ouranos 20

Paieon 56 Pandareus 136 Pandarus 49, 53-5 Pandavas 24, 117, 131-2. 137, 141-2, 144, 147, 153 Pandu 8, 130

Paris 2, 26, 28, 32-4, 36-8, 43-5, 48, 50-3, 55, 58, 60-1, 67-70, 72, 81, 91, 96 Patollo 37 Patroclus 2, 45, 68, 70, 75-83, 86, 89, 91, 93, 95, 98, 145, 147, 152 Peisistratus 102-4, 127 Penelope 3, 39, 42, 45, 99, 101, 105, 107, 127, 129-38, 143-5, 154 Perkons 40 Perkuno 37 Perse 118 Persephone 119 Phemius 99, 141, 144, 146 Philoetius 136-8, 140 Phoenix 64 Plato 23, 33, 36, 155, 159 Plutarch 10,151 Podalirius 30 Polydamas 70,72,83 Polydeuces 33-4, 50, 120 Polydorus 88,90 Polypoetes 94 Poseidon 2-3, 42, 44, 46, 59, 61-2, 69, 71-7, 86-9, 94-6, 99, 102, 104, 107, 109-11, 113-16, 120-1, 123-4, 147 Potrimpo 37

Power

24

Priam

2, 30, 48, 50, 55, 57-8, 61, 67, 70, 72 87 90 97 8 > " > " > 152> 1 5 4 Proetus 57 Proteus 104-5 Publicola 41 Pythagoras 33

Quirinus 21, 41 Rama 7, 29, 36, 39, 44, 51-2, 54, 56, 60-1, 65, 68-70, 73-5, 77, 79-80, 82-4, 86, 88, 92, 95, 103, 106, 147 Ravana 7, 36, 47, 50-2, 54, 60-1, 63, 66, 69, 71-2, 80-2, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92-3, 95, 98, 147 Retribution 26 Rhadamanthus 105 Romulus 10, 27, 41, 63 Rustam 29, 52, 84, 86, 92

Sahadeva 137 Samjaya 137

Sarasvati 23-4. 27 Sarpedon 2, 55-6, 69-70, 75, 78-80 Satrughna 29 Saule 39-40

Index I: Names of Persons, Deities etc

177

Saxo Grammaticus 11 Scylla 121-2 Servilius 41 Servius 41, 96 Shishupala 27 Shri 27, 42, 154 Siegfried 81 Simoeis, the 89 Simoeisius 54 Simurgh 54, 84, 92 Sirens 121 Sita 7, 51-2, 68-70, 74-5, 106, 147 Siyawush 58-9, 122 Sky,the 107 Sleep 74, 78-9 Snorri Sturluson 11 Soslan 9, 142-3 Spinners 111-12 Starkadr 25 Sthenelus 53 Stormwinds 136 Strife 36, 38, 67 Styx,the 107 Subhadra 109-11, 114 Suhrab 52 Sun, the 3, 17, 37, 39, 50-1, 85, 92, 100, 113, 118, 120-2,124, 142, 153 Susano 31 Svyatoslav 37 Syrdon 9, 24, 32, 44, 142-3

Thersites 48 Theseus 34 Thesprotia, king of 125 Thetis 2, 46-7, 52, 83-5, 96, 98, 104, 145 Thor 21 Thracians, king of the 66 Titans 34 Tlepolemus 56 Tros 87 Tullus Hostilius 41 Tyr 22

Takamimusubi 31 Takemikazuchi 31 Tarpeia 128 Teiresias 115, 119-20, 144 Telegonus 148 Telemachus 3, 8, 10, 44, 99-105, 124, 126-42, 144, 146 Terminus 26,41,85,96 Teucer 62, 70, 76, 79, 94 Theoclymenus 127-8, 130, 137

Yadgar 130 Yaropolk 37 Yudhishthira 24, 101, 114, 117, 120, 128, 132, 139, 142, 145, 148

Ultan the Bald 130, 132, 134, 143 Ulupi 107-8, 110, 148 Urvashi 122, 124, 153 Valerius 41 Valmiki 7 Vanir 11,21,69-70 Varga 119 Varuna 20-4, 27, 31, 40, 130, 158 Vayu 36 Vibhishana 51-2, 65, 69-72, 74-5, 80, 88, 93, 95 Vidura 26, 156 Vishnu 8, 36 Vyasa 120, 148 Wagner, Richard 22, 159 Wieland 40 Xanthus, the 86-7, 89

Zeus 2, 25, 28, 33, 42-4, 46-56, 58, 60-83, 85-7, 89-91, 96-7, 99, 101-2, 104-7, 109, 111-13, 115-18, 122-5, 127, 129-30, 132, 134, 136, 138, 145-6, 159

INDEX II: NAMES OF PLACES Narbonne 33 Nuristan 38,43,47, 121

Argos 53, 105 Caucasus, the 5, 9, 117 Charybdis 121-2 Cicones, city of the 115-16 Corinth 72 Crete 2,30,44,49, 125, 134 Cyprus 113

Olympus 55-6, 83, 86, 90, 97, 108 Orchomenus 33 Phaeacians, city of the 108, 114, 123-4 Prabhasa 109 Pylos 99, 101-2, 105, 127

Delos 28 Delphi 32,64 Dodona 134 Dvaraka 109, 124

Rhodes 49, 135 Rome 10, 22-3, 26-7, 38, 41, 44, 61, 63, 70, 92, 96, 98, 100, 102-3, 121, 128, 130, 147, 160

Elysian fields 105

Sparta 2, 33, 51, 53, 99, 101, 103-4, 126, 155

Ganges, the 107 Ida 62, 67, 74 Indraprastha 114 Ithaca 3, 107, 115-16, 118, 123-8, 146-8 Kazakhstan 150-1 Lanka 7, 9, 51-2, 60-1, 63, 65-6, 68, 80, 88, 95, 106 Lycia 57 Manalura 108-9 Mycenae 2, 37, 53

Thesprotia 125 Thessaly 49-50 Tiber, the 102-3 Troy 1-3, 36, 43, 48, 50-5, 57-8, 60-2, 64, 66-7, 72, 75-6, 79, 83, 87, 89-92, 94, 96-100, 102, 104, 106, 115, 124, 145, 151 Veii 100, 102-3, 128 Xanthus river valley, the 49

179

INDEX III: SUBJECTS agriculture 6, 15, 20-1, 30-1, 38, 59, 84, 133, 158 anger 15, 23, 29, 31, 37, 46-7, 51-2, 56, 62, 89, 92, 97, 101-2, 110, 112, 114, 131, 138-9, 144-5 arbitrariness 15, 22, 27, 40, 44, 46, 57, 75 archery 12, 16, 28, 43, 49, 53-4, 62, 67, 94,98, 109, 112, 135, 137-41 beauty 4, 16, 26, 30, 37, 43, 45-6, 50-1, 64, 72, 81, 85, 87, 97, 101, 109, 112, 122, 129-30, 132-3, 135, 144, 154 bravery 4, 26, 29, 32, 38, 40, 53, 56, 58, 66, 71,81-2,89, 102-3, 121, 157 cattle-breeding 16, 32, 40, 74-5, 84, 89-90, 96, 121, 124-6, 131, 136-7, 140 community, protection of the 15, 26, 40-2,44,59, 71, 77,87, 115, 156 contractuality 2, 15, 22, 32, 40, 42, 75, 159 craftsmanship 16, 40, 42, 55, 109-11 desire 16, 23, 36, 42, 44, 74, 96, 107. 109, 115 education 15, 135, 142, 159 fertility 3, 6, 10-16, 20-1, 23, 28, 31, 40, 45-6, 49-51, 57, 64, 67, 69, 78, 111, 135, 143, 152, 154, 157 force (strength) 6, 12-16, 24, 26-8, 30-1, 38, 40, 42, 54, 56, 59, 62, 69, 71, 76, 81-2, 89-90, 94, 101, 104-5, 115, 117, 124, 132-4, 136-8, 146, 152-4, 157 fortune 27,37,39,41, 145-7 friendship 22, 41-2, 48, 158; see also loyalty

goods, distribution of 15, 26, 31, 39-42, 44, 50, 77, 95-6 horse-breeding 16, 32, 49, 93, 95, 112, 126 hospitality 3, 52, 58, 72, 117, 125 hunting 3, 43, 54, 57, 78, 89-90, 109, 115, 118, 134 intelligence (wisdom) 4, 15, 23, 26, 30, 36, 40, 42-3, 45, 49-50, 59, 66, 71-2, 83, 86, 90, 98, 101-2, 105, 111-12, 117-19, 124, 128, 136, 141, 154, 156-7, 159; see also reason law 6, 15, 22, 27, 29, 33, 42, 83, 102, 108, 114-15, 117, 128, 137 love 3, 43, 74, 108-10, 113, 115, 128 loyalty (fidelity) 2, 22, 31, 44, 59, 85, 90, 124-6, 130, 132, 135, 138-41; see also friendship luxury 7, 16, 23, 33, 36, 43, 70, 92-3, 110-11, 113-14, 119 magic 6, 9, 11, 15, 21-2, 52, 54, 68-9, 80-1, 92, 106-7, 114-15, 118-19, 123, 147 medicine 16, 26, 30-1, 43, 45, 47, 53-4, 55-6, 65, 68, 79, 82, 86, 92 music 16, 28, 43, 47, 50, 64, 96, 98-9, 104, 112-15, 121, 141, 143-4, 155 pacificness 16, 32, 40, 45 pleasure 3, 28, 43, 47, 113-14, 117 prophecy 16, 28, 43, 46-7, 49, 57, 60,

181

182

Index III: Subjects

67-8, 70, 72, 79, 86, 91-2, 101, 106, 112, 119-20, 123, 127-8, 134-5, 137-8, 140, 144, 146, 153 reason 15, 23; see also intelligence religion 15, 21, 23, 29-30, 33, 40, 59, 62, 64, 77, 85, 117, 122, 137, 139, 152, 157 remoteness 15, 22, 31, 38, 47, 52 smith, the 16, 40, 42-3, 47 sovereignty 2, 6, 11-12, 14-16, 21-4, 26, 29-32, 40-2, 44, 57, 69, 77, 90, 95-6, 10 ?' }l\n^k ^ Q ' la^m OA Q7 QQ speed 15, 30, 40, 43, 86, 91, 94, 97, 99, strength see force

terrifyingness 15, 22, 47-8, 57, 59, 67, 83 trade 27, 112, 115 war 11, 21, 23, 26-7, 30, 33, 43, 57, 84-5, 159 warrior, the 11, 13, 15, 25, 31, 36, 38-40, 5 9 _ 6 o , 70-1, 76, 83, 95, 117-18, 121-3, J25, 142, 148, 153-8 wealth 7, 10, 16, 23, 26, 29-31, 33, 36, 3 8 j 4 4 _ 5 j 5 4 ? 5^ 6 4 ? 6 6 _ 7 ? 72> 74> g 3 j 91 9 4 9? 104_6 1 1 0 _ n m _ 1 5 125 \ ^ ^ 12^ ^ work H5?

4 42

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44

~ 5 ' 5 8 ' 64> 7 2 ' 7 5 ' ^ 1 2 7 _ 8 > 1 3 3 j m^

85

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89

15g

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