King & Ants

Employing a Borgesian pedant-narrator in these delightful ""mythological essays,"" acclaimed Polish poet Herbert (Elegy for the Departure; Barbarian in the Garden) reconstructs classical myths, drawing on conflicting sources and embellishing as he sees fit. In the nine pieces here, Herbert engages with figures as obscure as Cleomedes of Astipalea and as familiar as Atlas. The opening and closing ""essays""--""Securitas"" and the title piece--are political allegories. The seven other tales examine individuals, either those who have been overlooked, or those who, despite their mythic dimensions, are surprisingly hapless: Ares, the god of war, finds himself handily defeated; Cerberus, the multi-headed dog who guards the gates of hell, becomes, once tamed by Heracles, a faithful pup; Endymion is beloved by a goddess and granted immortality--but at the cost of remaining in an eternal slumber. And in the title entry, the Myrmidons (the ""ants"" of the title) constantly undermine the innovative, democratizing plans of their king, Ajax, simply by adhering to their traditional conception of his autocratic power. Advised by highly educated outsiders, Ajax stages his own assassination, hoping to bring change to his people. Luckily, their simple goodness is too much even for such machinations, and in the end, he returns to rule them again, cured of his need to ""improve"" things. Herbert's success here lies in a lightness of touch, never pressing his ironies, but letting them unfold gently. These pieces, like the best of mythology, tackle weighty issues while maintaining a pleasantly slight--or in the case of this volume, slim--appearance. (Feb.) FYI: Herbert passed away last summer; a collection of previously untranslated poems is also due from Ecco in February (Forecasts, Dec. 21, 1998).