Iliad 16. 684-776

主題: 勇敢是甚麼?

Iliad 16. 684-776

我們似乎看著帕特羅克洛斯（Patroclus) 一步步登上高峰，憂慮著、等著他的殞落。第684-687行說道，倘若Patroclus記取Achilles 的諄諄教誨，就可以避免黑色的死亡。只是，此刻衝鋒陷陣，過關斬將的大英雄Patroclus，腦海想的是力更大的功，根本不會想到他有極限! 這就是天神宙斯的用意 (Iliad 16. 688-691)? 我想，這就是人類的盲點。

   Apollo進場，幫助特洛伊人，也慎重警告Patroclus，不論是他或Achilles都無法攻打下特洛伊城(Iliad 16. 707-709)，勸他知難而退，但，Patroclus怎麼願意在大贏的時候放手? 他還是勇往直前，拉開弓箭要攻擊Hector，沒有打中，反而打倒駕馭戰車的Cebriones，是Hector同父異母兄弟。Cebriones眼珠掉在地上，滾進灰塵，屍體掉下馬車。

   下面引用的751-776行，描述Patroclus和Hector搶Cebriones屍體的壯觀卻悽慘畫面，像是兩頭飢腸轆轆的大獅子，搶眼前這塊肥鹿肉。Hector抓住屍體的頭，Patroclus抓住腳，誰也不讓誰。希臘與特洛伊兩邊，聲勢壯大，且勢均力敵，史詩用東風與南風發生衝突形容(Iliad 16.765)，砍過的是滿山滿谷的橡樹、梣樹、和山茱萸等。最可憐的是橫屍戰場的Cebriones，已毫無知覺，甚至不知道自己生前最擅場的駕馭戰車技巧。

   Patroclus還不能體會一件事，他的勇敢正一步步毀了他 (Iliad 16: 753)；而早在第六卷，Andromache也對Hector說過，他的英勇，正是他的死亡。勇敢是甚麼?不怕死? 還是讓這些英雄陶醉在自我感覺良好的迷藥?

  

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D750  ὣς εἰπὼν ἐπὶ Κεβριόνῃ ἥρωϊ βεβήκει οἶμα λέοντος ἔχων, ὅς τε σταθμοὺς κεραΐζων ἔβλητο πρὸς στῆθος, ἑή τέ μιν ὤλεσεν ἀλκή: ὣς ἐπὶ Κεβριόνῃ Πατρόκλεες ἆλσο μεμαώς. Ἕκτωρ δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἑτέρωθεν ἀφ᾽ ἵππων ἆλτο χαμᾶζε. τὼ περὶ Κεβριόναο λέονθ᾽ ὣς δηρινθήτην, ὥ τ᾽ ὄρεος κορυφῇσι περὶ κταμένης ἐλάφοιο ἄμφω πεινάοντε μέγα φρονέοντε μάχεσθον: ὣς περὶ Κεβριόναο δύω μήστωρες ἀϋτῆς Πάτροκλός τε Μενοιτιάδης καὶ φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ ἵεντ᾽ ἀλλήλων ταμέειν χρόα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ. Ἕκτωρ μὲν κεφαλῆφιν ἐπεὶ λάβεν οὐχὶ μεθίει: Πάτροκλος δ᾽ ἑτέρωθεν ἔχεν ποδός: οἳ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι Τρῶες καὶ Δαναοὶ σύναγον κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην. ὡς δ᾽ Εὖρός τε Νότος τ᾽ ἐριδαίνετον ἀλλήλοιιν οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃς βαθέην πελεμιζέμεν ὕλην φηγόν τε μελίην τε τανύφλοιόν τε κράνειαν, αἵ τε πρὸς ἀλλήλας ἔβαλον τανυήκεας ὄζους ἠχῇ θεσπεσίῃ, πάταγος δέ τε ἀγνυμενάων, ὣς Τρῶες καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοισι θορόντες δῄουν, οὐδ᾽ ἕτεροι μνώοντ᾽ ὀλοοῖο φόβοιο. πολλὰ δὲ Κεβριόνην ἀμφ᾽ ὀξέα δοῦρα πεπήγει ἰοί τε πτερόεντες ἀπὸ νευρῆφι θορόντες, πολλὰ δὲ χερμάδια μεγάλ᾽ ἀσπίδας ἐστυφέλιξαν μαρναμένων ἀμφ᾽ αὐτόν: ὃ δ᾽ ἐν στροφάλιγγι κονίης κεῖτο μέγας μεγαλωστί, λελασμένος ἱπποσυνάων. (Iliad 16. 751-776) http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad16.htm This said, Patroclus rushed at warrior Cebriones, moving like a lion who, while savaging some farm, is hit in the chest, so his own courage kills him. That’s how you, Patroclus, rushed at Cebriones, in your killing frenzy. Opposing him, Hector leapt from his chariot down to the ground. The two men        then battled over Cebriones, like two lions struggling on a mountain peak over a slaughtered deer, both ravenous, both filled with fighting fury— that’s how those two masters of the war shout fought, Patroclus, Menoetius’ son, and glorious Hector,   over Cebriones, both keen to slash each other’s flesh with pitiless bronze. Hector grabbed the corpse’s head, refusing to let go. At the other end, Patroclus gripped the feet. A desperate struggle then ensued among the Trojans and Danaans fighting there. Just as East and South Winds challenge one another in mountain forests, shaking up deep stands of oak, ash, and tapering cornel trees, hurling slim branches one against the other, with tremendous noise as the branches snap—that’s how Trojans and Achaeans  collided with each other in that conflict. Neither side had any thought of ruinous flight. Around Cebriones many spears were driven home, many winged arrows flew from bowstrings, many boulders  crashed on shields, as men kept fighting round him. But the great man Cebriones, proud of his glory, just lay there in the swirling dust, his horsemanship now quite forgotten. 字彙 Φηγός: Valonia oak, Quercus Aegilops, Quercus macrolepis 橡樹 Μελία:  manna ash, Fraxinus Ornus 梣樹 Τανύφλοιος: with longstretched bark κράνεια : cornelian cherry, Cornus mas山茱萸

以下圖片與資料出處: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412360909603881562/

The Winds. Tags: winds, euros, east wind, notos, south wind, boreas, north wind, zephyros, zefyros, west wind

以下圖片與資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemoi 

Iliad 16.569-683

主題: 面目全非的屍體

Iliad 16. 569-683

 戰場上，兩軍廝殺，但也有一些唇槍舌戰的插曲，在戰火綿延裡，這些看似激烈的對話，倒顯得荒謬。穿插幾段一對一的對打，但，顯然進入僵局，此時史詩的敘述焦點轉到Sarpedon面目全非的屍體 (Iliad 16. 632ff)，躺在戰場的屍體已難以分辨，甚至最聰明的人都看不出來 (Iliad 16. 638-40)。出現兩組比喻，第一組是山中的伐木，大聲作響，穿過整片森林，樹倒，正象徵眾英雄一一倒地；第二組，春天農場，一群蒼蠅撲向豐收的奶 (不一定是牛奶，可以是任何動物的奶)，說明Sarpedon腐敗的屍體，和流出的鮮血，引來眾多蟲。這組比喻，對照田園景觀和血流滿地的戰場，鮮明、也反諷。戰亂中Sarpedon的屍體被弄得面目全非，但是，後來Patroclus的屍首會被分解，而Hector的屍體還被凌虐，說明戰爭拖越久，手段越殘忍，卻失去人性。宙斯派阿波羅移走Sarpedon的遺體，擦去污血，抹上油膏，穿上不朽的衣袍，睡神與死神送回故土，立墓碑，享有一位英雄之死應有的尊榮 (Iliad 15.656-675)。

終究，荷馬史詩打破僵局，達到一暫時的緩和: 希臘大軍奪走Sarpedon的盔甲，但眷顧愛子的宙斯，救走Sarpedon的屍體。 宙斯開始思考，他絕對不會饒過殺他愛子的Patroclus，他想的是「何時」對付這兇手。表面上，宙斯助Patroclus旗開得勝，但卻一步步帶他走向死亡；遠離戰場，在船上等待的Achilles不知道戰爭前線發生的事，如果他知道，會勸Patroclus不要一職向前衝? Patroclus會聽他的勸告嗎?

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D619 ὣς εἰπὼν ὃ μὲν ἦρχ᾽, ὃ δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἕσπετο ἰσόθεος φώς. τῶν δ᾽ ὥς τε δρυτόμων ἀνδρῶν ὀρυμαγδὸς ὀρώρει οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃς, ἕκαθεν δέ τε γίγνετ᾽ ἀκουή, ὣς τῶν ὄρνυτο δοῦπος ἀπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης χαλκοῦ τε ῥινοῦ τε βοῶν τ᾽ εὐποιητάων, νυσσομένων ξίφεσίν τε καὶ ἔγχεσιν ἀμφιγύοισιν. οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἔτι φράδμων περ ἀνὴρ Σαρπηδόνα δῖον ἔγνω, ἐπεὶ βελέεσσι καὶ αἵματι καὶ κονίῃσιν ἐκ κεφαλῆς εἴλυτο διαμπερὲς ἐς πόδας ἄκρους. οἳ δ᾽ αἰεὶ περὶ νεκρὸν ὁμίλεον, ὡς ὅτε μυῖαι σταθμῷ ἔνι βρομέωσι περιγλαγέας κατὰ πέλλας ὥρῃ ἐν εἰαρινῇ, ὅτε τε γλάγος ἄγγεα δεύει: ὣς ἄρα τοὶ περὶ νεκρὸν ὁμίλεον, οὐδέ ποτε Ζεὺς τρέψεν ἀπὸ κρατερῆς ὑσμίνης ὄσσε φαεινώ, ἀλλὰ κατ᾽ αὐτοὺς αἰὲν ὅρα καὶ φράζετο θυμῷ, πολλὰ μάλ᾽ ἀμφὶ φόνῳ Πατρόκλου μερμηρίζων, ἢ ἤδη καὶ κεῖνον ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾽ ἀντιθέῳ Σαρπηδόνι φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ χαλκῷ δῃώσῃ, ἀπό τ᾽ ὤμων τεύχε᾽ ἕληται, ἦ ἔτι καὶ πλεόνεσσιν ὀφέλλειεν πόνον αἰπύν. (Iliad 16.632-651) http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad16.htm Saying this, Patroclus led off, and Meriones, that godlike man, went too. Then the turmoil started— just like the din woodcutters make in mountain forests,  a noise heard far away—that’s how it sounded then, the clamour rising from the widely travelled earth, a clash of bronze and leather, well-made ox-hide shields, as they fought there with two-edged spears and swords. Not even a man who knew Sarpedon very well could recognize him then, covered with blood and dirt and weapons, from the soles of his feet up to his head.   For men were swarming round the corpse like farmyard flies clustering by buckets full of milk in springtime, when milk overflows the pails—that how those warriors buzzed around Sarpedon then.                               Zeus’ bright eyes never once glanced from that brutal combat, gazing down and thinking in his heart of many different things about how lord Patroclus ought to meet his death, wondering whether glorious Hector should cut him down  with his bronze in that bitter fighting there over godlike Sarpedon and then strip the armour from his shoulders, or whether he should multiply grim misery for still more men. 字彙 Δρυτόμος: wood-cutter ἄκρος: at the farthest point μυῖα: fly περιγλαγής: full of milk

以下圖片與資料出處: http://genius.com/2696078

以下圖片與資料出處: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sleep_and_Death_Carrying_off_the_Slain_Sarpedon_(cista_handle),_400-380_BC,_Etruscan,_bronze_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art_-_DSC08260.JPG

Sleep and Death Carrying off the Slain Sarpedon (cista handle), 400-380 BC, Etruscan, bronze - Cleveland Museum of Art

Iliad 16. 419-476

主題:  神之子

Iliad 16. 419-476

   

我沒有特別喜歡希臘神話，但是，希臘神話蘊藏特殊的哲學思維、世界觀與生命觀，值得深思與反省。例如，一個人的生死已定，即使是天神宙斯也不能改變；還有，關於長生不死的問題，希臘神話故事點出問題與缺點，打破世人的迷思。細讀特洛伊戰爭，就會明瞭一件淺顯的道理: 殺人者，終究死在另一人手中，有人說一山還有一山高，但還有細膩的因果觀在當中。

下面的段落出場的是Sarpedon，是宙斯和Laodamia的兒子，在特洛伊中，僅次於Hector的大英雄。但，終究要死在Patroclus手中。宙斯不捨，早已開始憂傷兒子將死; 天后是出於好意，還是因為吃醋，總之，她出面阻擋宙斯救兒子，她的邏輯清晰，主要三點論點: 第一，不可能改變命運; 第二，其他眾神也會反對，因為每個神都有自己的兒子，在戰場上搏鬥，隨時會結束生命，如果宙斯救Sarpedon，眾神都模仿，會引起大亂；第三，真心愛小孩，就該放手，交給命運，能送他的是起睡神和死神送他回故土，給他最好的葬禮與尊榮。

神之子，在世或許比一般人璀璨英勇，但還是化做一堆塵土，連神也沒辦法改變。

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D351 τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη: αἰνότατε Κρονίδη ποῖον τὸν μῦθον ἔειπες. ‘ἄνδρα θνητὸν ἐόντα πάλαι πεπρωμένον αἴσῃ ἂψ ἐθέλεις θανάτοιο δυσηχέος ἐξαναλῦσαι; ἔρδ᾽: ἀτὰρ οὔ τοι πάντες ἐπαινέομεν θεοὶ ἄλλοι. ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δ᾽ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν: αἴ κε ζὼν πέμψῃς Σαρπηδόνα ὃν δὲ δόμον δέ, φράζεο μή τις ἔπειτα θεῶν ἐθέλῃσι καὶ ἄλλος πέμπειν ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἀπὸ κρατερῆς ὑσμίνης: πολλοὶ γὰρ περὶ ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμοιο μάχονται υἱέες ἀθανάτων, τοῖσιν κότον αἰνὸν ἐνήσεις. ἀλλ᾽ εἴ τοι φίλος ἐστί, τεὸν δ᾽ ὀλοφύρεται ἦτορ, ἤτοι μέν μιν ἔασον ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ χέρσ᾽ ὕπο Πατρόκλοιο Μενοιτιάδαο δαμῆναι: αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν δὴ τόν γε λίπῃ ψυχή τε καὶ αἰών, πέμπειν μιν θάνατόν τε φέρειν καὶ νήδυμον ὕπνον εἰς ὅ κε δὴ Λυκίης εὐρείης δῆμον ἵκωνται, ἔνθά ἑ ταρχύσουσι κασίγνητοί τε ἔται τε τύμβῳ τε στήλῃ τε: τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ θανόντων. (Iliad 16.439-457) http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad16.htm Ox-eyed queen Hera then replied to Zeus:                                “Dread son of Cronos, how can you say this? The man is mortal, doomed long ago by Fate. Now you desire to rescue him from miserable death. Do as you wish. But we other gods    will not all agree with you. And I’ll tell you something else—make sure you remember it. If you send Sarpedon home alive, take care some other god does not desire to send his dear son from the killing zone. Around Priam’s great city, many men, sons of the immortals, are now fighting. You’ll enrage those gods and make them bitter. But if Sarpedon’s dear to you, if your heart   feels pity for him, then let him be killed   in a fierce combat at Patroclus’ hands, son of Menoetius. Once his living spirit has abandoned him, send Death and sweet Sleep to carry him away, back to the spacious land of Lycia, where his brother and his kinsmen will bury him with a mound and headstone. That’s what appropriate for those who die.”

以下圖片與資料出處:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarpedon

The death of Sarpedon, depicted in Lycian attire, at the hands of Patroclus. Red-figure hydria from Heraclea, c.400 BCE.

Iliad 16.198-277

主題: Achilles的禱告

Iliad 16.198-277

  

《伊利亞特》第十六卷168-197行寫到Achilles還幫Patroclus先部署好他率領的五十艘船艦的部隊，分成五大隊；出發前還用一段演講，激勵人心，當中提到，大家都說Achilles的母親為他的是膽汁(Iliad 16. 203-206)，不是牛奶，所以他脾氣暴躁，沒有同情心。這段話，顯然是因為之前Patroclus提到Achilles的蠻狠(Iliad 16. 33ff)，大英雄真的很在意這些話。此外，傳說中Achilles小時候也是送到人馬獸Cheiron那兒學習，有一說法，那兒的主要飲食是野獸的血與肉。不管怎樣，Achilles用這番話激勵人心，大家士氣大增，準備號迎敵。

Achilles的部隊人數並不多，但是有一特色是，合作團結，在Achilles的訓練下，他們排出緊密的隊形，向高牆堆砌的石磚，密不通風，固若磐石。這一群團結的部隊，向一群團結的狼 (Iliad 16.156 ff)，也像攻擊力強的馬蜂(Iliad 16.259-265)。

這些準備還不夠，Achilles還是不放心，所以，打開從家鄉運來的寶箱，拿出最好的金盃裝酒，獻給宙斯並為Patroclus和他帶出去的部隊禱告 (Iliad 16. 220-230)，祈求他們旗開得勝，並平安歸來。這個願望只會實現一半。
這隻寶箱，有點像今天出國必帶的登機箱或行李箱，是母親Thetis為Achilles準備，裏頭裝有衣物和必要的器皿等。Achilles拿出上等的杯子，還先用硫磺洗淨，再裝酒(Iliad 16. 228-30)。古希臘硫磺洗滌，有清潔與宗教的意義，θέειον (sulphur)的字根就是神 (θεο-)，味道又和宙斯的閃電類似。另一個有名的例子是Odysseus 在殺了眾多霸佔他們家多年的惡霸，也用硫磺潔淨他的家(Odyssey 22. 481 ff)，一方面洗除血跡，一方面也有神聖的洗滌之意義。

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D200              αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς βῆ ῥ᾽ ἴμεν ἐς κλισίην, χηλοῦ δ᾽ ἀπὸ πῶμ᾽ ἀνέῳγε καλῆς δαιδαλέης, τήν οἱ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα θῆκ᾽ ἐπὶ νηὸς ἄγεσθαι ἐῢ πλήσασα χιτώνων χλαινάων τ᾽ ἀνεμοσκεπέων οὔλων τε ταπήτων. ἔνθα δέ οἱ δέπας ἔσκε τετυγμένον, οὐδέ τις ἄλλος οὔτ᾽ ἀνδρῶν πίνεσκεν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ αἴθοπα οἶνον, οὔτέ τεῳ σπένδεσκε θεῶν, ὅτε μὴ Διὶ πατρί. τό ῥα τότ᾽ ἐκ χηλοῖο λαβὼν ἐκάθηρε θεείῳ πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δ᾽ ἔνιψ᾽ ὕδατος καλῇσι ῥοῇσι, νίψατο δ᾽ αὐτὸς χεῖρας, ἀφύσσατο δ᾽ αἴθοπα οἶνον. (Iliad 16. 220-30) http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad16.htm Achilles went into his hut and opened up the lid on a beautifully decorated chest placed on board his ship by silver-footed Thetis for him to take. She’d packed it with cloaks and tunics, and woollen blankets, too—protection from the wind. There he kept an ornate goblet. Other than Achilles    no one used it to drink gleaming wine. With this cup Achilles poured libations to no god but Father Zeus. Taking this out of the chest, first he purified it with sulphur, then rinsed it out in streams of water. He washed his hands and drew some gleaming wine.   字彙 χηλός large chest, coffer   θέειον (sulphur)

Iliad 16.101-197

主題: 披掛上陣，但是....

Iliad 16.101-197

大家都知道因為阿奇里斯因為和阿加曼儂不合而拒絕作戰時，Patroclus披上他的盔甲，領導邁爾彌頓人（Myrmidons）殺了許多特洛伊人，包括了Sarpedon (宙斯與歐羅芭之子）與赫克特（Hector）的雙輪馬車駕駛Cebriones。最終，在太陽神阿波羅（Apollo）的幫助下，他被Hector所殺。

  但是，一般人都沒注意到，史詩紀載雖然Patroclus披上阿奇里斯的盔甲，卻沒使用阿奇里斯的的投槍(spear)，因為這投槍又大又重，除了阿奇里斯，沒人拿得動。

  這支槍大有來頭，還有專有名稱: 佩利昂梣木槍 (the Pelian spear of ash)，是Cheiron 佩利昂高峰取得，贈給阿奇里斯父親，也是寶貴又神奇的傳家寶。

   少一把投槍，其實真正少的是能力與實力，Patroclus終究不是阿奇里斯，終究輸給Hector。阿奇里斯還是把他的副手推向死亡，一套戰袍，根本無法保護脆弱的生命。

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D16%3Acard%3D112 ἔγχος δ᾽ οὐχ ἕλετ᾽ οἶον ἀμύμονος Αἰακίδαο βριθὺ μέγα στιβαρόν: τὸ μὲν οὐ δύνατ᾽ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν πάλλειν, ἀλλά μιν οἶος ἐπίστατο πῆλαι Ἀχιλλεὺς Πηλιάδα μελίην, τὴν πατρὶ φίλῳ πόρε Χείρων Πηλίου ἐκ κορυφῆς, φόνον ἔμμεναι ἡρώεσσιν. ἵππους δ᾽ Αὐτομέδοντα θοῶς ζευγνῦμεν ἄνωγε, τὸν μετ᾽ Ἀχιλλῆα ῥηξήνορα τῖε μάλιστα, πιστότατος δέ οἱ ἔσκε μάχῃ ἔνι μεῖναι ὁμοκλήν. τῷ δὲ καὶ Αὐτομέδων ὕπαγε ζυγὸν ὠκέας ἵππους Ξάνθον καὶ Βαλίον, τὼ ἅμα πνοιῇσι πετέσθην, τοὺς ἔτεκε Ζεφύρῳ ἀνέμῳ Ἅρπυια Ποδάργη βοσκομένη λειμῶνι παρὰ ῥόον Ὠκεανοῖο. ἐν δὲ παρηορίῃσιν ἀμύμονα Πήδασον ἵει, τόν ῥά ποτ᾽ Ἠετίωνος ἑλὼν πόλιν ἤγαγ᾽ Ἀχιλλεύς, ὃς καὶ θνητὸς ἐὼν ἕπεθ᾽ ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι. (Iliad 16. 140-54) http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad16.htm He’d didn’t choose Achilles’ spear,    for no Achaean man could wield that weapon, so heavy, huge, and strong, except for brave Achilles.    It was made of ash wood from the peak of Pelion. Cheiron gave it to Achilles’ father to kill warriors. Patroclus told Automedon to yoke the horses quickly, the man he most esteemed after Achilles, breaker of men, and the one he trusted most to carry out his orders in a battle. For Patroclus Automedon put swift horses in the harnesses, Xanthus and Balius, who flew along as swiftly as the wind. These horses Podarge, the harpy, had conceived with West Wind, as she grazed  in a meadow beside the stream of Oceanus. 字彙 Μελία: manna ash, Fraxinus Ornus

以下圖片與資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patroclus

The body of Patroclus is lifted by Menelaus and Meriones while Odysseus and others look on (Etruscan relief, 2nd century BC)

以下圖片與資料出處: http://www.sunnyfotini.com/blogfiles/Pilion.htm

Pelion, land of the legendary Centaurs, the site chosen by the ancient gods for their weddings and celebrations, rises in lush magnificence to the northeast of Volos . It was here that the centaur Chiron, the wise teacher of demigods and heroes, gave his pupils daily instruction in the proper care of body and soul. Here, as well, the first beauty contest took place between Thetis and Eris. Many-leaved Pelion was an inspiration to Homer, Pindar, and Euripides but also to the modern popular muse who sung of the unquenchable desire of the Greek people for freedom.