It is r a t h e r an unrewarding t a s k to draw c o m p a r i s o n between E u r o p e a n and Asian l i t e r a r y and f o l k l o r i s t i c w o r k s or to s e a r c h for t h e i r common o r i g i n or
simply to study s i m i l a r i t i e s in t h e m . Scholars of European l i t e r a t u r e s a r e m o r e or l e s s r i g h t when they e x p r e s s t h e i r r e s e n t m e n t at e n d e a v o u r s to s t a t e E a s t e r n i n f l u e n c e s on outstanding works of European c u l t u r e and t o point out the e x i s t e n c e of E a s t e r n e l e m e n t s in European m y t h s , epic p o e m s and t a l e s .
On the other hand it is the E a s t e r n scholar who r e f u s e s r e s e a r c h r e s u l t s and views which say that European or Western influences can be d e t e c t e d in E a s t e r n l i t e r a t u r e and folklore. Today the l a t t e r tendency p r e v a i l s and the new s c h o l a r generation in the developing c o u n t r i e s of the East is d e t e r m i n e d t o d e -fend t h e i r c o u n t r i e s ' cultural h e r i t a g e .
However, if we have a c l o s e r look at the E a s t e r n and Western p a r a l l e l i s m s , it b e c o m e s m o r e and m o r e a p p a r e n t that in spite of the c o n t r a d i c t o r y v i e w s , t h e s e p a r a l l e l i s m s do exist and the only c o r r e c t a p p r o a c h to the p r o b l e m s i s to
s e a r c h for t h e i r explanation and not t o ignore t h e m . f l ]
A s for the seemingly W e s t e r n e l e m e n t s in E a s t e r n w o r k s , t h e i r e x i s t e n c e i s unquestionable, the question to be a n s w e r e d i s whether they a r e of t r u l y W e s t e r n o r i g i n . Without going into a detailed d i s c u s s i o n of this q u e s t i o n we would like to call the attention to the well known fact that, for instance, in the European Antiquity, in the most f l o u r i s h i n g period of the G r e e k mythology — and well b e f o r e it — E a s t and West w e r e not deeply s e g r e g a t e d c u l t u r a l l y and s p i r i t u a l l y a s they have been e v e r since the European Middle Ages up t o our p r e s e n t t i m e s . It is a l s o well known that Greek mythology drew on s e v e r a l O r i e n t a l s o u r c e s , both Sumer and Egyptian, so G r e e k mythology is not a t a l l a m i r a c l e of W e s t e r n folklore, but it i s a product of Western and E a s t e r n s o u r -c e s whi-ch welded on the s h o r e of the Aegean Sea and in Asia M i n o r .
It was n e c e s s a r y to e s t a b l i s h t h i s in a d v a n c e , for we have to s e e it c l e a r l y that when examining p a r a l l e l i s m s in G r e e k myths and I n n e r - A s i a n f o l k l o r e it i s not
setting up some s o r t of Oriental and Occidental p a r a l l e l s .
The c o r r e s p o n d i n g motivs in Greek myths can be of O r i e n t a l , i . e . Asian origin just a s well a s the ones in Mongolian myths a r e . Our p r e s e n t study which
a i m s a t comparing c e r t a i n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of G r e e k mythology with their M o n -golian c o u n t e r p a r t s i s not going to s e a r c h f o r p a r a l l e l i s m s . I t s intention i s to c a l l t h e s c h o l a r s ' a t t e n t i o n to the fact t h a t the influence of the i m m e n s e m y t h o l -o g y - c i r c l e which c e n t e r e d in the Aegean b a s i n and in Mes-op-otamia r e a c h e d I n n e r A s i a , Mongolia and T i b e t , obviously a f f e c t i n g the folklore and the world of b e l i e f s of the peoples living t h e r e . [ 2]
G e n e r a l l y , a c o m m o n motif in t h e s e mythologies i s the a p p e a r a n c e of the divine h e r o or h e r o e s who a r e c h a r g e d by t h e gods to defend mankind f r o m t h r e a t e n i n g d a n g e r s a n d t o destroy m o n s t e r s , to win i m m o r t a l i t y and to s h a r e it with mankind. A n d , if t h i s cannot be a c h i e v e d they should at l e a s t make p e a c e .
The a d v e n t u r e s of the h e r o e s a r e m o s t l y r e l a t e d in l i t e r a r y works of high l i t e r a r y s t a n d a r d : i n e p i c s , m y t h s , h y m n s and l a t e r in novels, too. The s t o r y of Gilgamesh and that of H e r a c l e s b e l o n g to the most beautilful works of w o r l d l i t e r a t u r e .
In Tibet and Mongolia, the divine h e r o who descends f r o m the g o d s ' w o r l d onto the e a r t h t o accomplish h e r o i c d e e d s and to defend mankind by the g o d s ' o r d e r is G e s e r .
The etymology of G e s e r " s n a m e i s not known so f a r . Among the v a r i o u s a t t e m p t s made to d e c i p h e r it — the d e s c r i p t i o n of which we d i s r e g a r d h e r e — one i s worth m e n t i o n i n g . G e s e r or G e s a r w a s a s s o c i a t e d with the word C a e s a r . It i s s u p p o r t e d by the s o f a r unexplained a d j e c t i v e attached to it in Tibetan: khrom , i . e . G e s a r k h r o m , which suggests the e t y m o l o g i s t s to identify t h e m with the w o r d s C a e s a r and R o m e . Thus the n a m e G e s a r would m e a n the Roman e m p e r o r .
T h i s etymology, h o w e v e r , is f a r f r o m b e i n g p r o v e d , and even if we a c c e p t e d t h i s identification it would be of little value f o r the d e m o n s t r a t i o n of the e x i s t e n c e of R o m a n e l e m e n t s in I n n e r - A s i a n l i t e r a r y w o r k s .
So G e s e r i s a h e r o , who is c o m m i s s i o n e d t o the Earth by the gods to p r o t e c t mankind. His m i s s i o n is decided by t h e gods well b e f o r e h i s b i r t h , and the h e r o i s to be b o r n onto the Earth to f u l f i l h i s t a s k . His b i r t h , however, i s p r e c e d e d by events which directly influence h i s descendance to the world.
The a n t e c e d e n t s of H e r a c l e s ' b i r t h i s d e s c r i b e d in the G r e e k mythology in t h e following way: [ 4 ]
Elektryon, the king of Mykene, waged war upon two i s l a n d s a s their i n h a b i t a n t s had stolen h i s h e r d s of c a t t l e . When the king went to war he e n -t r u s -t e d h i s nephew, A m p h i -t r y o n , -to r u l e M y k e n e . Elek-tryon had p r o m i s e d h i s s u b s t i t u t e to let him m a r r y his d a u g h t e r , Alkhmene , a f t e r his r e t u r n , provided he p r o v e d to be a wise m o n a r c h while he w a s a w a y . Amphitryon, h o w e v e r , instead of living up to this e x p e c t a t i o n and r e p r e s e n t i n g Elektryon f a i t h f u l l y , detected the m e r c h a n t s to whom t h e t h i e v e s had sold t h e c a t t l e , bought them back f r o m the new o w n e r s , and called back Elektryon f r o m the w a r .
Elektryon, a r r i v i n g h o m e , b e c a m e indignant at seeing that h i s substitute had p a i d a lot of money t o get back his own p r o p e r t y stolen f r o m h i m , and in the e n s u i n g q u a r r e l A m p h i t r y o n killed E l e k t r y o n . Following t h i s , Amphitryon had to f l e e , but he took with h i m Alkhmene who r e f u s e d t o sleep with h i s husband a s long a s he did not take r e v e n g e on the t h i e v e s .
So Amphitryon went to w a r . Z e u s seized the opportunity t o make A l k h m e n e , a s he had planned, m o t h e r of the would-be h e r o , H e r a c l e s . So he descended onto the E a r t h a s s u m i n g A m p h i t r y o n ' s body and spent a whole night with A l k h m e n e , t h i s one night being a s long a s t h r e e o t h e r s , because Zeus had ordered H e l i o s to extinguish the b r i g h t n e s s of the sun. H e r a c l e s was b o r n , and together with him a t w i n - b r o t h e r , Iphikles was b o r n , too.
The G e s e r - n o v e l , edited in 1716 in Peking, in xylograph f o r m , r e l a t e s the a n t e c e d e n t s of t h e h e r o ' s , G e s e r ' s b i r t h in this w a y : [ 5 ]
T h e r e w e r e t h r e e c l a n s , the heads of which w e r e Chotong, Chargin and Sengliin. They c o n s p i r e d to steal the fortune of the head of t h e fourth clan whose n a m e was Geii b a y a n . But one of the c o n s p i r a t o r s , Chotong, betrayed t h e m and Geü bayan was a b l e to flee f r o m t h e m i n t i m e . He w a s accompanied by h i s d a u g h t e r , who, unfortunately, slipped on the ice and b r o k e h e r leg. The t r a i t o r , Chotong, p r e s e n t e d the crippled g i r l to h i s b r o t h e r , Sengliin, but when he found out that the g i r l had r e c o v e r e d her health and beauty in t h e old m a n ' s h o u s e , he b e c a m e so j e a l o u s that he drove them out of the c o u n t r y .
F r o m this point on the s t o r y b e c o m e s a little o b s c u r e . One night t h e g i r l caught sight of a half human and half bird like f i g u r e followed by a huge human f i g u r e . The sight caused h e r to fall s e n s e l e s s on the ground. She w a s m a d e pregnant in h e r unconscious s t a t e by that c r e a t u r e . Who that s u p e r n a t u r a l c r e a t u r e was cannot be definitely s a i d , but it can be p r e s u m e d that he w a s the main god a s it w a s by his o r d e r that the h e r o m u s t have come to the w o r l d . Geser was then delivered by the c h i e f t a i n ' s d a u g h t e r together with t h r e e twin b r o t h e r s , who ascended to h e a v e n .
The two G r e e k and Mongol m y t h s c a r r y some b a s i c identical m o t i f s . In both m y t h s the birth of the h e r o is p r e c e d e d by r o b b e r y and w a r f a r e r e s u l t i n g d i r e c t l y i n the exile of the h e r o ' s m o t h e r . In the Greek myth A m -phitryon and Alkhmene have to flee f r o m Mykene b e c a u s e Am-phitryon k i l l e d Elektryon, while in the Mongol myth Chotong expels the g i r l and Sengliin.
The e x i l e , in both m y t h s , is p r e c e d e d by t r e a c h e r y : E l e k t r y o n ' s h e r d i s r e c o v e r e d in a t r e a c h e r o u s way, paying money for it, w h e r e a s in t h e M o n -gol myth Chotong d i s c l o s e s the plan f o r war to the e n e m y .
The women in exile b e c o m e pregnant by the s u p r e m e god in both m y t h s . Z e u s a p p e a r s b e f o r e Alkhmene d i s g u i s e d a s her h u s b a n d , w h e r e a s in the M o n -gol myth the s u p r e m e god a p p r o a c h e s the woman in the f o r m of a b i r d and a giant. The motif of the twin b r o t h e r s can a l s o be found in both m y t h s : the G r e e k hero h a s one, the Mongol h e r o h a s t h r e e twin b r o t h e r s .
The baby h e r o ' s life is soon g r e a t l y t h r e a t e n e d . In the Greek mvth it i s Hera who t a k e s e v e r y m e a n s to a t t e m p t his l i f e . [6]
H e r a c l e s was about eight to ten months old when one night, a r o u n d midnight Hera sent two giant s e r p e n t s to A m p h i t r y o n ' s house to get the baby killed. But H e r a c l e s was not f r i g h t e n e d by the sight of the f i r e - b r e a t h i n g a n i m a l s , but he strangled them and threw them in f r o n t of the feet of h i s f a t h e r who c a m e r u n n i n g into the r o o m in a f r i g h t . The life of the Mongolian baby h e r o , too, i s in jeopardy.
T h e s e v e r s i o n s a l s o contain, in a c c o r d a n c e with the Buddhist- L a m a i s t b e l i e f s , some e l e m e n t s which a r e p e c u l i a r only to this body of b e l i e f s . In the Mongolian v e r s i o n s " t h e Evil", p r e s u m a b l y the evil gods, (Hera in the Greek c o u n t e r p a r t ) do all they can to kill the b a b y . Disguised a s a l a m a - p h y s i c i a n a m o n s t e r c a l l s on the baby G e s e r and on the pretext of a m e d i c a l examination he t r i e s to cut the b a b y ' s tongue out. But the e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y strong child k i l l s the l a m a .
T h e r e a r e other m o t i v e s that show m o r e r e s e m b l a n c e to the Greek m y t h . The b a b y lying in his c r a d l e is attacked by huge b i r d s ( c r o w s ) that want t o blind h i m . But the strong child s t r a n g l e s the b i r d s and t e a r s t h e m up. [ 7]
Both the Greek a n d the Mongolian mythologies contain a specific motif in w h i c h the c o r r e s p o n d a n c e i s f a i r l y a p p a r e n t . G e s e r , no longer a baby, c o m e s into c o n f l i c t with a h i g h - r a n k i n g magician l a m a . The L a m a , who is able to change shape a n d to t r a n s f e r h i s s p i r i t into d i f f e r e n t a n i m a l s , s e t s out to kill G e s e r ; having a s s u m e d the s h a p e of a wasp he t r i e s to sting him to death. G e s e r , h o w e v e r , r e a l i s e s the d a n g e r and getting hold of the wasp he a l m o s t c r u s h e s it b e t w e e n h i s two f i n g e r s . [8]
T h e parallel motif in the H e r a c l e s - m y t h is this:
H e r a c l e s had c a r r i e d out g r e a t h e r o i c deeds when he w a s a s l a v e . He had, a m o n g others, c a p t u r e d the two K e r k o p s e s of E p h e s o s , who had not let him s l e e p . The K e r k o p s e s w e r e twin b r o t h e r s the c l e v e r e s t s w i n d l e r s and l i a r s who had ever lived in the world, a n d who had r a m b l e d about the e a r t h c o m m i t t i n g i m p o s t u r e s again and again . . . The twins went on buzzing about H e r a c l e s ' bed in the s h a p e of wasps until he caught them and forced them to r e s u m e t h e i r original f o r m s . Then having hung them on a r o d with their head d o w n w a r d s he slung t h e m over his shoulder and c a r r i e d t h e m a w a y . [ 9]
T h e G e s e r - n o v e l , elabourating the G e s e r - m y t h s , i s divided into seven c h a p t e r s . The f i r s t c h a p t e r d e s c r i b e s the s t o r y of G e s e r ' s b i r t h and childhood, which s h o w s , a s d e m o n s t r a t e d in the e x a m p l e s above, many s i m i l a r i t i e s with the H e r a c l e s - m y t h s .
T h e c o r e of the H e r a c l e s - m y t h o l o g y c i r c l e lies in the t a s k s to be c a r r i e d out by H e r a c l e s . A c c o r d i n g to the Greek m y t h s the hero h a s to p e r f o r m t h e s e t a s k s in o r d e r to win i m m o r t a l i t y . G e s e r ' s t a s k is much m o r e p r a c t i c a l ; he h a s t o s a v e mankind f r o m the m o n s t e r s . Both h e r o e s p e r f o r m c e r t a i n t a s k s , and d e l i b e r a t e l y or unintentionally they both help the people living on the e a r t h through t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s . H e r a c l e s , unlike G e s e r , has to p e r f o r m a definite n u m b e r of t a s k s . It is t o be r e m e m b e r e d , however, that H e r a c l e s c a r r i e s out s e v e r a l h e r o i c deeds b e s i d e his main t a s k s ; he takes part in a g r e a t number of b a t t l e s and fights, so the number of h i s a d v e n t u r e s is b i g g e r than that of the t a s k s s e t before h i m .
H e r a c l e s ' f i r s t t a s k i s the killing of t h e lion of N e m e a , although he had a l r e a d y k i l l e d another lion b e f o r e that. The lion of Nemea had such a thick skin that no weapon could p i e r c e it. So, H e r a c l e s could kill it only by r e s o r t i n g to his e x t r a o r d i n a r y strength; he f i r s t hit the a n i m a l on the head with his m a c e and then s t r a n g l e d it. 110]
In the Mongolian myth a black spotted t i g e r r a m p a g e s the c o u n t r y . G e s e r i s given o r d e r f r o m the land of gods to get r i d of the m o n s t r o u s a n i m a l . In disguise the h e r o a t t a c k s the t i g e r , whose skin cannot be p i e r c e d e i t h e r . But the r e a s o n for the intangibility of the a n i m a l ' s skin in the Mongolian v e r s i o n is d i f f e r e n t ; in the G r e e k myth the skin of the lion of Nemea d e f i e s all weapons and is invulnerable w h e r e a s in the Mongol text Geser wants to s p a r e the t i g e r ' s skin in o r d e r to have s h i e l d s and other i m p o r t a n t objects of e v e r y d a y use m a d e of it. So G e s e r jumps into the throat of the t i g e r and kills it f r o m inside by cutting h i s internal p a r t s into p i e c e s . [11]
In both m y t h s the h e r o e s m a k e use of the skin of the defeated a n i m a l f o r t h e i r own p u r p o s e : H e r a c l e s , too, d r e s s e s himself up in the Nemean l i o n ' s skin.
It is a l s o a common f e a t u r e that the h e r o p r e p a r i n g for his t a s k i s given weapons and other o b j e c t s by the g o d s .
H e r a c l e s , p r e p a r i n g for the t a s k , r e c e i v e d a sword f r o m H e r m e s , a bow and e a g l e - f e a t h e r e d a r r o w s f r o m Apollon, a b r e a s t - p l a t e f r o m Hephaistos, and c l o t h e s f r o m Athene. Poseidon gave h o r s e s to the h e r o , while Zeus gave h i m an inpenetrable shield. He was a s s i s t e d in p e r f o r m i n g h i s t a s k s by his nephew, Iolaos, — a s his coachman or shield —carr i e r . [12]
In the c o r r e s p o n d i n g part of the Mongolian G e s e r - n o v e l the h e r o , b e f o r e descending into the world of human b e i n g s , appeals to the gods and m a k e s h i s conditions on which he i s r e a d y to a c c o m p l i s h his t a s k s . He demands — among o t h e r s — the weapons of the main god K o r m u s d a : his shield, h i s h e l m e t , h i s bow and a r r o w s , and his h a l t e r , e t c . B e s i d e s , he t a k e s his knights, h i s t h r e e heavenly s i s t e r s and his m o s t favourite b r o t h e r , J a s a s h i c i i r . With the help of the m i r a c u l o u s a r m s , his knights and l a s t but not l e a s t , his m o s t e f f i c i e n t a s s i s t a n t , h i s b r o t h e r (the c o u n t e r p a r t of the Greek Iolaos) he s u c c e e d s in defeating even the t i g e r . [ 13]
Among H e r a c l e s ' many t a s k s one i s to kill the hydra of L e r n a , which he does amid g r e a t d i f f i c u l t i e s . [ 14] Without seeking for f a r - f e t c h e d e x a m p l e s of p a r a l l e l i s m s we found the following scene in the G e s e r - n o v e l worth studying:! 15]
G e s e r c o m e s t o know that t h e r e i s a frightful m o n s t e r (mangus) living on top of a suburgan (a B u d d h i s t - L a m a i s t holy place) which f e e d s on human b e i n g s . As for the mangus t h e r e a r e two t y p e s of it known in the Mongolian f o l k l o r e . One of them is the s o - c a l l e d r a k sha s a - t y p e , of Indian origin, the other one is an ancient type r e s e m b l i n g a d r a g o n - s n a k e , s i m i l a r to the hydra.
We know that the hydra of L e r n a lived in a cave and H e r a c l e s s t r a n g l e d it t h e r e . As for G e s e r , he r e s o r t e d to an unusual t r i c k . He a p p e a r e d a s a poor m a r m o t - h u n t e r s o a s to make the m a n g u s believe that he was going to dig out m a r m o t s f r o m t h e i r holes. G e s e r , pretending to be digging holes, managed t o undermine the abode of the m a n g u s , which then got buried under the collapsing suburgan.
H e r a c l e s ' t a s k s included the acquisition of the belt of the a m a z o n , Hippol-y t e . [16]
H e r a c l e s , in o r d e r t o a c c o m p l i s h h i s t a s k , c a s t h i s anchor in the h a r b o u r of T h e m i s c y r a , where t h e amazon caught sight of him and fell in love with him on f i r s t sight. She o f f e r e d t o him a s a love p r e s e n t the wonderful belt that once had belonged to A r e s . H e r a , h o w e v e r , e n r a g e d by the e a s i n e s s with which H e r a c l e s had c a r r i e d out his t a s k s , in the disguise of an a m a z o n , s p r e a d the r u m o u r among the a m a z o n s that the f o r e i g n s a i l o r s w e r e going to kidnap Hippolyte. The a m a z o n s a t t a c k e d the G r e e k s . H e r a c l e s , suspecting b e t r a y a l , killed Hippolyte, took h e r b e l t and a r m s , took a r m s against the a m a z o n s , and having killed many of t h e m he m a d e them f l e e .
The Mongolian G e s e r h a s the following story containing a lot of s i m i l a r e l e m e n t s : ! 17]
"When I was f o u r t e e n y e a r s old, the daughter of the dragon king, A j u m e r g e n , and I, G e s e r , went hunting. When I, G e s e r , and A j u m e r g e n w e r e walking, I, G e s e r , w a s attacked by seven d e e r s . I, G e s e r , shot my a r r o w s into the seven d e e r s and pinned them to the e a r t h . Then A j u m e r g e n w a s attacked by nine d e e r s , which she shot h e r a r r o w s a t , pinning them to the r o c k s . Then I, G e s e r , s t a r t e d to wonder how t o find out whether A j u m e r g e n was a woman or a m a n . In the meantime a n o t h e r d e e r r a n f o r w a r d , and a s I, G e s e r , was unable to kill it, b e c a u s e of the long d i s t a n c e between m e and the d e e r , r i d i n g my h o r s e I, G e s e r , departed f r o m t h e g r o u p of h u n t e r s .
A j u m e r g e n followed me pursuing the d e e r . Then I, G e s e r , turned r o u n d , saying: "You can only be a woman, a s I s e e I am followed by someone who looks like a wretched w o m a n ! " Then A j u m e r g e n spoke: " B e acquainted with my womanhood! " And saying these w o r d s she killed the d e e r with h e r a r r o w . Then I, G e s e r , went up to the deer and pulled the a r r o w out of its body and put it under my a r m p i t and lay down a s if I were d e a d . A j u m e r g e n then said aloud: "In the c o u r s e of the previous day I killed T e m i i r k a d a , the son of Ama -t a y , -taking his brownish b l a c k h o r s e , and now I have killed G e s e r khan, -the l o r d of the ten r e g i o n s of the world, and I shall take h i s h o r s e ! " — and with t h e s e words she s t a r t e d to lead the h o r s e a w a y . I, G e s e r , continued to lie t h e r e m o t i o n l e s s . Then by magic I a s s u m e d the body of a m a n , who s t a r t e d to shout: "Ajumergen h a s killed G e s e r khan, the lord of the ten r e g i o n s ! B r o t h e r J a s a s h i k i r and the t h r e e c l a n s should a s s e m b l e to kill A j u m e r g e n ! " .
Then A j u m e r g e n r e l e a s e d her hidden plait of h a i r on her right with h e r r i g h t hand, accompanied with the following w o r d s : "My f a t h e r and b r o t h e r should not be h a r m e d ! " Then she r e l e a s e d her plait of hair on h e r left with her left hand, a c c o m p a n i e d with the following words: " M i s f o r t u n e should f o r s a k e my younger b r o t h e r and my m o t h e r ! " She t h r e w back h e r b r a i d with t h e s e w o r d s : " M i s f o r t u n e
should avoid my Chinese m a i d e n ! " .
At this moment G e s e r r e c o g n i z e d that A j u m e r g e n w a s a woman, so he s p r a n g up and they s t a r t e d to w r e s t l e . G e s e r (I) was once pulled down onto h i s k n e e s by h e r . Then G e s e r spoke up: "Does a man not w r e s t l e t h r e e t i m e s ? Do they not beat each other t h r e e t i m e s ? " We s t a r t e d w r e s t l i n g again. Then I, G e s e r , threw h e r onto t h e ground. Then I , G e s e r , spoke the words: "I shall m a r r y t h o u ! " . To t h i s , A j u m e r g e n a n s w e r e d y e s . Then I, G e s e r , said: "If
t h i s i s so, will you lick my s m a l l - f i n g e r ? " And A j u m e r g e n a n s w e r e d y e s a g a i n . Then I cut my little f i n g e r and made A j u m e r g e n t a s t e my blood. Then we both set out f o r the g r e a t sea to drink f r o m its w a t e r . When we a r r i v e d a t the water I noticed a s h i m m e r i n g a r r o w in it. Then I, G e s e r spoke up: "But t h e r e is no one with bended bow behind m e ! " Then I asked laughing: "What should thet m e a n ? "
A j u m e r g e n a n s w e r e d : "It i s not at you that I d r e w my bow, it i s the fish in the water that I drew my bow a t . " — she said. And a s soon a s she had uttered h e r w o r d s the sea s t a r t e d billowing r e d with the blood of the fish she had killed.
Then we went up to the sea and drank f r o m its w a t e r . Then I, G e s e r , took off my clothes and s t a r t e d to swim a c r o s s the water and sat on the opposite b a n k . A j u m e r g e n was sweating so strongly that she could not go on sitting (inthe t e r r i b l e heat), so she took off her upper and lower c l o t h e s and a s she descended into the w a t e r I, G e s e r , caught sight of her, upon which I gave a w h i s t l e , r a i s i n g wind and a whirl wind hung A j u m e r g e n ' s clothes on the top of a t r e e . I, G e s e r , then r e -t u r n e d and pu-t on my c l o -t h e s . Having finished -t h i s I saw -tha-t Ajumergen was beginning to feel cold and then she took s h e l t e r in G e s e r ' s l a p . Then I, G e s e r , said nine teachings a d d r e s s i n g the four c a r d i n a l p o i n t s . "
The above quoted p a r t of the G e s e r - n o v e l is undoubtedly connected with t h e G r e e k myth at s e v e r a l points, and it is not at all i m p o s s i b l e that in the motif of the whirl-wind hanging the clothes on top of the t r e e we can detect the r e m i n i s c e n c e of the way H e r a c l e s succeeded in acquiring Hippolyte's b e l t . H e r a c l e s ' final t a s k — a s is known — is to b r i n g up C e r b e r o s f r o m the Underworld. Through a lot of a d v e n t u r e s H e r a c l e s m a n a g e s to fulfil t h i s l a s t t a s k , too. [ 18]
In the l a s t c h a p t e r of the G e s e r - n o v e l Geser, too, i s obliged to d e s c e n d into the U n d e r w o r l d . Because while he had been fulfilling h i s mission by fighting off and killing m o n s t e r s to s e r v e , thus, mankind, his mother had died and descended down to the hell. G e s e r , in o r d e r to save h e r soul, went a f t e r h e r and succeeded in r e d e e m i n g h e r . [19]
With this l a s t example we have c o m e to the end of our study although the Greek H e r a c l e s - m y t h and the Buryat-Mongol G e s e r - n o v e l have s e v e r a l other details showing s i m i l a r i t i e s which would be worth to be examined m o r e deeply. We should like to point out again that it was not our aim to find d i r e c t connections between Greek and Mongol myths or to establish a d i r e c -tion of i m p a c t . No doubt, the Greek m y t h s , too, took their origin f r o m Oriental s o u r c e s , and the myths that w e r e the prototypes of the Greek m y t h s , had been widely known in I n n e r - A s i a , Tibet and Mongolia, too.
The survey of the Inner Asian p a r a l l e l i s m u s and t h e i r publication will, in any c a s e , e n r i c h our knowledge of the E u r o a s i a n m y t h s and mythology.
N o t e s =
1. T h e question was l a s t d i s c u s s e d in a c o l l e c t i o n of studies in the Sovietunion: ' Tipologija i vzaimosvjazy srednevekovych l i t e r a t u r vostoka i z a p a d a ' . Moscow 1974. F r o m t h i s collection we a r e m o s t interested in S. J u . NEKLJUDOV's ' I s t o r i ö e s k i e v z a i m o v s j a z y t j u r k o - m o n g o l j s k i c h folklornych t r a d i c i i i probléma vostoönych vlijanij v e v r o p e j s k o m e p o s e ' . 192-274 p p .
2. T h e corresponding f e a t u r e s of the I n n e r - A s i a n and Greek folklore and mythology w e r e last dealt with by Katalin U. KŐHALMI, ' G r i e c h i s c h - S i b i r i s c h e mythologische P a r a l l e l e n ' : Acta O r i e n t . Hung. 25(1972) pp. 137-147. Katalin KŐHALMI c i t e s in h e r a r t i c l e s e v e r a l studies published on the s u b j e c t . See f u r t h e r L á s z l ó LORINCZ, Mongol mitológia (Mongolian Mythology], Budapest 1975 (in Hungarian), pp. 196-207 (On the r e m a i n s of ancient m y t h s in the Mongolian folk t a l e s ) .
3. P . M a t t h i a s HERMANNS, Das National-Epos d e r Tibeter Gling König Ge Sar. Regensburg 1965, 63 p.
4 . R o b e r t GRAVES, The G r e e k Myths II. P e n g u i n e d . ( s . a . ) , pp. 8 4 - 8 8 .
5. ' Á r b a n jüg-'ín ejen G e s e r q a j a n - u toyuji o r u s i b a ' . (The story of G e s e r khan, the lord of the ten r e g i o n s of the w o r l d . ) Peking 1956, pp. 9 - 1 6 .
6 . GRAVES, op. cit. II. pp. 90-91.
7. ' A r b a n jMg-iin ' , pp. 18-19.
8. ' A r b a n jílg-'in ' , pp. 54-57.
9. GRAVES, o p . c i t . II. pp. 163.
10. GRAVES, o p . c i t . II. pp. 103-105.
11. ' A r b a n jiig-ип . . . ' pp. 94-120.
12. GRAVES, o p . c i t . II. pp. 101-102.
13. ' A r b a n jiig-'in . . . ' , pp. 5 - 6 . 14. GRAVES, o p . c i t . II. pp. 107-109.
15. ' A r b a n jiig-iin ' , pp. 44-46.
16. GRAVES, o p . c i t . II. p. 126.
17. ' A r b a n jiig-ün . . . ' , pp. 90-93.
18. GRAVES, o p . c i t . II. p p . 152-155.
19. ' A r b a n jiig-!in . . . ' , pp. 307-312.