10　神话传说中的神灵

曾经有一个叫赫楞的男子；男人叫这个名字，听起来怪得很，对不对？他有一大群子孙后代，这些人都自称是赫楞人。他们生活在伸进地中海中的一小片土地上，并且将这个地方称作赫拉斯。我曾经把书桌上的一瓶墨水打翻了，墨水淌出来后，弯弯曲曲地形成的一片，看上去正是赫拉斯在地图上的样子。虽然赫拉斯的面积并不比美国的任何一个州大，但它的名气却比世界上其他任何一个面积与之相同的国家都要大。我们将赫拉斯叫作“希腊”，而将生活在那里的人称作“希腊人”。

几乎就在犹太人正离开埃及，差不多正是人类开始使用铁器而不再用青铜器的那个时候，也就是说公元前1300年左右，我们第一次开始得知了赫拉斯和赫楞人的存在，得知了希腊和希腊人的存在。

古希腊人信仰诸多神灵，而不是像我们和犹太人一样只信仰一个上帝。而且，在神话传说中，他们崇拜的神灵更像是凡人，而非神祇。他们为不同的神灵雕刻出了许多美丽的塑像，并且写出了许多关于这些神灵的诗歌和故事。

古希腊人信仰的主神有十二位，刚好是一打。其中有六位是女性神灵，即人

as goddesses. They were supposed to live on Mount Olympus,which was the highest mountain in Greece.These gods were not always good,but often quarreled and cheated and did even worse things.The gods lived on a kind of food that was much more delicious than what we eat.It was called nectar and ambrosia,and the Greeks thought it made those who ate it immortal；that is,so that they would never die.

Let me introduce you to the family of the gods. I know you will be pleased to meet them.Most of them are known by two names；the first name is Greek,the second is Roman.

Zeus or Jupiter is the father of the gods and the king who rules over all human beings.He sits on a throne and holds a zigzag flash of lightning called a thunderbolt in his hand.An eagle,the king of birds,is usually by his side.

Hera or Juno is his wife and the queen of the gods.She carries a scepter,and her pet bird,the peacock,is often with her.

Poseidon or Neptune is one of the brothers of Zeus.He rules over the sea.He rides in a chariot drawn by sea-horses and carries in his hand a trident,which looks like a pitchfork with three points.He can make a storm at sea or quiet the waves simply by striking them with his trident.

Hephaestus or Vulcan is the god of fire.He is a lame blacksmith and works at a forge.His forge is said to be in the cave of a mountain,and as smoke and fire come forth from some mountains they are called volcanoes after the god Vulcan inside.

们所称的女神。他们认为，这些神灵都住在希腊境内海拔最高的奥林匹斯山上。这些主神并不是始终善良的，他们之间经常会发生争执、相互欺骗，甚至干出更坏的事情来。神灵们所吃的东西，比我们所吃的东西要美味得多。他们的食物叫作“甘露”和“仙果”，而古希腊人认为，吃了这些东西便会长生不老；也就是说，神灵们都是永远不会死的。

我来给你们简单地介绍一下古希腊人崇拜的这些神灵吧。我知道，你们肯定都会很乐意认识认识这些神仙的。他们中的大多数都有两个名字，其中第一个是他们在古希腊神话中的名称，而第二个则是他们在古罗马神话里的名字。

宙斯（朱庇特）既是众神之父，也是世界之王，统治着所有人类。他坐在宝座上，手中擎着一道之字形的闪电，称作“霹雳”。一只属于百鸟之王的鹰隼，常常陪伴在他的身边。

赫拉（朱诺）既是宙斯的妻子，也是神界的王后。她手执权杖，而她的爱鸟孔雀也经常不离她的左右。

波塞冬（尼普顿）是宙斯的一位哥哥。他统治着海洋。他驾驶着一辆由海马拉着的两轮战车，手持三叉戟；三叉戟的样子就像是一把有着三个尖齿的铁叉。他既能在海上掀起暴风雨，而且只要用三叉戟一击，就能平息海上的巨浪。

赫菲斯托斯（伏尔甘）是火神。他是一个瘸了腿的铁匠，在铁匠铺里打铁。据说他的铁匠铺建造在一个山洞里；因此，看到一些大山冒出浓烟和火焰后，人们便根据火神伏尔甘（Vulcan）这个名字，将那些大山叫作火山（volcano）。

Apollo is the most beautiful of all the gods；his name is the same to both Greeks and Romans.Apollo is the god of the sun and of song and music.Every morning—so the Greeks said—he drives his sun-chariot across the sky from the east to the west,and this makes the sunlighted day.

Artemis or Diana is the twin sister of Apollo.She is the goddess of the moon and of hunting.

Ares or Mars is the terrible god of war,who is only happy when a war is going on—so that he is happy most of the time.

Hermes or Mercury is the messenger of the gods.He has wings on his cap and on his sandals,and he carries in his hand a wonderful winged stick or wand,which,if placed between two people who are quarreling,will immediately make them friends.One day Hermes saw two snakes fighting and he put his wand between them,whereupon they twined around it as if in a loving hug,and ever since the snakes have remained entwined around it.This wand is called a caduceus.

Athena or Minerva is the goddess of wisdom.She was born in a very strange way.One day Zeus had a terrible headache—what we call a splitting headache.It got worse and worse,until at last he could stand it no longer,but he took a very strange way to cure it.He called Hephaestus,the lame blacksmith,and told him to hit him on the head with his hammer.Though Hephaestus must have thought this a funny request,of course he had to obey the father god.So he struck Zeus a terrible blow on the head,whereupon there

阿波罗是众神当中长得最英俊的一位；他的名字，在古希腊神话和古罗马神话中相同。阿波罗既是太阳神，又是音乐之神。据希腊人说，每天清晨，阿波罗都会驾驶着自己的那辆太阳战车，从东向西越过整个天空，从而开启阳光普照的白天。

阿耳忒弥斯（狄安娜）是阿波罗的孪生姐姐。她既是月亮女神，也是狩猎女神。

阿瑞斯（玛尔斯）是令人生畏的战神，他只有在爆发战争的时候才感到快乐；由于世界上经常爆发战争，因此他大多数时候都是快乐的。

赫耳墨斯（墨丘利）是众神的信使。他的帽子和鞋子上都长有翅膀，并且手里持着的也是一根长着翅膀的奇妙棍子，称为“魔杖”；要是有人吵架的话，他只要把魔杖往两人中间一放，两人马上就会化敌为友。有一天，赫耳墨斯看到两条蛇在打架，便把魔杖往它们中间一放，它们马上便在魔杖上缠到了一起，就像是在亲切地拥抱那样；从那以后，这两条蛇便一直缠在魔杖上了。这根魔杖，人称“节杖”。

雅典娜（密涅瓦）是智慧女神。她出生时的情形，实在是古怪得很。有一天，宙斯得到了一个神谕，赫拉生下的第三个孩子将会推翻并取缔他。宙斯害怕预言成真，遂将赫拉生下的第三个孩子吞入腹中。此后宙斯的头疼得厉害，就是我们所说的那种“头疼欲裂”。他的头越来越疼，最后实在难以忍受了；可他却采用了一种奇怪的方式来治疗自己的头疼。宙斯把那个瘸腿的铁匠赫菲斯托斯叫过来，命令后者用铁锤击打他的脑袋。尽管赫菲斯托斯一定觉得这是一个很奇怪的要求，但他当然必须服从众神之父的命令。于是，他在宙斯的脑袋上狠狠地敲了一记，然后雅典娜便全身披挂着盔甲，从宙斯的脑袋里跳了出来；而由她所引发的头疼，也就此消

sprang forth Athena in all her armor,and the headache,of which she had been the cause,had gone. So she was born from his brain；that is why Athena is the goddess of wisdom.She founded a great city in Greece and named it Athens,after herself.She is supposed to look out for this city as a mother does for her child.

Aphrodite or Venus is the goddess of love and beauty.She is the most beautiful of the goddesses,as Apollo is the most beautiful of the gods.She is said to have been born from the sea foam.Eros or Cupid,her son,is a chubby boy with a quiver of arrows on his back.He goes about shooting his invisible arrows into the hearts of human beings,but instead of dying when they are hit,they at once fall in love with someone.That is why we put hearts with arrows through them on valentines.

Hestia or Vesta is the goddess of the home and fireside,who looks out for the family.

Demeter or Ceres is the goddess of the farmer.

These are the twelve gods and goddesses of the Olympian family.

Hades or Pluto is a brother of Zeus.He rules the world underground and lives down there.

There are many other less important gods and goddesses as well as some gods that are half human,such as the three Fates,the three Graces,and the nine Muses.

Some of the planets in the sky that look like stars are still called by the names of these gods.Jupiter is the name of the largest planet.Mars is the name of one that is reddish—the color of blood.Venus is the name of one that is very beautiful.There is also a Mercury，

失了。所以，雅典娜是从宙斯的脑袋里生出来的；雅典娜之所以是智慧女神，原因就在于此。她在希腊建立了一座伟大的城市，并且根据自己的名字，将这座城市命名为“雅典”。人们认为，她在守护着这座城市，就像一位妈妈守护着自己的孩子那样。

阿弗洛狄忒（维纳斯）是掌管爱与美的女神。她是所有女神中最美丽的一位，就像阿波罗是所有男神中最英俊的一位那样。据说，她是从大海的泡沫中出生的。她的儿子厄洛斯（丘比特）是个胖乎乎的小男孩，背上背着一袋箭矢。他到处闲逛，将自己那种看不见的箭射到人类的心上；但被射中的人不会死去，而是会立马爱上某个人。我们在情人节的时候，常常用一支箭穿过两颗心的图形来表示相爱，原因就在于此。

赫斯提亚（维斯塔）是掌管家庭和炉灶、守护家人的女神。

得墨忒耳（克瑞斯）是农神。

他们就是奥林匹斯山上那个神族中的十二位男神和女神。

哈得斯（普路托）是宙斯的一位哥哥。他掌管着地下的冥界，并且住在地下。

古希腊神话里，还有其他许多不那么重要的男神和女神，以及一些属于半人半神的神灵，比如命运三女神、美惠三女神和九位掌管文艺的缪斯女神等。

如今，天空中一些看上去像是恒星的行星，仍然是用这些神灵的名字来命名的。朱庇特就是最大的行星，即木星。玛尔斯是一颗颜色像血一样红的行星，即火星。维纳斯是一颗非常美丽的行星的名字，即金星。太阳系中，还有三颗叫作墨丘

a Neptune,and a Pluto.

The Greeks'prayers to their gods were not like ours. Instead of kneeling and closing their eyes as we do,they stood up and stretched their arms straight out before them.They did not pray to be forgiven for their sins and to be made better.They prayed for victory over their enemies or to be protected from harm.

When they prayed,they often made the gods an offering of animals,fruit,honey,or wine in order to please them so that the gods or goddesses would grant their prayer. The wine they poured out on the ground,thinking the gods would like to have them do this.The animals they killed and then burned by building a fire under them on an altar.This was called a sacrifice.Their idea seemed to be that even though the gods could not eat the meat of the animals nor drink the wine themselves,they liked to have something given up for them.Even today we say a person makes a sacrifice when he gives up something for another person.

When the Greeks were sacrificing,they usually looked for some sign to tell whether the gods were pleased with the sacrifice and whether they would answer the prayer and do what was asked.A flock of birds flying overhead,a flash of lightning,or any unusual happening they thought was a sign which meant something.Such signs were called omens.Some omens were good and showed that the god would do what he was asked,and some omens were very much like some of the signs that people believe in even today when they say it is a good sign or good luck if you see the new moon over the right shoulder,or a bad

利、尼普顿和普路托的行星，它们分别对应于水星、海王星和冥王星。

古希腊人对神灵的祷告方法，与我们的不一样。他们不像我们那样双膝下跪、闭上眼睛，而是站在那里，双臂径直向前张开。他们既不祈祷神灵宽恕自己的罪过，也不祈祷神灵让自己变得更加幸福。他们祈祷的，都是让神灵保佑自己胜过敌人，或者免于受到敌人的伤害。

在祷告的时候，他们通常都会用牲畜、水果、蜂蜜或者葡萄酒做祭品，献给神灵，来讨好神灵，从而让众神答应他们的祈祷、实现他们的愿望。他们把葡萄酒泼在地上，认为这样做是遵从神灵的意愿。他们宰杀牲畜，然后在祭坛上燃起一堆火来烧烤。这一过程，便叫作“献祭”。他们似乎认为，就算是众神无法亲自前来吃肉喝酒，有人向他们献出某种东西，众神也是很高兴的。即便到了今天，倘若有人为他人放弃了某种东西，我们仍会说这个人是做出了牺牲。

古希腊人在献祭的时候，通常都会寻找某种迹象，看众神是否对祭品感到满意，看众神会不会满足他们的愿望，会不会按照他们所祈祷的那样去做。他们认为，一群飞过头顶的鸟儿、一道划过天际的闪电，或者任何不同寻常的事情，都是一种迹象，都具有某种意义。这样的迹象，叫作“征兆”。其中有些迹象是好兆头，表明众神会满足他们所祈祷的事情。还有一些迹象，则跟如今人们所相信的情况很相似：即便是到了今天，倘若你们看到一轮新月位于右肩上方，人们就会说这是个好兆头，或者说你们会交上好运；可若是将盐撒到了地上，人们就会说那是个不好的兆头，或者说会倒霉呢。

sign or bad luck if you spill the salt.

Not so very far from Athens is a mountain called Mount Parnassus. On the side of Mount Parnassus was a town called Delphi.In the town of Delphi there was a crack in the ground,from which gas came forth,somewhat as it does from cracks in a volcano.This gas was supposed to be the breath of the god Apollo,and there was a woman priest called a priestess,who sat on a three-legged stool or tripod over the crack so as to breathe the gas.She would become delirious,as some people do when they are sick with fever and we say they are out of their heads,and when people asked her questions she would mutter strange things and a priest would tell what she meant.This place was called the Delphic Oracle,and people would go long distances to ask the oracle questions,for they thought Apollo was answering them.

The Greeks went to the oracle whenever they wanted to know what to do or what was going to happen,and they firmly believed in what the oracle told them. Usually,however,the answers of the oracle were like a riddle,so that they could be understood in more than one way.For instance,a king who was about to go to war with another king asked the oracle who would win.The oracle replied，“A great kingdom will fall.”What do you suppose the oracle meant?Such an answer,which you can understand in two or three ways,is still called oracular.

离雅典不远的地方，有一座山峰，叫作帕纳塞斯山。在帕纳塞斯山的一侧，有一个叫作特尔斐的城市。特尔斐市的地面上有一条裂缝，从中不断地冒出气体，有点儿像是火山裂缝中冒出烟气那样。古希腊人认为，这种气体是太阳神阿波罗呼出的；曾经有一个女祭司，她坐在裂缝上方一把只有三条腿的凳子（即三脚凳）上，吸入气体。然后，她便变得胡言乱语起来，就像有些人生病发烧时那样，我们说这样的人是“神志不清”；而当人们问她问题的时候，她就会喃喃地说出一些稀奇古怪的话语，另一位祭司则会解释她说的是什么意思。这个地方，便叫作“特尔斐神谕之地”；人们会不远万里地来到这里问神，因为他们觉得，是太阳神阿波罗在回答他们的问题。

无论何时，只要不知道怎么去做或者想知道将来会发生什么，古希腊人都会去求助于神，并且坚定不移地相信神所给出的启示。然而，神谕通常都有点儿像是谜语，因此可以有不止一种解释。比如说，一位国王即将与另一位国王开战，他便去问神，看哪一方会获胜。神的回答是：“一个伟大的王国将被征服。”你们觉得，这一神谕的意思是什么呢？这种回答可以有两种或三种解释，所以人们至今仍称之为“玄妙”哩。