Since its appearance in the scientific discourse, the figure of trickster has become a subject of many controversies and a source of speculation in many research fields. Despite multiple endeavours to synthesise this topic, researchers seem to be still far from solving the “trickster problem. ”The article attempts to recall the classical arguments in the field, in order to identify the sources of puzzling issues and to find common motifs linking diverse deliberations. Researchers of different schools seem to agree on the archaic nature of trickster myths. This is indicated by the paradoxicality, ambivalence, unpredictability and multidimensionality of the trickster figure and its specific wisdom in the form of cunningness gravitating towards a shamanic complex, as well as the dispersion and chaotic character of mythical episodes.

In the Greek epic tradition associated with the Trojan cycle, the protagonists are played by Achilles and Odysseus, two heroes with contrasting characteristics. The Homeric poems endeavor to approximate the character of Odysseus to Achilles. They cannot, however, break with his traditional image in which he represents the trickster type. Both preservation of the traditional image and its reinterpretation is typical of the oral tradition. Comparison with other traditions of the oral epic reveals a connection between the trickster character and the antagonist of the hero-protagonist. Both polarized characters represent two types of behavior assessed by the listening audience in terms of their usefulness for the survival of the community. In his readiness for sacrifice, the hero represents an altruistic attitude, positively valorized as moral behavior. The trickster’s egoistic behavior moves away from moral principles, but it can also ultimately bring benefit to the whole community. Similarly to the behavior of the trickster-antagonist, that of the hero-protagonist is also ambivalent, as it brings harm to the community, which –though temporary –often takes on the dimension of a disaster.

The goal of this article is to juxtapose the trickster model suggested by William J. Hynes in the text Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide with the stories of Sisyphus and Autolycus. A philological method proposed in this article is based on a way of understanding a myth narrowly, as a narrative with a specific meaning, which can be expressed in any literary genre. According to this definition, every mythology which is available today is an attempt at presenting a story of particular mythical events and the fortunes of gods and heroes. Therefore, stories about Sisyphus and Autolycus are myths that have been transformed and which in their essence may have multiple meanings and cannot be attributed to one artist. The philological method is, in this way, based on isolating all fragments of the myth relating to the above protagonists and subsequently presenting them as a coherent narrative.

This article is based on study of the tricksters’tricks played by the heroines of the Russian epos known as bylinas. Variants of bylina plots with female protagonists have been contemplated, taking into consideration the concept by Michel de Certeau of two modes of practices – tactic and strategic –and James Scott’s concept of “the weapons of the weak.”The narrator informs the audience first about the modi operandi under various circumstances, and second about the underlying values governing the choice of this or that modus operandi. Systematic studies of variants of bylina plots confirm the fact that the narrators pay a lot of attention to the personality, appearance and agency of epic heroines. The cunning tricks, daring deceptions, bold choices and exceptional physical fortitude of the heroines surprise the singers of the tales. The activities of female characters are analysed in the social context. The story-telling is a method of teaching modes and ways of real-life behavior. The bylinas’ singers are rendering their personal experience and knowledge in fictionalized form.

Jung dealt with the concept of the trickster archetype in many of his works. References to his interpretations of the impact of this archetype and the myths associated with this figure are also scattered in many places of his works devoted to various issues. The notion of the archetype is extremely complex in his grasp, and the ways of understanding it are evolving, similarly to the concept of the unconscious. These evolutions are related to the transition from the plan of patterns of individual human development, to the development of the species, to the recognition of the very patterns of the development of reality, so they contain references to the psychological, anthropological, and philosophical levels. According to Jung, the trickster archetype expresses –in the most general terms –the conflict of these patterns, which introduces a certain factor to the development process that is both disharmonizing and dynamizing at the same time.

The article is aimed at presenting that the features of a myth (known from literature in the field of anthropology, semiotics, and cognitive science) are also present in marketing communication related to shaping the image of brands. However, they are used in a scattershot manner, as specific marketing messages usually use only certain selected features of a myth. The article shows techniques of brand mythologization by combining three features of myths (permanent structure of events, bricolage, counter-intuitiveness) with three possible ways of their application for marketing communication (modeling, export, import).