The science behind the myth: Homer's "Odyssey" - Matt Kaplan

翻译人员: Da Xie 校对人员: Yunxi Shi

Homer's "Odyssey",

荷马的《奥德赛》

one of the oldest works of Western literature,

是西方最古老的文学作品之一

recounts the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus

它详细描述了希腊英雄奥德赛的

during his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War.

一段延续十年，从特洛伊战争开始一直到他回家的 冒险经历

Though some parts may be based on real events,

也许这本书中有一些故事的原型可能是真实的

the encounters with strange monsters, terrifying giants and powerful magicians

但是那些关于他遇到怪兽、巨人和魔法师的情节

are considered to be complete fiction.

基本就是幻想出来的故事了

But might there be more to these myths than meets the eye?

但是我们是否还可以 从这些神话故事中看出一些别的东西呢？

Let's look at one famous episode from the poem.

让我们一起来看一看这本诗集中十分有名的一章

In the midst of their long voyage,

故事发生在一次长时间的航海旅行中

Odysseus and his crew find themselves on the mysterious island of Aeaea.

当奥德赛和他的伙伴们到达了埃阿亚魔幻岛时

Starving and exhausted, some of the men stumble upon a palatial home

所有人都感到十分疲惫和饥饿 偶然的，其中一些人发现了在岛上有一个宏伟的宫殿

where a stunning woman welcomes them inside for a sumptuous feast.

一个美妙绝伦的艳妇站在宫殿的门口 邀请他们进屋子去享受盛宴

Of course, this all turns out to be too good to be true.

当然，这发生的一切都看起来和真的一样

The woman, in fact, is the nefarious sorceress Circe,

但是事实上，这个艳妇 就是那个喜欢把人变成动物的邪恶女巫---瑟希

and as soon as the soldiers have eaten their fill at her table,

正当这些士兵们在享受美食的时候

she turns them all into animals with a wave of her wand.

女巫突然挥了挥魔杖 将这些士兵就全部都变成了动物

Fortunately, one of the men escapes,

幸运的是 其中有一个士兵逃过了一劫

finds Odysseus and tells him of the crew's plight.

随后他找到了奥德赛， 将伙伴们的遭遇告诉了他

But as Odysseus rushes to save his men,

正当奥德赛准备冲过去救他的伙伴们的时候

he meets the messenger god, Hermes,

他遇到了众神使者--赫尔墨斯

who advises him to first consume a magical herb.

赫尔墨斯建议奥德赛 让他先吃掉一种神奇草药，然后再去救人

Odysseus follows this advice,

奥德赛接受了他的意见（先吃药再救人）

and when he finally encounters Circe, her spells have no effect on him,

当最后奥德赛与女巫瑟希决战的时候， 正是因为吃了草药才使得女巫的咒语对奥德赛无效

allowing him to defeat her and rescue his crew.

从而使得奥德赛击败了女巫并且救出伙伴们

Naturally, this story of witchcraft and animal transformations

简单的来说，很长时间以来 这种关于巫术和魔法变形的故事

was dismissed as nothing more than imagination for centuries.

往往都只是被认为是幻想罢了

But in recent years, the many mentions of herbs and drugs throughout the passage

但是最近 这些贯穿了这本书的神奇草药

have piqued the interest of scientists,

挑起了科学家们的兴趣

leading some to suggest

有一些科学家猜测道

the myths might have been fictional expressions of real experiences.

这些有着魔幻情节的神话也许是基于现实经验的

The earliest versions of Homer's text

就在那篇荷马文章的最开始部分

say that Circe mixed baneful drugs into the food

提到了女巫瑟希将一些有毒的草药混到了食物中

such that the crew might utterly forget their native land.

从而使得奥德赛的伙伴们完全忘记了 他们的本性（人类）

As it happens, one of the plants growing in the Mediterranean region

而在这个故事发生的时候 在地中海区域生长着一种

is an innocent sounding herb known as Jimson weed,

听起来很无害的草药--曼陀罗

whose effects include pronounced amnesia.

但它却会让人产生严重的失忆症

The plant is also loaded with compounds that disrupt the vital neurotransmitter

曼陀罗其本身含有的化合物 也会损坏大脑中一种十分重要的神经传递素

called acetylcholine.

乙酰胆碱

Such disruption can cause vivid hallucinations,

对乙酰胆碱的损坏会让人产生十分严重的幻觉

bizarre behaviors,

而且做出一些古怪的行为

and general difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality,

而且这种损坏往往会让人难以区分现实和幻想

just the sorts of things

正是上述的一些症状

which might make people believe they've been turned into animals,

可能会让人产生一种 他们已经被变成动物的感觉

which also suggests that Circe was no sorceress,

这个科学实验结果证明了瑟希其实并不是女巫

but in fact a chemist who knew how to use local plants to great effect.

而是一个知道当地植物特性 并且可以使用其特性的药剂师

But Jimson weed is only half the story.

但是曼陀罗也仅仅是这个故事的一半而已

Unlike a lot of material in the Odyssey,

不像奥德赛中所提到的许多草药一样

the text about the herb that Hermes gives to Odysseus is unusually specific.

赫尔墨斯给奥德赛吃的那一种药草描述的并不是很详细

Called moly by the gods,

这种神奇药草被众神们称之为“moly"

it's described as being found in a forest glen,

书中描述道它是在一个森林幽谷中被发现的

black at the root and with a flower as white as milk.

它的根部是黑色的，花朵的颜色就像奶油一样白

Like the rest of the Circe episode,

就像其它有关女巫瑟希的片段当中

moly was dismissed as fictional invention for centuries.

在很长世间以来，“moly”都被人们认为是一种幻想出来的草药

But in 1951, Russian pharmacologist Mikhail Mashkovsky

但是在1951年，俄罗斯的药理学家 麦克马·马思科夫斯基

discovered that villagers in the Ural Mountains

发现了那些生活在乌拉尔山脉的村民们

used a plant with a milk-white flower and a black root

用一种花朵是奶油白，根是黑色的植物

to stave off paralysis in children suffering from polio.

来麻痹治疗那些患有小儿麻痹症的孩子

The plant, called snowdrop,

这种植物就是雪莲

turned out to contain a compound called galantamine

在其中可以发现一种叫做雪花胺的化合物

that prevented the disruption of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine,

这种化合物有效避免乙酰胆碱这种神经传递素被破坏

making it effective in treating not only polio

从而可以有效的治疗包括小儿麻痹症在内的许多疾病

but other disease, such as Alzheimer's.

还有比如阿尔茨海莫式症等

At the 12th World Congress of Neurology,

在第十二届世界神经学研究会议中

Doctors Andreas Plaitakis and Roger Duvoisin

安德烈亚斯·普雷塔克斯博士和罗杰·都沃森博士

first proposed that snowdrop was, in fact, the plant Hermes gave to Odysseus.

第一次提出了，雪莲就是众神使者赫尔墨斯给予奥德赛的那种神奇植物

Although there is not much direct evidence that people in Homer's day

尽管并没有直接的证据辨明 在荷马年代

would have known about its anti-hallucinatory effects,

已经有人知道了雪莲有可以抑制幻觉的作用

we do have a passage from 4th century Greek writer Theophrastus

但是我们从公元四世纪希腊作家 泰奥弗拉斯托斯的文章中可以知道

stating that moly is used as an antidote against poisons.

他说“moly”这种植物是一种解毒草药

So, does this all mean

那么，上述这些证据可以表明

that Odysseus, Circe, and other characters in the Odyssey were real?

奥德赛，女巫瑟希和 其他一些《奥德赛》的故事情节就都是真的么？

Not necessarily.

事实上，这也并不一定

But it does suggest that ancient stories may have more elements of truth to them

但是，这些证据至少表明了 基于现实经验而产生的古代神话故事的数量

than we previously thought.

远比我们之前所认为的要多的多

And as we learn more about the world around us,

随着我们对世界了解的越来越多

we may uncover some of the same knowledge

我们也许还会发现许多像隐藏在奥德赛这类

hidden within the myths and legends of ages passed.

神话故事中的真相