2014年8月12日 星期二

Odyssey 5. 1-6 忙碌的眾神

主題: 忙碌的眾神
第五卷一開場也是黎明女神出場,第二卷已簡單的介紹黎明女神,這兒比較不同的是,提到黎明女神從他的座位起身。黎明女神的座位是λέχος (couch, bed),在Tithonus身旁。希臘神話中,Tithonus是特洛伊老國王Priam的兄弟,Eos非常愛他,央求宙斯給他長生不死,宙斯答應了;但是Eos沒有要求給Tithonus保持年輕,所以他就一直老一直老,但不會死。所以Tithonus是希臘神話永恆的耆老 (我覺得用「奇老」也不錯)。喜歡寫老人詩的Tennyson也有位Tithonus寫詩喔。

開場六行還真有趣,黎明女神帶來光,給不死的神 (ἀθανάτοισι),也給會死的眾生(βροτοῖσιν),陽光照好人也照歹人,但是希臘的觀點更前衛,光,照著不變與變的世界。而且,希臘眾神比人類還忙,我們常常懶洋洋不想起床,瞧,雅典娜可是一早就來找宙斯喬事情,眾神準備開會。宙斯坐的椅子是θᾶκος,是會開時主席坐的椅子。別忘了高高在上宙斯的招牌:ὑψιβρεμέτης high-thundering,中文翻譯成「天空鳴雷」。

雅典娜號稱是智慧女神,可是我總覺得她常常沒事找事做,閒不下來,幾分過動,一早就來煩宙斯,一筆筆算著Odysseus海上的遭遇與困難,女神心中也有煩惱,這裡說she was troubled, she was concerned (μέλω)。煩甚麼? Odysseus還困在仙女(νύμφης)的住處,說的是Odysseus還被Calypso藏住:


Ἠὼς δ᾽ ἐκ λεχέων παρ᾽ ἀγαυοῦ Τιθωνοῖο
ὤρνυθ᾽, ἵν᾽ ἀθανάτοισι φόως φέροι ἠδ:
οἱ δ θεοὶ θῶκόνδε καθίζανον, ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα τοῖσι
Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης, οὗ τε κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον.
τοῖσι δ᾽ Ἀθηναίη λέγε κήδεα πόλλ᾽ Ὀδυσῆος
μνησαμένη: μέλε γάρ οἱ ἐὼν ἐν δώμασι νύμφης:
(Odyssey 5.1-6)

As Dawn stirred from her bed beside lord Tithonus,
bringing light to eternal gods and mortal men,
the gods were sitting in assembly, among them
high-thundering Zeus, whose power is supreme.
Athena was reminding them of all the stories                                       
of Odysseus’s troubles—she was concerned for him                                       
as he passed his days in nymph Calypso’s home.


Τιθωνός , ὁ, Tithonus, brother of Priam, husband of Eos, and father of Memnon, Il.11.1, 20.237, Hes.Th.984. etc.: metaph. of a decrepit old man, because, as the tale went, Eos begged Zeus to grant immortality to Tithonus, but forgot to ask
for eternal youth, Ar.Ach.688, Call.Iamb.1.249: prov. of great old age...
: Eos pursues the reluctant Tithonos, who holds a lyre, on an Attic oinochoe of the Achilles Painter, ca. 470 BC460 BCE (Louvre). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithonus


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