Why is Herodotus called “The Father of History”? - Mark Robinson

譯者: Dai-Yun Wu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Giant gold-digging ants,

巨大採金蟻、

a furious king who orders the sea to be whipped 300 times,

命令手下鞭打海浪三百下的憤怒國王、

and a dolphin that saves a famous poet from drowning.

和一隻救了一位著名詩人的海豚

These are just some of the stories from The Histories by Herodotus,

這些小故事來自於希羅多德的《歷史》

an Ancient Greek writer from the 5th century BCE.

希羅多德是位古希臘作家， 生於西元前五世紀

Not all the events in the text may have happened

雖然他的著作中所提到的事件

exactly as Herodotus reported them,

事實不全然如他所描述

but this work revolutionized the way the past was recorded.

但這部作品重大改變了 人們記載歷史事件的方式

Before Herodotus, the past was documented as a list of events

在希羅多德之前， 人們多以條列事件記載史實

with little or no attempt to explain their causes

通常很少，或沒有敘述事件的因果關係

beyond accepting things as the will of the gods.

人們普遍接受事物為上天所操控

Herodotus wanted a deeper, more rational understanding,

然而希羅多德希望 以更深入且理性的方法瞭解事物

so he took a new approach:

於是他採用新方法：

looking at events from both sides to understand the reasons for them.

從正反兩方看待事物， 以了解其發生原因

Though he was Greek, Herodotus's hometown of Halicarnassus

他雖身為希臘人， 希羅多德的故鄉－哈利卡那索斯

was part of the Persian Empire.

卻曾是波斯王朝的一部分

He grew up during a series of wars between the powerful Persians

他生在強大波斯人與弱小希臘人之間

and the smaller Greeks,

頻繁打仗的時期

and decided to find out all he could about the subject.

於是他決定要盡力找出 關於這些紛爭的所有資訊

In Herodotus's telling, the Persian Wars began in 499 BCE,

就希羅多德的說法， 波斯戰爭始於西元前 499 年

when the Athenians assisted a rebellion by Greeks living under Persian rule.

這一年，雅典人協助了 在波斯統治下的希臘人策動叛亂

In 490, the Persian King, Darius, sent his army to take revenge on Athens.

波斯國王大流士大帝於西元前 490 年出兵報復雅典人

But at the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians won an unexpected victory.

但雅典人卻在馬拉松戰役時出奇致勝

Ten years later, the Persians returned, planning to conquer the whole of Greece

十年後波斯人捲土重來， 計畫征服希臘領土

under the leadership of Darius's son, Xerxes.

由大流士大帝的兒子－薛西斯帶領

According to Herodotus, when Xerxes arrived,

根據希羅多德的說詞， 當薛西斯來到時

his million man army was initially opposed by a Greek force

他的百萬軍隊先在溫泉關峽谷

led by 300 Spartans at the mountain pass of Thermopylae.

遭遇到由三百個 斯巴達人率領的希臘軍

At great cost to the Persians,

波斯人為此付出極大的代價

the Spartans and their king, Leonidas, were killed.

斯巴達軍與他們的列奧尼達王 全為此喪命

This heroic defeat has been an inspiration to underdogs ever since.

這場英雄般的戰役自那時起 一直鼓舞著弱勢族群們

A few weeks later, the Greek navy tricked the Persian fleet

數周之後，希臘海軍引誘波斯船隊

into fighting in a narrow sea channel near Athens.

進入靠近雅典的狹長海峽作戰

The Persians were defeated and Xerxes fled, never to return.

波斯戰敗，薛西斯落荒而逃， 不曾再來

To explain how these wars broke out and why the Greeks triumphed,

為了解釋這些戰爭爆發的原因 以及希臘最後勝利的緣由

Herodotus collected stories from all around the Mediterranean.

希羅多德自地中海一帶蒐集故事

He recorded the achievements of both Greeks and non-Greeks

在這些軼事隨著時間消逝之前

before they were lost to the passage of time.

他將希臘人與非希臘人的成就記錄下來

The Histories opens with the famous sentence:

《歷史》一書以這膾炙人口的 佳句揭開序幕：

"Herodotus, of Halicarnassus, here displays his inquiries."

「哈利卡那索斯的希羅多德 在此呈現他的調查結果」

By framing the book as an “inquiry,”

藉著將此書定位為「調查報告」

Herodotus allowed it to contain many different stories,

希羅多德就能在此書中收錄各種故事

some serious, others less so.

有嚴肅認真的故事， 也有不太正經的故事

He recorded the internal debates of the Persian court

其中他收錄了波斯宮廷中的內部辯論

but also tales of Egyptian flying snakes

卻也收錄關於埃及飛蛇的故事、

and practical advice on how to catch a crocodile.

還有如何捕捉鱷魚的實用建議

The Greek word for this method of research is "autopsy,"

這種研究方法對應的希臘詞為「解剖」

meaning "seeing for oneself."

意思是「自行發現」

Herodotus was the first writer to examine the past

希羅多德是第一位

by combining the different kinds of evidence he collected:

以結合不同種類的證據 來檢視過去的作家：

opsis, or eyewitness accounts,

目擊者證詞、

akoe, or hearsay,

聽來的傳聞、

and ta legomena, or tradition.

以及傳統

He then used gnome, or reason,

於是他利用格言或理性

to reach conclusions about what actually happened.

來推論真實發生的事件

Many of the book's early readers were actually listeners.

許多這本書早期的讀者 事實上是「聽者」

The Histories was originally written in 28 sections,

《歷史》一書原分為 28 個部分

each of which took about four hours to read aloud.

朗讀每一個部分各需約四小時

As the Greeks increased in influence and power,

伴隨希臘人的影響力與勢力增長

Herodotus's writing and the idea of history spread across the Mediterranean.

希羅多德的作品與對歷史的想法 傳遍地中海地區

As the first proper historian, Herodotus wasn't perfect.

作為第一位正統的歷史學家， 希羅多德並不完美

On occasions, he favored the Greeks over the Persians

有時候，與波斯人相比， 他會偏袒希臘人

and was too quick to believe some of the stories that he heard,

以及他總是太快相信他所聽到的故事

which made for inaccuracies.

因而造成一些不精確之處

However, modern evidence has actually explained

然而，現代證據也為

some of his apparently extreme claims.

他的一些明顯誇大的論述提供解釋

For instance, there's a species of marmot in the Himalayas

舉例來說，喜馬拉雅山上有一種土撥鼠

that spreads gold dust while digging.

在挖土時會散布金塵

The ancient Persian word for marmot is quite close to the word for ant,

古波斯文中「marmot」 這個字與「螞蟻」非常相近

so Herodotus may have just fallen prey to a translation error.

因此希羅多德可能是 犯了翻譯上的錯誤

All in all, for someone who was writing in an entirely new style,

總而言之，就一個 以嶄新的寫作風格創作的人來說

Herodotus did remarkably well.

希羅多德表現十分傑出

History, right down to the present day, has always suffered from the partiality

歷史，時至今日

總是受到歷史學家的偏頗與誤解

and mistakes of historians.

Herodotus’s method and creativity earned him the title

希羅多德的寫作方法與創造力

that the Roman author Cicero gave him several hundred years later:

使他贏得之後的羅馬作家 西賽羅給予他的頭銜：

"The Father of History."

「歷史之父」