西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (28, 29, 30, 31)

一月讀薇依，因為很久沒碰法文，又要做筆記，所以每天都只讀幾段。這樣的慢讀，我也慢慢悟出一些道理。從一開始尋找「力」的解藥，到這幾天發現原來我關心的是自由與平等，這段路雖孤寂艱辛，但卻充實而感謝，特別欣喜的是我看到出路了! 
     

二月一日，讀第28-31段，力，造成傷害，想用「力」去彌補，傷害越深，所以薇依這樣描述:
Mais quelques jours après le chef suprême pleure à son tour, est forcé de s'abaisser, de supplier, et il a la douleur de le faire en vain.

法文原文引用出處

http://www.ebooksgratuits.com/pdf/weil_iliade.pdf

我的觀察是優劣(superior-inferior)，強弱(strong-weak)等二元對立都是充滿暴力的結構。所以，看似英勇不已的大將，終有落敗一刻，終有驚慌失措、害怕恐懼的時候。
    和電影《特洛伊》很不同，荷馬史詩的很多特寫鏡頭都是這些爺們吃鱉、害怕、流淚、恐懼的模樣，下面仔細看三個特寫:

Iliad 7.92-93

希臘文本引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D7%3Acard%3D92

ὣς ἔφαθ᾽, οἱ δ᾽ ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ:

αἴδεσθεν μὲν ἀνήνασθαι, δεῖσαν δ᾽ ὑποδέχθαι:

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad7.htm

Hector finished. The Achaeans all grew silent,

ashamed to duck the challenge, afraid to answer it.

頓然，希臘大軍輸了陣腳，又羞又怕，鴉雀無聲，進退兩難。

Iliad 7.211-216

希臘文本引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D7%3Acard%3D206

τοῖος ἄρ᾽ Αἴας ὦρτο πελώριος ἕρκος Ἀχαιῶν

μειδιόων βλοσυροῖσι προσώπασι: νέρθε δὲ ποσσὶν

ἤϊε μακρὰ βιβάς, κραδάων δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος.

τὸν δὲ καὶ Ἀργεῖοι μὲν ἐγήθεον εἰσορόωντες,

Τρῶας δὲ τρόμος αἰνὸς ὑπήλυθε γυῖα ἕκαστον,

Ἕκτορί τ᾽ αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι πάτασσεν:

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad7.htm

That’s how huge Ajax, bulwark of Achaeans,

came up then, a grim smile on his face, moving his feet

with giant strides. He clutched a long-shadowed spear.

When Argives looked at him, they felt great joy,

while the limbs of all the Trojans shook with fear.

當Ajax出馬，希臘這方士氣大振，歡喜若狂，反之，特洛伊嚇到四肢無力，因害怕全身發抖。

Iliad 11.544-547

希臘文本引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D11%3Acard%3D531

Ζεὺς δὲ πατὴρ Αἴανθ᾽ ὑψίζυγος ἐν φόβον ὦρσε:

στῆ δὲ ταφών, ὄπιθεν δὲ σάκος βάλεν ἑπταβόειον,

τρέσσε δὲ παπτήνας ἐφ᾽ ὁμίλου θηρὶ ἐοικὼς

ἐντροπαλιζόμενος ὀλίγον γόνυ γουνὸς ἀμείβων.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad7.htm

Then Father Zeus, enthroned on high, put fear in Ajax.

He stood bewildered, shifted his seven-layered shield

onto his back, turned, looked round at throngs of Trojans,

like some wild beast, then backed off step by step, retreating,

but often turning back.

此刻，當日英勇不復，Ajax即使有七層皮縫製的盾牌，還是害怕，像隻野獸害怕，閃躲，閃躲。
   勇氣? 英雄? 看了這些例子後，不禁唏噓! 在武力，權力，與暴力的結構下，只有死亡，害怕，恐懼，羞愧.....
   之前我認為力的相反就是「無力」，但，更準確地說，自由與平等是解套與跳出這些力的惡性循環的方式。
 

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (26, 27)

今天閱讀西蒙娜‧薇依心得: 學會自由，平等是一條漫長的路。

貫穿史詩《伊里亞德》的主題: Achilles的憤怒，那這位大爺發飆的原因就是，另一大爺Agamemnon自認是Achilles的主人(master)，也就是，視別人為擁有物，或是奴隸。Agamemnon真的是自視太高，不，幾乎所有握有權力或武力的人都會掉入這陷阱。
力，就是製造"主人-奴隸， 上司-下屬，命令-服從..." 不平等關係等機器!

讀《伊里亞德》

Iliad 24.507-512

希臘文本引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D172

τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων:

φεῦγε μάλ᾽ εἴ τοι θυμὸς ἐπέσσυται, οὐδέ σ᾽ ἔγωγε

λίσσομαι εἵνεκ᾽ ἐμεῖο μένειν: πάρ᾽ ἔμοιγε καὶ ἄλλοι

οἵ κέ με τιμήσουσι, μάλιστα δὲ μητίετα Ζεύς.

ἔχθιστος δέ μοί ἐσσι διοτρεφέων βασιλήων:

αἰεὶ γάρ τοι ἔρις τε φίλη πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε:

εἰ μάλα καρτερός ἐσσι, θεός που σοὶ τό γ᾽ ἔδωκεν:

οἴκαδ᾽ ἰὼν σὺν νηυσί τε σῇς καὶ σοῖς ἑτάροισι

Μυρμιδόνεσσιν ἄνασσε, σέθεν δ᾽ ἐγὼ οὐκ ἀλεγίζω,

οὐδ᾽ ὄθομαι κοτέοντος: ἀπειλήσω δέ τοι ὧδε:

ὡς ἔμ᾽ ἀφαιρεῖται Χρυσηΐδα Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων,

τὴν μὲν ἐγὼ σὺν νηΐ τ᾽ ἐμῇ καὶ ἐμοῖς ἑτάροισι

πέμψω, ἐγὼ δέ κ᾽ ἄγω Βρισηΐδα καλλιπάρῃον

αὐτὸς ἰὼν κλισίην δὲ τὸ σὸν γέρας ὄφρ᾽ ἐῢ εἰδῇς

ὅσσον φέρτερός εἰμι σέθεν, στυγέῃ δὲ καὶ ἄλλος

ἶσον ἐμοὶ φάσθαι καὶ ὁμοιωθήμεναι ἄντην.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad1.htm

To that, Agamemnon, king of men, shot back:

       “Fly off home then, if that’s your heart’s desire.    

I’ll not beg you to stay on my account.

I have others around to honour me,

especially all-wise Zeus himself.

Of all the kings Zeus cherishes, it’s you

I hate the most. You love constant strife—

war and combat. So what if you’re strong?

Some god gave you that. So scurry off home.

Take ships and friends. Go rule your Myrmidons.  

I don’t like you or care about your rage.

But I’ll make this threat: I’ll take your prize,   

fair-cheeked Briseis. I’ll fetch her in person.

You’ll see just how much I’m the better man.

And others will hate to speak to me as peers,

in public claiming full equality with me.”

Agamemnon就是怕別人站在和他一樣或是平等(equal)的位置，就是無法平等對待他人，這也是耽於權力慾望的結果。
    Achilles受到傷害，憤怒又彈淚。不過，沒過幾天，幾場敗戰，局勢大轉，換成Agamemnon嚇到驚慌流淚，低聲下氣 求Achilles幫忙。終是一場空。
   力，好像玩弄這些大爺們，真的是成者王?敗者寇?荷馬史詩一直警告人類，在力的作用下，大家都是輸家! 
     從人類歷史觀察，我想再次強調:  學會自由，平等是一條漫長的路。
     真自由，跳脫追逐力；真平等，不看輕任何人 (包括自己)。

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

Hera的雙重身分

上學期西洋文學概論的課堂上，有位同學問到，為什麼Hera是Zeus的姐姐，又是他的太太?

這問題很好，一般人都只會用現代人的社會結構去討論「亂倫」的 問題，這樣會陷入無意義的爭辯或過度的心理學理論的猜想。

這兩天讀一本書，書中的 一段詮釋，倒是很有意思的觀察，作者 Margalit Finkelberg以 Hera等女神為例子，說明古希臘從母系社會轉變成父系社會的過程。在母系社會中，Hera是重要的女神，掌管萬物生育(fertility)，並保護人類；慢慢轉入父系社會與城邦制度，天神也變成男性，但是女神不可能一下子消失，所以變成妻子的角色。

以古希臘的歷史社會為例，這個轉變約莫與荷馬史詩口述傳統變成文字同時發生，所以我們仍可在荷馬史詩中看到許多傳統的延續與斷裂並存的情狀。


書目資料

Finkelberg, Margalit. Greeks and Pre-Greeks: Aegean Prehistory and Greek Heroic Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007.

以下引用第164-165頁

1. By the end of the Dark Age, almost everywhere in Greece the institution of kingship, either by marriage or otherwise, was replaced by the political system of the city state.
2. The erosion in the status of the priestess-queen, which directly issued from the abolition of the Bronze Age system of kingship, is reflected in an analogous change in the status of the female deities with whom the priestess had initially been associated.
3. Take for example the case of Hera. As has been observed more than once, an irresolvable contradiction exists between Hera the wife and sister of Zeus as represented in Homer and Hesiod and Hera of the Greek cult, who is not only not envisaged as Zeus' wife but also displays all the characteristic features of the ancient figure of the Great Goddess.
4. According to Joan O'Brien, the transformation of Hera the fertility protection goddess into the wide and sister of Zeus was ultimately due to her emerging Pan-Hellenic role....

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (24, 25)

薇依讀到The Iliad深邃的思維:

Personne ne la possède véritablement.

看似有人擁有力，有人受害，但是，其實沒有人可以真正擁有力，終究都是力的受害者。權位高的王，像是Agamemnon，Achilles鬥來鬥去，到頭來都是傷痕累累。地位低的小兵，更是武力與暴力之下的受難者。

讀Iliad第二卷198-206行，原來荷馬非常了解士兵的苦難處境:

Iliad 2.198-202

希臘文本引用出處:

 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D2%3Acard%3D188

ὃν δ᾽ αὖ δήμου τ᾽ ἄνδρα ἴδοι βοόωντά τ᾽ ἐφεύροι,

τὸν σκήπτρῳ ἐλάσασκεν ὁμοκλήσασκέ τε μύθῳ:

δαιμόνι᾽ ἀτρέμας ἧσο καὶ ἄλλων μῦθον ἄκουε,

οἳ σέο φέρτεροί εἰσι, σὺ δ᾽ ἀπτόλεμος καὶ ἄναλκις

οὔτέ ποτ᾽ ἐν πολέμῳ ἐναρίθμιος οὔτ᾽ ἐνὶ βουλῇ:

οὐ μέν πως πάντες βασιλεύσομεν ἐνθάδ᾽ Ἀχαιοί:

οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη: εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω,

εἷς βασιλεύς, ᾧ δῶκε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω

σκῆπτρόν τ᾽ ἠδὲ θέμιστας, ἵνά σφισι βουλεύῃσι.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad2.htm

By contrast, when Odysseus

came across some common soldier yelling out,

he’d beat him with the staff, admonishing him:

“My friend, take your place in silence. Stay put. 

Listen to what others say, your betters,

you puny coward, useless in war or council.

Achaeans can’t all rule here as kings.

No good comes from having many leaders. 

Let there be one in charge, one ruler,

who gets from crooked-minded Cronos’ son

sceptre and laws, so he may rule his people.”

王，出生地位高，擁有力的權杖(staff, scepter)，高人一等，屬下的士兵都須無條件順從這些王。在握權的人眼中，士兵沒有勇士精神(ἀπτόλεμος καὶ ἄναλκις=not warlike and lacking in valor)，沒有說話資格，在會議中根本不存在。更悲慘的是，這群普通士兵(the rank and file)不得不接受地位高者的虐待或苦毒。

史詩中還舉出一個具體例子，點出普通士兵的人權問題:

Iliad 2.265-271

希臘文本引用出處:

 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D2%3Acard%3D188

ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη, σκήπτρῳ δὲ μετάφρενον ἠδὲ καὶ ὤμω

πλῆξεν: ὃ δ᾽ ἰδνώθη, θαλερὸν δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε δάκρυ:

σμῶδιξ δ᾽ αἱματόεσσα μεταφρένου ἐξυπανέστη

σκήπτρου ὕπο χρυσέου: ὃ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἕζετο τάρβησέν τε,

ἀλγήσας δ᾽ ἀχρεῖον ἰδὼν ἀπομόρξατο δάκρυ.

οἳ δὲ καὶ ἀχνύμενοί περ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ ἡδὺ γέλασσαν:

ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκεν ἰδὼν ἐς πλησίον ἄλλον:

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad2.htm

Saying this, Odysseus lashed out with the sceptre,
hitting Thersites hard across his back and shoulders.
He doubled up in pain, shedding many tears.
In the middle of Thersites’ back sprang up
bloody welts beneath the golden sceptre.                                                    
He sat down, afraid and hurt, peering around,
like an idiot, and rubbing away his tears.
The soldiers, though discontent, laughed uproariously,                              
saying to one another:    

一個 小士兵Thersites在會議中居然發言，說出內心不滿，甚至想提早歸國，Odysseus立即用他的權杖轟打與大聲指責，Thersites痛到躲到一旁，大滴眼淚掉下，他的背還有一道血紅的傷口，正是那黃金權杖留下的具體傷口，痛，無助。詭異的是其他士兵，雖然心理作難，卻大聲狂笑，真的沒察覺任何士兵都可能是下一個受難者? 

Thersites質疑這些統帥之間的爭吵，懷疑Agamemnon的領導力，招受卻是當眾的羞辱與流血。而Thersites當眾招受Odysseus的羞辱，提醒大家特洛伊戰爭中的最重要問題: Achilles也因朝受Agamemnon當眾羞辱，所以憤怒難消。

自以為高人一等，不尊重他人，輕蔑他人，就是暴力。

    

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force 目錄

段落閱讀

1  

2

3, 4, 5

6

7

8, 9

10, 11,12,13

14, 15,16,17,18

19, 20

21, 22

23
24, 25
26, 27
28, 29, 30, 31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38, 39
40, 41,42
43, 44, 45, 46

47, 48, 49, 50 
51, 52, 53
54, 55, 56, 57
58, 59. 60
61, 62
63-71
72-79
80-83
84-86

書目

Holoka, James P. , ed. trans. Simone Weil’ s The Iliad or the Poem of Force: A Critical Edition. New York: Peter Lang, 2003.

Weil, Simone. Gravity and Grace. Trans. Emma Craufurd. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Weil, Simone. Intimations of Christianity among the Ancient Greeks. New York: Routledge, 1998.

Bell, Richard H. Simone Weil: The Way of Justice as Compassion. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1998.

Rhees, Rush. Discussions of Simone Weil. Edited by Phillips, D. Z. Assisted by Mario von der Ruhr. New York: State U of New York P, 2000.

Winch, Peter. Simone Weil: The Just Balance. New York: Cambridge UP, 1989.

Dunaway, John M. and Eric O. Springsted, eds. The Beauty That Saves: Essays on Aesthetics and Language in Simone Weil. Macon: Mercer UP, 1996.

讀西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (23)

該如何形容悲傷與不幸的極致? 薇依用她非常切身的經歷說明: 飢餓。被暴力操縱的受難者，承受無法平息的羞辱與難過，就像飢餓的苦楚。

這裡，我們回頭讀一段The Iliad:

Iliad 24. 527-533

希臘文本引用出處:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D507

δοιοὶ γάρ τε πίθοι κατακείαται ἐν Διὸς οὔδει

δώρων οἷα δίδωσι κακῶν, ἕτερος δὲ ἑάων:

ᾧ μέν κ᾽ ἀμμίξας δώῃ Ζεὺς τερπικέραυνος,

ἄλλοτε μέν τε κακῷ ὅ γε κύρεται, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἐσθλῷ:

ᾧ δέ κε τῶν λυγρῶν δώῃ, λωβητὸν ἔθηκε,

καί ἑ κακὴ βούβρωστις ἐπὶ χθόνα δῖαν ἐλαύνει,

φοιτᾷ δ᾽ οὔτε θεοῖσι τετιμένος οὔτε βροτοῖσιν.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad24.htm

On Zeus’ floor stand two jars which hold his gifts—                     

one has disastrous things, the other blessings.

When thunder-loving Zeus hands out a mixture,

that man will, at some point, meet with evil,  

then, some other time, with good. When Zeus’ gift

comes only from the jar containing evil,

he makes the man despised. A wicked frenzy

drives him all over sacred earth—he wanders
without honour from the gods or mortal men.

提到宙斯的禮物，當然最有名的典故就是潘朵拉的盒子，這個故事可參考Hesiod, Works and Days, II. 69-104。或參考維基百科的介紹。雖然中文翻譯成盒子，其實古希臘文用πίθοι，是指甕 (urns)。
       Achilles此刻是悲觀的。Achilles提到兩種禮物，第一種是福禍參半(mixture of blessings and evils)，另一種全然是禍(evils)。而第二種，就像被惡鬼追殺，流離失所，顛沛逃難。史詩中的英雄大多接到第二種禮物，詩人洞悉自古豪傑多磨難。而薇依為此下一註腳:

L'homme qui se trouve partout le plus faible est au cœur des cités aussi seul, plus seul que ne peut l'être l'homme perdu au milieu d'un désert.

孤零游離在城市之心，憂傷寂寞迷失在沙漠曠野。宙斯的大禮? 力越大，責任越大，盡是孤單受苦。



以下圖片資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora

This is an engraving of Pandora trying to close the box that she had opened out of curiosity. At left, the evils of the world taunt her as they escape. The engraving is based on a painting by F. S. Church.

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

讀西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (21-22)

十分瀑布 (2013春)

薇依談到，奴隸再也不會失去任何東西，因為內心已被掏空。歷史的暴力與殘忍，心傷，悲痛欲絕，極致，內心全然被掏空。

efface toute vie intérieure

閱讀The Iliad第二十四卷，Achilles對Priam說的一段話，主題是: 悲傷與厭食症。神話故事中的Niobe， 因為對Apollo與Artemis不敬，失去12個小孩。痛失孩子的母親，憂傷不已，終日不食，最後變成石頭，傳說中母親的淚水還是滾滾流下。就是著名的流淚的岩石(Weeping Rock)的典故。Pausanias (1.21.3)也提到這個地理典故。


以下圖片資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niobe
The Weeping Rock in Mount Sipylus, Manisa,Turkey, has been associated with Niobe's legend since Antiquity

Niobe 的故事大綱

以下內容出處:

 http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/niobe.html 
Niobe is one of the more tragic figures in Greek myth. She was the daughter of Tantalus and either Euryanassa, Eurythemista, Clytia, or Dione (no one seems to know for sure) and had two brothers, Broteas and Pelops. Niobe was the queen of Thebes (the principle city in Boetia), married to Amphion, King of Thebes. 

Niobe and Amphion had fourteen children (the Niobids), and in a moment of arrogance, Niobe bragged about her seven sons and seven daughters at a ceremony in honor ofLeto, the daughter of the titans Coeus and Phoebe. She mocked Leto, who only had two children, Apollo, god of prophecy and music, and Artemis, virgin goddess of the wild. Leto did not take the insult lightly, and in retaliation, sent Apollo and Artemis to earth to slaughter all of Niobe's children. Apollo killed the seven sons while they practiced their athletics. The last son begged to be spared, but the arrow had already left Apollo's bow, and the boy was struck dead. Artemis killed the seven daughters with her lethal arrows. (Some versions have a few of the children being spared.)
At the sight of his dead sons, Amphion either committed suicide or was also killed by Apollo for wanting to avenge his children's deaths. In any event, Niobe's entire family was dead in a matter of minutes. In shock, she cradled the youngest daughter in her arms, then fled to Mt. Siplyon in Asia Minor. There she turned to stone and from the rock formed a stream (the Achelous) from her ceaseless tears. She became the symbol of eternal mourning. Niobe's children were left unburied for nine days because Zeus had turned all of the people of Thebes into stone. Only on the tenth day did the gods have pity and entomb her children.

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以下圖片資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niobe
A 1772 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Niobe attempting to shield her children from Artemis and Apollo.

不過荷馬史詩的描述，雖以神話故事為本(mythological paradigm)，卻有創新多處細節，以配合史詩情節:

Iliad 24. 596-613

希臘文本引用出處:

 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D596

ἦ ῥα, καὶ ἐς κλισίην πάλιν ἤϊε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,

ἕζετο δ᾽ ἐν κλισμῷ πολυδαιδάλῳ ἔνθεν ἀνέστη

τοίχου τοῦ ἑτέρου, ποτὶ δὲ Πρίαμον φάτο μῦθον:

υἱὸς μὲν δή τοι λέλυται γέρον ὡς ἐκέλευες,

κεῖται δ᾽ ἐν λεχέεσσ᾽: ἅμα δ᾽ ἠοῖ φαινομένηφιν

ὄψεαι αὐτὸς ἄγων: νῦν δὲ μνησώμεθα δόρπου.

καὶ γάρ τ᾽ ἠΰκομος Νιόβη ἐμνήσατο σίτου,

τῇ περ δώδεκα παῖδες ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ὄλοντο

ἓξ μὲν θυγατέρες, ἓξ δ᾽ υἱέες ἡβώοντες.

τοὺς μὲν Ἀπόλλων πέφνεν ἀπ᾽ ἀργυρέοιο βιοῖο

χωόμενος Νιόβῃ, τὰς δ᾽ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα,

οὕνεκ᾽ ἄρα Λητοῖ ἰσάσκετο καλλιπαρῄῳ:

φῆ δοιὼ τεκέειν, ἣ δ᾽ αὐτὴ γείνατο πολλούς:

τὼ δ᾽ ἄρα καὶ δοιώ περ ἐόντ᾽ ἀπὸ πάντας ὄλεσσαν.

οἳ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἐννῆμαρ κέατ᾽ ἐν φόνῳ, οὐδέ τις ἦεν

κατθάψαι, λαοὺς δὲ λίθους ποίησε Κρονίων:

τοὺς δ᾽ ἄρα τῇ δεκάτῃ θάψαν θεοὶ Οὐρανίωνες.

ἣ δ᾽ ἄρα σίτου μνήσατ᾽, ἐπεὶ κάμε δάκρυ χέουσα.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad24.htm

Godlike Achilles spoke,

then went back once more into the hut and sat

on the richly decorated chair he’d left   

by the opposite wall. Then he spoke to Priam:

“Old man, your son has been given back,

as you requested. He’s lying on a bier. 

You’ll see him for yourself at day break,

when you take him. We should think of eating.

Even fair-haired Niobe remembered food,

with twelve of her own children murdered in her home,

her six young daughters and her six strong sons.

Apollo was so enraged at Niobe,

with his silver bow he killed the sons. The daughters                 

Artemis the Archer slaughtered, for Niobe

had compared herself to lovely Leto,

saying the goddess only had two children,

while she had given birth to many. Even so,

though only two, those gods killed all her children.

For nine days they lay in their own blood— 

there was no one there to give them burial.

Cronos’ son had turned the people all to stone.

      The tenth day, the gods in heaven buried them.

吃是大事，也有很多象徵意義。當Achilles邀請Priam一起用餐，就表示和他和解(reconciliation)。別忘了Achilles到此刻都還不能原諒Agamemnon，拒絕和希臘將領一起吃飯，總是獨自一人在他的軍營吃喝。
     荷馬改寫神話故事，第一，Niobe並非不吃不喝，而是儘管如此傷悲，為了愛小孩，還是吃飯。因為Achilles是要勸Priam 吃飯。
     倒是第十天才埋葬小孩的屍體，Niobe的故事和荷馬的引用是平行的，雖然神話故事中，Zeus在第十天把小孩變成石頭，而Hector的埋葬是第十天舉行。
     有些學者認為Iliad 24.614-617能是後來添加的(post-Homeric addition)，這幾行多加了後人看到流淚的岩石 ，聯想Niobe傷痛至極的景像。



西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄