Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
12
KamilaKowalczyk
descriptionofthebardDemodocus.TheaudienceistoldthattheMusebestowed
onhimthegiftofsweetsong,asacompensationforhisblindness:
tὸνπερlΜooσ΄ἐIίλησε,δίδoυδ΄ἀγOGόνtεKOKόνtε·
ὀIGOλpῶνpνἄpερσε,δίδoυδ΄ἡδεῖOνἀoiδήν.
TheMuselovedhimaboveallmen,andgavehimbothgoodandevil;
ofhissightdeprivedhim,butgavehimthegiftofsweetsong.
(Od.VIII62164)
Shestirshimtosing,butneverphysically“takesabodeinhim”,norissuch
apossessiondepictedwhenthebardentersthehallofAlcinous,thekingofPhaea-
cians.Itishisactivepartintheprocessofthecomposition,whichbecomesstressed
inthefollowingpassage:
tῷγάρῥOGεὸgπερlδῶKενἀoiδὴν
tέρπεν,ὅππῃGυpὸgἐπotρύνῃσiνἀε{δεiν
Forthegodgavetohimsongbeyondothers1
togivepleasureinwhateverwayhisspiriturgeshimtosing
(Od.VIII44145)
Althoughthegiftofsweetsongisattributedtogod,itisDemodocus’Gυpὸg
1spiritthatisincontrolofthesong,affirmingthebard’sresponsibilityforits
creation.Heisgivenatool,hemustmakeagooduseof,butDemodocusisnever
describedasgod’stoolhimself.Moreover,Phemius,Odysseus’court-poetstates
that:
Ońtoδ{δOKtogδ΄ε.p{,GεὸgδέpoiἐνIρεσlνoἴpOg
πOνto{OgἐνέIυσεν·
Iamself-taught,andthegodhasplantedinmyheartallmannersoflays.
(Od.XXII3471348)
Heperceiveshimselfsimultaneouslyasself-taughtandarecipientofthedi-
vinegiftofpoetry.Thus,heacknowledgesthesupernaturaloriginofhisart,but,at
thesametime,emphasiseshisindependenceinthecompositionofhissong.Nei-
therDemodocus,norPhemiusarepresentedasunconsciousvesselsoftheMuses.
Theyareinspired,moved,compelledtosing,aretaughtbythedeity,and,most
ofall,areabletofreelycommunicatewithher,butmanticecstasyisabsentfrom
thesecontacts.
Thelackofecstaticpossessiondoesnotexcludethepossibilityofanotherlevel
ofinteractionbetweentheMuseandherdisciple.ThemodeofinvocationsinIliad
suggeststhatthepoetmay,atsomemoments,treattheMusenotonlyasawell-
informedsourcedispensinghimknowledge,butapartofhisaudience:a“knowing
