. . . τὸν
δέ τ᾽ ἔασκεν
ἐν κόνι (塵埃) ἐκτανύσας προπρηνέα (臉朝下): τοῖο δ᾽ Ἀπόλλων
πᾶσαν ἀεικείην ἄπεχε χροῒ
(人的身體) φῶτ᾽ ἐλεαίρων (同情、憐憫)
καὶ τεθνηότα περ: Iliad 24. 17-20
… but would leave Hector outstretched on his face
in the dust. But Apollo kept all defacement from his flesh, pitying the warrior
even in death.
荷馬史詩《伊里亞德》最後一卷焦距在Hector之葬禮。一開場，看見Achilles雖已戰勝，Hector也死了，但是，Achilles仍然怒氣難消，用馬車拖著Hector的屍體。
重讀這幾行，敘述Hector的身體在灰塵中，眾神看了都不捨Hector的屍首被如此對待，特別是Apollo，即使Hector已死，仍無比同情他。
LOEB版本中用了臉(face)、和變形(defacement)二字，也是過去我讀荷馬史詩的印象，腦海浮現的是特洛伊第一英雄的臉龐在揚起的灰塵中仍不失其英武氣魄。不過原來希臘文並沒有強調臉龐，只用了προπρηνέα (προπρηνής)，是指臉朝下。此外，因為眾神憐憫，不單單是讓Hector的臉龐沒變形；眾神保護Hector的全身 (χροΐ/ χρώς)。
這次閱讀，我看到在眾微塵裡的另一重要元素：Apollo的慈悲—不朽之神對凡人的關照與憐憫 (ἐλεαίρων)。
Depicting detail from a black-figure hydria, this
image shows Achilles as he bends-over the body of a now-deceased Hector.
Fastening Hector’s remains to his chariot, Achilles plans to drag the body
around the Greek camp. By mutilating
Hector’s corpse, Achilles seeks revenge for the death of his close friend and
relative, Patroclus (Patroklos). The
Athenian artifact was made by the Leagros Group and illustrated by the Antiope
Painter, circa 510 B.C.
