走れメロス — is this based on a real Greek legend, or is 太宰治's version original?

Question

走れメロス feels like it has Greek-myth energy (tyrant king, a hostage friend, a desperate run against time) but I don't know if 太宰治 invented the plot or adapted something existing. Anyone know the source?

Accepted Answer

太宰治 adapted it — the core plot traces back to the old Greek legend of Damon and Pythias (via a German ballad by Schiller, 'Die Bürgschaft', which is the more direct source Dazai is believed to have drawn from). He Japanized the names and setting but the 'friend stands hostage while the other races back to prove loyalty' skeleton isn't his invention. What IS mostly his own is the tone — the breathless, almost manic first-person urgency of the prose.