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災いのもとをたどると・・・
アメリカを襲ったハリケーンのニュースを読むと思い出すのは、
災いのもとをたどっていったらわが身にたどり着いたという『オイディプス王』の物語だ。
The Furies
Of course, I'm not superstitious, and I wouldn't invite readers to become so. We shouldn't take ancient myths and legends literally. But why, when I read about the terrible hurricanes hitting America's Gulf Coast, do I keep thinking about the Furies?
The Furies, in ancient Greek and Roman mythology, were three dread goddesses, Tisiphone, Megaera and Alecto, whose job was to avenge crime. When a crime was committed and human justice failed to punish the criminal, the Furies, terrifying figures with snakes in their hair, would carry out the punishment themselves. Sometimes this punishment was not against the criminal only. When the crime was great, the gods might punish the whole country that had failed to punish the criminal, as Thebes was made to suffer for failing to punish the crime of King Oedipus.
Yes, King Oedipus. Reality is not a play, so why do I keep thinking about King Oedipus? Even if you haven't read it, you probably know the outline of Sophocles' great play "Oedipus Rex." The kingdom of Thebes has come under a curse. Crops will not grow, and men, women and children are dying from pestilence. King Oedipus sends a messenger to the Oracle at Delphi to learn why. The Oracle answers: Thebes is cursed because it has failed to punish the killer of the former king, who was murdered years ago.
Oedipus, acting the just king, vows to avenge the murder. Using all his sacred powers as king, he lays a fearsome curse on the murderer. If the murderer is Theban, then no matter who he is, he shall be banished from the city, deprived of all rights, banned from religious rituals, forbidden to speak with any other Theban. (Doesn't this sound a little like the fate of the people imprisoned at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay?)
What King Oedipus doesn't know (what he is trying desperately to avoid knowing) is that he is laying this curse on himself. (In psychological terminology this trick, whereby the person who has a guilty secret manages to hide this secret from himself by vigorously accusing others of his crime, is called "projection.")
As the play progresses, King Oedipus gradually "remembers" that it was he himself who committed the crime. The curse he has put upon the criminal returns. Reduced in a day from king to beggar, he leaves the city, to wander through Greece an exile and an outcast. With this the gods are satisfied, and the curse on Thebes is lifted.
Why do I keep remembering this? When the U.S. president or the people around him rant about how just they are to carry on their war against terrorism, and about what terrible criminals the terrorists are ("They are murderers! They don't respect the law! They kill people!"), am I the only one who keeps hearing the voice of King Oedipus laying a curse on the criminals who brought down a blight on the land? Am I the only one who keeps thinking of the hurricane disasters as Gulf Storm III? (505 words)
Shukan ST: Oct. 14, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
- The Furies
- ギリシャ・ローマ神話の復習の女神たち。蛇の髪の毛を持つ。
- superstitious
- 迷信深い
- take 〜 literally
- 〜を文字通りに受け取る
- myths
- 神話
- mythology
- 神話
- dread goddesses
- 恐怖の女神
- Tisiphone, Megaera and Alecto
- ティシポネ、メガイラ、アレクト
- avenge
- 復讐する
- human justice
- 人間による正義
- failed to 〜
- 〜しない
- criminal
- 犯罪者
- terrifying figures
- 恐ろしい姿
- Thebes
- テーベ
- King Oedipus
- オイディプス王
- Sophocles
- ソフォクレス
- Oedipus Rex
- オイディプス王
- has come under a curse
- のろわれていた
- Crops
- 作物
- pestilence
- 疫病
- Oracle
- 神託
- vows to 〜
- 〜することを誓う
- sacred
- 神聖な
- Theban
- テーベ人
- be banished from 〜
- 〜から追放される
- (be)deprived of 〜
- をはく奪される
- (be)banned from 〜
- を禁じられる
- religious rituals
- 宗教上の儀式
- (be)forbidden to 〜
- 〜することを禁じられる
- imprisoned
- 投獄された
- U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay
- 収容されたイスラム教徒の扱いが問題となった米基地
- psychological terminology
- 心理学の専門用語
- trick
- ごまかし
- whereby
- それによって
- guilty
- 気のとがめる
- manages to 〜
- 何とか〜する
- by vigorously accusing 〜 of 〜
- について〜を強く責めることによって
- projection
- 投影
- progresses
- 進行する
- Reduced in a day from king to beggar
- 一日のうちに王から物乞いに身を落として
- exile
- 亡命者
- outcast
- 追放者
- rant about 〜
- 〜についてあれこれ言いたてる
- blight
- 荒廃
- Gulf Storm III
- 第三次ガルフストーム。1991年の湾岸戦争は別名 "Dessert Storm"(砂漠の嵐)。2度目の対イラク戦争を経て、3度目の嵐が、今度はアメリカのガルフコースト(湾岸)を襲った、という意味合いになる