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

譯者: Ming Gui Tan 審譯者: Max Chern

荷馬的《奧德賽》

Homer's "Odyssey",

one of the oldest works of Western literature,

西方文學中最古老的鉅作之一

recounts the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus

敘述了希臘英雄 奧德修斯

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

從特洛伊戰爭後， 歸國途中為期十年的冒險歷程

Though some parts may be based on real events,

雖然故事中某些部分 可能來自真實事件

the encounters with strange monsters, terrifying giants and powerful magicians

但奇珍異獸、可怕巨人 和強大魔法師的奇遇記

are considered to be complete fiction.

被認為純屬虛構

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

但是這些神話 真的只有如此而已嗎？

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

我們來看看史詩中 一篇著名的章節

In the midst of their long voyage,

在他們漫長的航行中

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

奧德修斯和他的部下 抵達神秘的艾尤島

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

飽受飢寒疲憊之苦，有人偶然 發現了一間像宮廷般的房子

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

一位漂亮婦女歡迎他們入內 並以盛宴熱情款待

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

當然，其間必有詐

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

其實這位婦女是 邪惡的女巫瑟茜

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

當士兵們吃完 桌上食物的一剎那

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

她揮揮魔杖 把他們都變成禽獸

Fortunately, one of the men escapes,

幸好，其中一位潛逃了出來

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

找到奧德修斯 告訴他部屬們的慘狀

But as Odysseus rushes to save his men,

然而，奧德修斯在 趕去救人的途中

he meets the messenger god, Hermes,

他遇到了信使神---荷米斯

who advises him to first consume a magical herb.

建議他先吃下神草

Odysseus follows this advice,

奧德修斯照做了

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

當他終於面對瑟茜時 她的魔咒居然對他無效

allowing him to defeat her and rescue his crew.

奧德修斯得以乘機打敗她 救了他的部下

Naturally, this story of witchcraft and animal transformations

很自然地，這充滿妖術和 變身術的故事

was dismissed as nothing more than imagination for centuries.

數世紀以來被嗤之為 無稽之談。

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

但近年來，故事當中多次 提到的草藥和藥物

have piqued the interest of scientists,

引起了科學家的興趣

leading some to suggest

以致於有些科學家認為

the myths might have been fictional expressions of real experiences.

這些神話有可能是 真實經驗的神化之說

The earliest versions of Homer's text

荷馬史詩最早的版本中

say that Circe mixed baneful drugs into the food

提到瑟茜把有毒的 草藥混入食物中

such that the crew might utterly forget their native land.

令士兵們完全忘記自己的故鄉

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

很巧的是，在地中海區域 有一種植物

is an innocent sounding herb known as Jimson weed,

乍聽之下似乎是 無害的藥草，即 “曼陀羅”

whose effects include pronounced amnesia.

其藥效足以造成嚴重的失憶

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

曼陀羅也富含一種成分 可以阻斷重要神經傳導物質--

called acetylcholine.

-- 乙醯膽鹼

Such disruption can cause vivid hallucinations,

這種阻斷可以產生 逼真的幻覺

bizarre behaviors,

奇異的行為

and general difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality,

和喪失分辨真偽的能力

just the sorts of things

正是那些

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

會讓人相信 他們真的被變成禽獸的東西

which also suggests that Circe was no sorceress,

這也暗示瑟茜 根本就不是什麼女巫

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

而是擅長使用 當地植物的化學家

But Jimson weed is only half the story.

但曼陀羅也只是 說了部分真相而已

Unlike a lot of material in the Odyssey,

不同於《奧德賽》書中 所提到的多種藥草

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

文中有關荷米斯交給 奧德修斯的神藥記載異常詳細

Called moly by the gods,

被眾神稱為『默里』的神草

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

據說是在一座森林的峽谷中發現的

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

烏黑色的根 奶白色的花

Like the rest of the Circe episode,

如同瑟茜故事中其餘的部份

moly was dismissed as fictional invention for centuries.

『默里』數世紀以來 也是被認為虛構之事

But in 1951, Russian pharmacologist Mikhail Mashkovsky

但在1951年，俄國藥理學家 -米海爾·馬士霍斯基

discovered that villagers in the Ural Mountains

發現住在烏拉山脈的村民

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

利用一種奶白色花 烏黑色根的植物

to stave off paralysis in children suffering from polio.

來防範小兒麻痺症的癱瘓

The plant, called snowdrop,

這植物叫 ‘雪花蓮’

turned out to contain a compound called galantamine

證實含有一種叫做 Galantamine的化合物

that prevented the disruption of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine,

能夠防止神經傳導物 乙醯膽鹼被阻斷

making it effective in treating not only polio

不只在治療小兒麻痺有效

but other disease, such as Alzheimer's.

對於其他疾病 如阿茲海默症也有效

At the 12th World Congress of Neurology,

在第12屆世界神經醫學討論會中

Doctors Andreas Plaitakis and Roger Duvoisin

Andreas Plaitakis醫師和 Roger Duvoisin醫師

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

首次提出雪花蓮其實就是 荷米斯交給奧德修斯的草藥

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

雖然沒有直接證據 證明在荷馬年代的人

would have known about its anti-hallucinatory effects,

會知道雪花蓮的 抗幻覺效果

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

但是在四世紀有個希臘作者 提奧弗拉斯特在其文中

stating that moly is used as an antidote against poisons.

提到『默里』是劇毒的解藥

So, does this all mean

那麽，這些會不會意味著

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

奧德修斯、瑟茜和《奧德賽》中 其他的角色皆為真實的人物？

Not necessarily.

未必

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

但這確實暗示 古老的故事蘊含著

than we previously thought.

我們先前 從未意識到的真實成分

And as we learn more about the world around us,

而且當我們瞭解 周遭的世界更多時

we may uncover some of the same knowledge

我們可以發現 一些同樣的知識

hidden within the myths and legends of ages passed.

其實已經蘊藏在 古老的神話和傳奇中