Ichneutai
Ichneutai ( Greek Ἰχνευταί “ tracer ”, mostly translated as “ sniffer dogs”) is the title of a fragmentary satyr play by Sophocles from the middle of the 5th century BC. Thanks to a papyrus discovered in Oxyrhynchos in Egypt and published in 1912 and 1927 , around 450 verses of this satyr play have survived. The plot of the piece is inspired by the hymn to Hermes , the 18th from the collection of the Homeric Hymns . The Ichneutai are one of the best preserved Greek satyr games.
The topic is the insoluble contradiction that arises from the service of the Dionysian people of satyrs for the culture bringer Apollon : the Apollonian-Dionysian opposition.
action
Shortly after his birth, little Hermes steals Apollon's cattle , whereupon Apollo offers a high reward for getting the herd back. Papposilen then offers his help, but demands not only the gold but also the release from slavery. After Apollo has promised freedom and gold, the choir of satyrs swarms out in groups of two or three and tries to take in the cattle's scent. Therefore, the title translation stirred sniffer dogs , although the correct translation tracker is. Since Hermes had partly driven the cattle backwards, the satyrs initially follow the tracks in the wrong direction. The satyr follows herein the Hermeshymnos , so it leaves the invention, the Lyra by Hermes counter Hymnos after the bovine robbery take place. Near a grotto in which the infant Hermes is hiding, they hear him play on the new, unknown instrument. Startled by the strange sounds, the satyrs deliberate on what to do next. They stamp and make a noise and get into a Bakchian frenzy.
Silenus confronts them, reproaches them for not being fit for any moral task and just mouth heroes, and earns silence. At the same time, Kyllene , Hermes' nurse and nymph of the mountain in which Hermes is hidden, appears and complains about the commotion. While Silenus asks the satyrs why they behave like animals, Kyllene naturally addresses them as animals. As a result, the satyrs calm down and Kyllene explains the nature of the musical instrument to them. There is now a stichomythical puzzle scene in which the satyrs try to guess the dead animal to which little Hermes had given a new voice. In front of the cave, the satyrs see cowhides sewn together and are convinced that they have found the thief. Kyllene is outraged by the suspicions against her protégé Hermes and is sexually harassed by one of the satyrs as part of the argument. But the satyrs call Apollo because they see their task as fulfilled. When Apollon's reappearance, the papyrus breaks off.
literature
- Richard Johnson Walker: The Ichneutae of Sophocles . Burns and Oates, London 1919 ( digitized ).
- Ernst Siegmann : Investigations into Sophocles' Ichneutai. In addition, some new readings in the Euryplos papyrus . Bonn / Hamburg 1941 (dissertation, University of Hamburg).
- Sigrid Scheurer, Ruth Bielfeldt : Ichneutai . In: Ralf Krumeich , Nicolaus Pechstein, Bernd Seidensticker (eds.): The Greek Satyr Game. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1999, ISBN 3-534-14593-3 , pp. 280-312
- Andreas P. Antonopoulos: Sophocles' Ichneutai 1–220, edited with introduction & commentary. Dissertation University of Exeter, Exeter 2010 (unpublished).
- Andreas P. Antonopoulos: Select Notes on the Papyrus Text of Sophocles' Ichneutai (P.Oxy. IX. 1174). In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . Vol. 186, 2013, pp. 77-91.
- Andreas P. Antonopoulos: Sophocles' Ichneutai 176–202: A lyric dialogue (?) Featuring an impressive mimetic scene. In: Hermes . Vol. 142, 2014, pp. 246-254.