Odyssey 8. 62-82 ἀοιδός

主題: 歌人

ἀοιδός, singer, minstrel, bard，中文翻譯成吟唱詩人或歌人，Alcinous邀請來的這位大有來頭，名叫Demodocus，常被認為是荷馬自己的化身。

   外頭Alcinous選好52位人員，備黑船展白帆備糧食等。裡面，宮殿擠滿人群Alcinous宰殺了12頭羊，8頭豬，2頭壯牛，開始盛宴。傳令官Pontonous帶著歌人Demodocus進來宴會廳中間。

  細讀62-82行，可以窺見荷馬對歌人或自己職業的定位：歌人，謬思女神所眷顧的，但是，有得必有失，有吟唱詩歌的才華，視力卻奪走。還有，歌人的位置在宴會廳的中央，坐的還是高檔的鑲銀的椅子，座位旁還有有一小桌，有酒有肉，隨時可以享用。古代椅子有象徵意義，這位置與座椅說明Alcinous非常重視歌人。從67-68行的描述，可知這弦琴(φόρμιγξ, lyre)體積龐大，需掛在木橛上，甚至需要傳令官Pontonous幫助歌人找到手放的位置。

   歌人唱的內容，基本上就是特洛伊戰爭，就是《伊里亞特》，所以一般人都認為Demodocus就是荷馬。Odysseus聽到自己的故事，有感而發，淚流滿面。

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0135%3Abook%3D8%3Acard%3D46

κῆρυξ δ᾽ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθεν ἄγων ἐρίηρον ἀοιδόν,

τὸν πέρι μοῦσ᾽ ἐφίλησε, δίδου δ᾽ ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε:

ὀφθαλμῶν μὲν ἄμερσε, δίδου δ᾽ ἡδεῖαν ἀοιδήν.

τῷ δ᾽ ἄρα Ποντόνοος θῆκε θρόνον ἀργυρόηλον

μέσσῳ δαιτυμόνων, πρὸς κίονα μακρὸν ἐρείσας:

κὰδ δ᾽ ἐκ πασσαλόφι κρέμασεν φόρμιγγα λίγειαν

αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς καὶ ἐπέφραδε χερσὶν ἑλέσθαι

κῆρυξ: πὰρ δ᾽ ἐτίθει κάνεον καλήν τε τράπεζαν,

πὰρ δὲ δέπας οἴνοιο, πιεῖν ὅτε θυμὸς ἀνώγοι.

οἱ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὀνείαθ᾽ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,

μοῦσ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀοιδὸν ἀνῆκεν ἀειδέμεναι κλέα ἀνδρῶν,

οἴμης τῆς τότ᾽ ἄρα κλέος οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἵκανε,

νεῖκος Ὀδυσσῆος καὶ Πηλεΐδεω Ἀχιλῆος,

ὥς ποτε δηρίσαντο θεῶν ἐν δαιτὶ θαλείῃ

ἐκπάγλοις ἐπέεσσιν, ἄναξ δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων

χαῖρε νόῳ, ὅ τ᾽ ἄριστοι Ἀχαιῶν δηριόωντο.

ὣς γάρ οἱ χρείων μυθήσατο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων

Πυθοῖ ἐν ἠγαθέῃ, ὅθ᾽ ὑπέρβη λάινον οὐδὸν

χρησόμενος: τότε γάρ ῥα κυλίνδετο πήματος ἀρχὴ

Τρωσί τε καὶ Δαναοῖσι Διὸς μεγάλου διὰ βουλάς.

(Odyssey 8. 62-82)

字彙

ὀφθαλμός eye

πάσσαλος peg

φόρμιγξ lyre

http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/odyssey8.htm

Meanwhile the herald was returning

with the loyal singer, a man the Muse so loved

above all others. She’d given him both bad and good,

for she’d destroyed his eyes but had bestowed on him

the gift of pleasing song. The herald, Pontonous,

then brought up a silver-studded chair for him.

He set its back against a lofty pillar in their midst,

hung the clear-toned lyre on a peg above his head,      

then showed him how to reach it with his hands.

The herald placed a lovely table at his side,

with food in a basket and a cup of wine to drink,

when his heart felt the urge. Then all those present 

reached for the splendid dinner set in front of them.

Once they’d enjoyed their heart’s fill of food and drink,

the minstrel was inspired by the Muse to sing

a song about the glorious deeds of warriors,

that tale, whose fame had climbed to spacious heaven,

about Odysseus and Achilles, son of Peleus, 

when, at a lavish feast in honour of the gods,

they’d fought each other in ferocious argument.1

Still, in his heart Agamemnon, king of men,

had been glad to see the finest of Achaeans

quarrelling, for that’s what he’d been told would happen,

when he’d crossed the stone threshold in sacred Pytho

to consult Phoebus Apollo in his oracle

and the god had answered him with this reply—

that from this point on, disasters would begin                                      

for Trojans and Danaans, as great Zeus willed.  

下面圖片與資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer#mediaviewer/File:William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_Homer_and_his_Guide_(1874).jpg

Homer and His Guide, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905), portraying Homer on Mount Ida, beset by dogs and guided by the goatherder Glaucus (as told in Pseudo-Herodotus)

下面圖片出處: http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/hdwyer/files/2012/08/odysseus_crying.gif