Everything you need to know to read Homer's "Odyssey" - Jill Dash

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

A close encounter with a man-eating giant,

和一個食人巨人做近距離的接觸，

a sorceress who turns men into pigs,

一個會把人變成豬的女巫，

a long-lost king taking back his throne.

一個消失很久的國王取回他的王位。

On their own, any of these make great stories,

上述這些題材，每一個本身 都能成為一個好故事，

but each is just one episode in the "Odyssey,"

但它們各別都只是 《奧德賽》中的一個片段，

a 12,000-line poem spanning years of Ancient Greek history, myth, and legend.

它是一篇 12000 行的詩，

橫跨多年的古希臘史、 神話，和傳說。

How do we make sense of such a massive text

這龐大的文本， 來自一個如此遙遠的世界，

that comes from and tells of a world so far away?

訴說著那個世界的故事， 我們要如何才能理解它？

The fact that we can read the "Odyssey" at all is pretty incredible,

光是可以閱讀《奧德賽》 這件事本身就已經很不可思議了，

as it was composed before the Greek alphabet appeared in the 8th century BCE.

因為它是在公元前八世紀 希臘字母出現之前就寫成的。

It was made for listeners rather than readers,

它是為聽眾而寫，不是為讀者，

and was performed by oral poets called rhapsodes.

且它是由被稱為「吟誦詩人」的 口語詩人們來表演。

Tradition identifies its author as a blind man named Homer.

傳統認為它的作者是 一個名叫荷馬的盲人。

But no one definitively knows whether he was real or legendary.

但沒有人確切知道 他是真實人物還是虛構的。

在他的時代過了幾個世紀之後 他的名字才被初次提及。

The earliest mentions of him occur centuries after his era.

And the poems attributed to him seem to have been changed

而被認為是他所寫的那些詩，

似乎已經被多位作家 改變和重排了很多次，

and rearranged many times by multiple authors

before finally being written down in their current form.

才寫成目前的形式。

In fact, the word rhapsode means stitching together,

事實上，「吟誦詩人」 這個詞意味著拼拼湊湊，

as these poets combined existing stories, jokes, myths, and songs

因為這些詩人組合了既有的 故事、笑話、神話，和歌曲，

into a single narrative.

成為單一個故事來訴說。

To recite these massive epics live,

為了要在現場朗誦這些龐大的史詩，

rhapsodes employed a steady meter,

吟誦詩人會使用穩定的格律，

along with mnemonic devices,

搭配協助記憶的方式，

like repetition of memorized passages or set pieces.

比如重覆已經記下來的 段落或固定的片段。

這些包括對風景的描述 和角色的清單，

These included descriptions of scenery and lists of characters,

and helped the rhapsode keep their place in the narrative,

能協助吟誦詩人記得 故事講到哪裡了，

just as the chorus or bridge of a song helps us to remember the next verses.

就像歌曲的合唱或過門 能幫助我們記住下一段詞句。

因為大多數的故事是聽眾熟悉的，

Because most of the tales were familiar to the audience,

it was common to hear the sections of the poem out of order.

常常可以聽到打亂順序的各段詩。

At some point, the order became set in stone

在某個時期，順序被固定下來，

and the story was locked into place as the one we read today.

被固定成為我們現今讀到的版本。

But since the world has changed a bit in the last several thousand years,

但是，因為在過去數千年中， 世界有些許的改變，

it helps to have some background before jumping in.

在冒然投入之前， 先了解一些背景會有所幫助。

《奧德賽》本身是荷馬的另一部 知名史詩《伊利亞德》的續集，

The "Odyssey" itself is a sequel to Homer's other famous epic, the "Iliad,"

which tells the story of the Trojan War.

它講述的是特洛伊戰爭的故事。

If there's one major theme uniting both poems, it's this:

如果說有一個主題將這兩首詩 結合起來，那就是：

在任何情況下， 都不要招致神的憤怒。

do not, under any circumstances, incur the wrath of the gods.

The Greek Pantheon is a dangerous mix of divine power and human insecurity,

希臘萬神殿是神聖權力 和人類不安全感的危險組合，

prone to jealousy and grudges of epic proportions.

很容易產生大量的嫉妒和怨恨。

And many of the problems faced by humans in the poems are caused by their hubris,

在詩中，人類面臨的許多問題 是由他們的傲慢所引起的，

or excessive pride in believing themselves superior to the gods.

就是過度驕傲地相信 自己比神更優越。

The desire to please the gods was so great

古希臘人想要取悅神的慾望非常強，

that the Ancient Greeks traditionally welcomed all strangers

他們傳統上會大方迎請所有的陌生人

into their homes with generosity

進入他們的家裡，

因為擔心陌生人可能 就是神偽裝而成的。

for fear that the strangers might be gods in disguise.

This ancient code of hospitality was called xenia.

這種好客的古老習俗 叫做「賓主之誼」。

It involved hosts providing their guests with safety, food, and comfort,

它指的是主人要提供客人食物， 並讓他們感到安全舒適，

and the guests returning the favor with courtesy and gifts if they had them.

而客人能給予的回報就是 禮貌和禮物，如果有的話。

Xenia has a significant role in the "Odyssey,"

在《奧德賽》中， 賓主之誼的角色很重要，

where Odysseus in his wanderings is the perpetual guest,

其中奧德修斯到處流浪， 長期都在當客人，

while in his absence, his clever wife Penelope plays non-stop host.

當他不在時，他聰明的妻子 潘尼羅佩則一直扮演主人。

The "Odyssey" recounts all of Odysseus's years of travel,

《奧德賽》完整描述了 奧德修斯多年的旅行，

but the narrative begins in medias res in the middle of things.

但敘事是從中間開始的。

特洛伊戰爭後十年， 我們的英雄主角被困在一座島上，

Ten years after the Trojan War, we find our hero trapped on an island,

still far from his native Ithaca and the family he hasn't seen for 20 years.

仍然離他的家鄉伊薩基島 和二十年不見的家人很遠。

Because he's angered the sea god Poseidon by blinding his son, a cyclops,

因為他弄瞎了海神波賽頓的 獨眼巨人兒子而激怒了海神，

Odysseus's passage home has been fraught with mishap after mishap.

奧德修斯的回家之路 滿是一個又一個的災難。

With trouble brewing at home and gods discussing his fate,

因為家鄉有些麻煩即將發生， 且眾神也在討論他的命運，

Odysseus begins the account of those missing years to his hosts.

奧德修斯開始跟他的主人們 講述他失去的那些年。

One of the most fascinating things about the "Odyssey"

《奧德賽》最迷人的地方之一，

is the gap between how little we know about its time period

就是我們對那個時期了解甚少，

and the wealth of detail the text itself contains.

但文本中滿是豐富的細節， 兩者間的落差很大。

Historians, linguists, and archeologists

歷史學家、語言學家，和考古學家

have spent centuries searching for the ruins of Troy

花了數世紀的時間 在尋找特洛伊的遺跡，

and identifying which islands Odysseus visited.

並試圖辨識奧德修斯曾到過的島嶼。

Just like its hero, the 24-book epic has made its own long journey

和它的主角一樣， 這部共二十四本書的史詩

也走了很長的旅程， 穿過幾世紀的神話和歷史，

through centuries of myth and history

to tell us its incredible story today.

到現代來告訴我們 這些了不起的故事。