Дамон мен Питиас: Шынайы достықтың аңызы

Ancient Greek legend

The story of Damon ('/d//eɪ//m//ən
// 7 = ˈ
/; , gen. Δάμωνος) and Pythias ('/p//ɪ//θ//i//ə//s
/; Πυθίας
or
Φιντίας; or Phintias, '/f//ɪ//n//t//i//ə//s
/) is a legend in Greek historic writings illustrating the Pythagorean ideal of friendship. Pythias is accused of and charged with plotting against the tyrannical Dionysius I of Syracuse. Pythias requests of Dionysius to be allowed to settle his affairs. Dionysius agrees, on the condition that Pythias' friend, Damon, be held hostage and, should Pythias not return, be executed in his stead. When Pythias returns, Dionysius, amazed by the love and trust in their friendship, frees them both.

As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero (De Offic. 3.45), Diodorus Siculus (10.4), and others, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher Pythagoras, traveled to Syracuse during the reign of the tyrant Dionysius I (r. 405–367 BC). Pythias was accused of plotting against the tyrant and sentenced to death. Accepting his sentence, Pythias asked to be allowed to return home one last time to settle his affairs and bid his family farewell. Not wanting to be taken for a fool, the king refused, believing that, once released, Pythias would flee and never return. Damon offered himself as a hostage in Pythias' absence, and when the king insisted that, should Pythias not return by an appointed time, Damon would be executed in his stead, Damon agreed and Pythias was released. Dionysius was convinced that Pythias would never return, and as the day Pythias promised to return came and went, he called for Damon's execution—but just as the executioner was about to kill Damon, Pythias returned. Apologizing to his friend for the delay, Pythias explained that on the passage back to Syracuse, pirates had captured his ship and thrown him overboard, but that he swam to shore and made his way back to Syracuse as quickly as possible, arriving just in time to save his friend. So astonished by and pleased with their friendship, Dionysius pardoned both men. It was also said that the tyrant then sought to become their third friend, but was denied. Another version says that it was a test planned by the king and his courtiers. The Pythagoreans were renowned for their moral strength and superiority, but some Syracusan courtiers argued the claim was false, and others disagreed, so with their king they devised a test—a crisis that would show whether two Pythagoreans lived up to that reputation.

In 1564, the material was made into a tragicomic play by the English poet Richard Edwardes (Damon and Pythias). The best known modern treatment of the legend is the German ballad Die Bürgschaft, written in 1799 by Friedrich Schiller, based on the Gesta Romanorum version. (In this work, Damon is sentenced to death, not Pythias.) In 1821, the Irish poet John Banim wrote a play based on the legend (Damon and Pythias). Familiarity with this play led Justus H. Rathbone to found the fraternal order Knights of Pythias. In 1914 in the United States, Universal Pictures produced and released the film Damon and Pythias starring William Worthington and Herbert Rawlinson in the title roles. In 1915, the book The Story of Damon and Pythias by Albert Payson Terhune was published. It was "adapted and illustrated from the photo play conceived and produced by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company", referring to the 1914 film starring William Worthington and Herbert Rawlinson. This book, like the German ballad, casts Damon as the condemned and the one who must return in time to save Pythias. In 1925, William Faulkner published Damon and Pythias Unlimited in the New Orleans Double Dealer, one of several "sketches" he wrote for the paper when he moved there. In Japan, the 1940 short story "Run, Melos!" by Osamu Dazai and an earlier nursery tale by Miekichi Suzuki are based on the legend, as is a 1992 anime produced by Toei Company, Ltd. The short story "Pythias" by Frederik Pohl, published in 1955, entwines the mythic elements with modern political and psychokinetic concerns. The film The Delicate Delinquent (1957) features characters "Mike Damon" (Darren McGavin, but imagined for Dean Martin) and "Sidney Pythias" (Jerry Lewis). As released, the film only vaguely resembles the legend — Pythias avoids jail — but intends instead to be a testament to the Martin and Lewis friendship. In a 1959 Leave It to Beaver episode, Beaver's father relates the Damon and Pythias story and Beaver donates his homework to friend Larry to prove their friendship. Larry confesses moments before Beaver loses a week of recesses. The 1962 MGM film Damon and Pythias remains true to the ancient story; it stars Guy Williams as Damon and Don Burnett as Pythias. The 1966 adventure film "Adventure in Kigan Castle", which was adapted loosely from "Run, Melos! ", has Osumi (Toshiro Mifune), a soldier of fortune, promise to deliver holy manuscripts from Gandhara while Ensai, a monk who freed him from slavery at the beginning of the film, offers to be executed in his place. Osumi succeeds and the king calls off the execution when he sees how selfless the man is. The Dreamworks animated film "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" (2003) features the title character going on a journey to find a treasure, while his best friend remains behind in Syracuse to be executed in his place should he fail to return; he comes back and both are saved. The story is reproduced in an episode of the animated series Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend.