1993 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Folklore as the Basis of the Greek and Latin Literature
| Project/Area Number |
03451068
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
文学一般(含文学論・比較文学・西洋古典)
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| Research Institution | KYOTO UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
NAKATSUKASA Tetsuo Kyoto Univ., Faculty of Letters, Associate Professor, 文学部, 助教授 (50093282)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OKA Michio Kyoto Univ., Faculty of Letters, Professor, 文学部, 教授 (40025052)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1991 – 1993
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| Keywords | Folkore in Ancient Greece / Euripides' Cyclops / Sophocles' Oedipus the King / Marchen in Greece / Mythos and Logos / アポストロペー / ミュートスとロゴス |
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| Research Abstract |
In this research, we have proved that the Greek and Latin literature owed much to the folklore and that the poets raised raw materials to the sophisticated literature through their creative talent. Nakatsukasa suggested a hypothesis that the basis og the dramatic construction of Euripides' "Cyclops" was not the famous episode in the 9th book of the "Odyssey" but the widespread folktale of Polyphemus. If we accept this hypothesis, we can solve many problms in this play.
Oka pointed out that the structure of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" was much influenced by the Oedipus legend, especially the motifs of a foundling and the oracle of patricide. The Oedipus legend had many variants in the ancient world, and there was a definite structure common to all of them. That structure was proved to be the basis of the creative work of Sophocles. We may be able to clarify whether Oedipus is an unyielding pursuer of truth or an ordinary man escaping from truth from this point of view.
Nakatsukasa described the actual circumstances about folktales in ancient Greece, investigatig the appellation, the bearer, the formulas and the social function of the folktales. However, we have not given enough consideration to the relation between oral and literal transmission in the Greek and Roman world. It remains an open problem.
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