主題: 悲傷與憤怒
Iliad 18: 1-147
《伊利亞特》第十八卷轉折描述Achilles得知Patroclus死訊後，內心悲憤與激動。聽到Patroclus的噩耗，Achilles立即用黑土塗臉、黑色塵埃抹衣袍 (Iliad 18.22-26)，全營的人皆痛哭，Thetis的仙女群、Nereus的女兒們都一起悲泣。
還好他的母親仙女Thetis出面安慰，並提醒他，殺了Hector，Achilles自己的死期也近了。Achilles還是憤恨填胸，非得報此仇，Thetis要他等一下，他將去請Hephaestus幫Achilles打造一面新的盾牌。
Achilles是大英雄，但似乎情緒管理比較不理想。《伊利亞特》第一卷一出場，就是Achilles生氣，一路下來，他的氣都未消，此刻又火上加火，只是，這次是因為Patroclus 之死。Achilles也知道生氣會讓人失去理智，只是Achilles說一句話，耐人尋味: 生氣滴在心頭，比蜂蜜更甘甜 (Iliad 18. 109)。怎麼會如此比喻? 也許這份憤怒點燃Achilles的鬥志，好戰的他，內心有點雀躍，終於可以大展身手?
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τὴν δὲ μέγ᾽ ὀχθήσας προσέφη
πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς:
‘αὐτίκα τεθναίην, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄρ᾽
ἔμελλον ἑταίρῳ
κτεινομένῳ ἐπαμῦναι: ὃ μὲν
μάλα τηλόθι πάτρης
ἔφθιτ᾽, ἐμεῖο δὲ δῆσεν ἀρῆς
ἀλκτῆρα γενέσθαι.
νῦν δ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὐ νέομαί γε
φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν,
οὐδέ τι Πατρόκλῳ γενόμην
φάος οὐδ᾽ ἑτάροισι
τοῖς ἄλλοις, οἳ δὴ πολέες
δάμεν Ἕκτορι δίῳ,
ἀλλ᾽ ἧμαι παρὰ νηυσὶν ἐτώσιον
ἄχθος ἀρούρης,
τοῖος ἐὼν οἷος οὔ τις Ἀχαιῶν
χαλκοχιτώνων
ἐν πολέμῳ: ἀγορῇ δέ τ᾽ ἀμείνονές
εἰσι καὶ ἄλλοι.
ὡς ἔρις ἔκ τε θεῶν ἔκ τ᾽ ἀνθρώπων
ἀπόλοιτο
καὶ χόλος, ὅς τ᾽ ἐφέηκε
πολύφρονά περ χαλεπῆναι,
ὅς τε πολὺ γλυκίων μέλιτος
καταλειβομένοιο
ἀνδρῶν ἐν στήθεσσιν ἀέξεται
ἠΰτε καπνός:
ὡς ἐμὲ νῦν ἐχόλωσεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν
Ἀγαμέμνων.
ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν προτετύχθαι ἐάσομεν
ἀχνύμενοί περ,
θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φίλον
δαμάσαντες ἀνάγκῃ:
νῦν δ᾽ εἶμ᾽ ὄφρα φίλης
κεφαλῆς ὀλετῆρα κιχείω
Ἕκτορα: κῆρα δ᾽ ἐγὼ τότε
δέξομαι ὁππότε κεν δὴ
Ζεὺς ἐθέλῃ τελέσαι ἠδ᾽ ἀθάνατοι
θεοὶ ἄλλοι. (Iliad 18. 97-116)
Swift-footed Achilles
answered her with passion:
“Then let me die, since I could not prevent
the death of my companion.
He’s fallen
far from his homeland. He
needed me there to protect him from destruction. So now, since I’m not
returning to my own dear land,
and for Patroclus was no
saving light
or for my many other
comrades,
all those killed by godlike
Hector while I sat
here by the ships, a
useless burden
on the earth—and I’m
unmatched in warfare
by any other Achaean armed
in bronze,
although in council other
men are better—
so let wars disappear from
gods and men
and passionate anger, too,
which incites
even the prudent man to
that sweet rage,
sweeter than trickling
honey in men’s throats,
which builds up like smoke
inside their chests,
as Agamemnon, king of men,
just now,
made me enraged. But we’ll
let that pass.
For all the pain I feel,
I’ll suppress the heart
within my chest, as I must.
So now I’ll go
to meet Hector, killer of
the man I loved.
As for my own fate, let it
come to me
when Zeus and the other
deathless gods determine.
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以下圖片與資料出處: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thetis
Thetis and attendants bring armor she had prepared
for him to Achilles, an Attic black-figure hydria, c. 575–550 BC, Louvre.
