Abstract

The motif »the capture of the unicorn by the maiden« which was brought to Europe through Physiologus, has its origin in Rsyasrnga-Legend of India. And it is possible to presume that this motif included in the Rsyasrnga-Legend was originally materialized in response to the influence of the Gilgamesh epic poetry of the Orient. The motif of »the unicorn captured by the maiden« in Rsyasrnga-Legend of India conveyed the image of a unicorn as an animal to the Occident, and the image of a unicorn as man to the Far East. In this paper, the Gilgamesh epic poetry, Rsyasrnga-Legend, ›The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn‹ of Europe, and ›Ikkaku-Sennin-Tale‹ of Japan are analysed in regard to the theme of the erotic relation between a unicorn and a maiden. Concluding from the analysis, it is clearly pointed out that in the structure of the scene of temptation Eros stimulates the inversion of a certain kind of social values. However, in the picture of ›The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn‹, the function of Virgin Mary as a temptress is changed to that of Archangel Gabriel who plays a role of ›The Mystic Hunter‹, thus exempted from an erotic association. It could be also said that the essential purpose of the temptation of the unicorn by the woman is to ›humanize‹ the transcendent unicorn.

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