The tragedy of the one guy who was right about the Trojan Horse - Noah Charney

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

For ten grueling years, the Greeks laid siege to Troy,

希臘人艱苦地圍攻特洛伊長達十年

scattering ships and encampments across the city's shores.

城市沿岸滿是船隻和營地。

But as the Trojans awoke for another day of battle,

當特洛伊人醒來 面對另一天的戰鬥時，

they found their enemies had vanished overnight—

卻發現他們的敵人一夜消失，

leaving behind only an enormous wooden horse.

只留下了一隻巨大的木馬。

Seeing this as a symbol of the Greek’s surrender,

因為把木馬視為希臘人投降的象徵，

the soldiers dragged their prize into the city and began to celebrate.

士兵將這個戰利品拖進城市，

並開始慶祝。

But one Trojan wasn't happy.

但有一個特洛伊人開心不起來。

Laocoön, a seer and priest, was deeply suspicious of the Greek gift.

先知與祭司拉奧孔

對這份希臘的禮物深感懷疑。

He reminded his fellow Trojans of their enemy’s reputation for trickery,

他提醒他的特洛伊同胞， 他們的敵人以奸計聞名，

and cautioned them not to accept this strange offering.

並警告他們不要接受 這種奇怪的禮物。

The crowd jeered at his warning, but Laocoön was undeterred.

群眾嘲笑他的警告， 但拉奧孔不為所動。

He forced his way to the wooden beast and thrust his sword into its belly.

他強行靠近那隻木頭巨獸，

並將他的劍刺入它的腹中。

Yet his blade drew no blood.

然而，他的利刃沒有引出任何鮮血。

And if there were men shifting inside,

就算有人在裡面移動，

Laocoön couldn't hear them over the crowd.

拉奧孔也無法在吵雜的群眾中 聽見他們的聲音。

Still grim with foreboding, Laocoön retreated home

拉奧孔返回家中， 仍然有不祥的預感，

and enlisted his sons in preparing a sacrifice to the gods.

他召集他的兒子們， 準備向諸神獻祭。

But his fate— and that of his fellow Trojans— was already sealed.

但他的命運——

以及他特洛伊同胞的命運—— 都已經注定了。

The gods had decided to grant the Greeks victory

諸神決定要讓希臘人獲勝，

by ensuring the success of their scheme to infiltrate Troy.

因此得確保他們滲透到 特洛伊的計謀能成功。

And Poseidon sought to punish the priest for threatening that plan.

波塞頓打算懲罰這位祭司， 因他給那個計畫帶來威脅。

Two great serpents emerged from the sea’s rolling waves

兩條巨大的蛇從滾滾海浪中浮現，

and descended on Laocoön and his sons.

襲向拉奧孔和他的兒子們。

The seer’s violent death went unnoticed amidst the celebrations.

在慶祝中，沒有人 注意到這位先知的慘死。

But, that night, when tragedy struck,

但，那晚，悲劇降臨時，

the Trojans finally remembered the old priest’s warning.

特洛伊人終於記起了老祭司的警告。

Laocoön's tragic tale inspired countless retellings across the ancient world.

拉奧孔的悲劇故事在古代世界 啟發了後續數不清的重述版本。

Virgil describes the seer’s demise in his epic poem “The Aeneid,”

維吉爾在他的史詩《伊尼亞斯紀》中 就描述了這位先知的死亡。

and Sophocles composed an entire play about the ill-fated priest.

而索發克里斯針對這位 不幸的祭司創作了一整部戲劇。

However, his most famous and influential depiction

然而，對他的描繪中 最有名且最有影響力的

is a marble statue called “Laocoön and His Sons.”

是一座大理石雕塑， 名為「拉奧孔和他的兒子們」。

Likely carved by a trio of artists from Rhodes,

創作者可能是羅德島的三位藝術家，

the exact origins of this piece remain mysterious,

但這件作品的確切起源仍然是個謎，

with current theories dating its creation anywhere from 200 BCE to 68 CE.

目前的理論認為該作品的 創作時間介於西元前 200 年

和西元 68 年間。

Whenever it was made,

不論是何時創作的，

this sculpture remains the epitome of the Hellenistic Baroque style.

這座雕塑一直是希臘式 巴洛克風格的典範。

But even within a tradition known for its dramatic facial expressions

但即使是在以戲劇性面部表情 與扭曲形體著稱的傳統中，

and contorted figures,

no other piece in this style comes close to the intensity

也沒有其他這種風格的作品 在衝擊強度上能比得上

of “Laocoön and His Sons.”

「拉奧孔和他的兒子們」。

The nearly life-sized figures are writhing in agony,

這些接近真實大小的人物 在痛苦中扭曲，

straining to untangle massive snakes from their limbs.

拼命想解開纏繞在他們肢體上的蛇。

Their faces are packed with desperation and hopelessness,

他們的臉上充滿絕望和無望，

yet Laocoön’s expression is fiercely determined to resist.

但拉奧孔的表情 展現出他的堅決抵抗。

The scene is also uniquely brutal—

這一景也有著獨特的殘酷——

paused precisely as the serpent’s venomous jaws are about to bite down.

剛好暫停在毒蛇的 血盆大口即將咬下之際。

Displayed as the centerpiece of Emperor Nero’s Domus Aurea palace complex,

曾是尼祿皇帝金宮宮殿 建築群最重要的展示品，

this gruesome sculpture was one of the most talked about artworks of its time.

這座駭人的雕塑也是當時 最熱門的藝術品之一。

Renowned Roman writer Pliny the Elder even went so far as to call it

知名的羅馬作家老普林尼甚至說它

“preferable to any other production of the art of painting or of statuary.”

「優於任何其他繪畫藝術 或雕塑藝術的作品」。

Unfortunately, the statue was lost

不幸的是，

金宮被火災吞噬， 這座雕像也因此遺失，

when Domus Aurea was consumed by fire in 109 CE.

那年是西元 109 年。

But Laocoön's tale was far from finished.

但拉奧孔的故事還沒有就此告終。

In 1506, Michelangelo Buonarotti— then the most famous sculptor in Rome—

1506 年，

米開朗基羅‧博納羅蒂——

羅馬當時最有名的雕塑家——

received a message that Pope Julius II had unearthed something marvelous.

得知教宗儒略二世 發現了一件不凡的物品。

Even caked with dirt, “Laocoön and His Sons” astonished Michelangelo.

即使覆滿泥土，

「拉奧孔和他的兒子們」 仍然讓米開朗基羅驚艷。

The dramatic musculature was over-the-top,

戲劇性的肌肉線條太過誇張，

but all the more powerful for being so extreme.

但這麼極端的呈現 反而讓它更加強而有力。

And the curving shapes of its serpent and human figures

且蛇和人的曲線形狀

drew his eyes in constant motion.

吸引他的目光不斷移動。

Pope Julius prominently displayed the piece at the Vatican,

教宗儒略把這件作品 顯著地展示在梵蒂岡，

but its influence on Michelangelo is what made the statue truly famous.

但這座雕像真正出名的原因 是它對米開朗基羅的影響。

The sculpture's emotive, exaggerated elements transformed his approach

這座雕塑充滿情感和誇張的元素

轉變了他表現人體的方式。

to representing the human body.

His paintings and sculptures began to feature contorted poses,

他的繪畫和雕塑開始 以扭曲的姿勢為特色，

referred to as “figura serpentinata,” meaning snake-like shapes.

被稱為「盤繞感 （figura serpentinata）」，

意思是像蛇的形狀。

And his celebrated work in the Sistine Chapel

他在西斯汀小堂中的著名作品

centered on muscular, hyperextended figures.

都以肌肉發達、 過度延展的人物為中心。

Soon, Michelangelo’s new style sparked an entire artistic movement

沒多久，米開朗基羅的新風格 就引發了一個藝術運動，

called Mannerism—

叫做矯飾主義——

influencing artists throughout the 1500s to exaggerate and twist human bodies

影響了整個 1500 年代的藝術家

去誇大、扭曲人體，

for dramatic effect.

以造成戲劇性的效果。

Since artists of the Renaissance revered ancient Greco-Roman art above all else,

因為文藝復興時期的藝術家 將古希臘羅馬藝術視為至高無上，

perhaps it’s not surprising that “Laocoön and His Sons” made such a large impact.

應該不意外，

「拉奧孔和他的兒子們」 能產生這麼大的影響。

But not even the real Laocoön could have predicted that his likeness

但即使真正的拉奧孔

也無法預測到他的形像

would become one of the most influential sculptures ever made.

會成為史上最具影響力的雕塑之一。