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 ἠδὲ:
οἱ δὲ 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.
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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...
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圖: Eos pursues the reluctant Tithonos, who holds
a lyre, on an Attic oinochoe of the Achilles Painter, ca. 470 BC–460 BCE (Louvre).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithonus
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