无论你是否熟悉希腊神话,都一定听说过大力士赫拉克勒斯(又译“海格力斯”)——他是古希腊人心目中最理想的超级英雄,行踪和事迹遍及希腊各地,完成了12项伟大功绩,甚至有一种说法认为他很可能是奥林匹克运动会的开创者;他是欧洲文化的著名人物之一,其形象在无数文学艺术作品中被反复借用。本期“探索区”将带领大家回到神与英雄的洪荒岁月,一起听听这个流传千古的英雄物语——
学习小提示:本文有不少生词,但语音清晰,语速和缓,感情丰富,配乐优美,是听力及口语练习的好材料。建议大家先学习词汇,反复聆听,熟悉内容后进行跟读和模仿练习。
The Birth of Hercules 赫拉克勒斯的诞生
Michael Fontaine (Cornell University): Hercules is the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmene.
Peter Struck (University of Pennsylvania): Classical mythology is loaded with stories of gods who 1)impregnate mortal women, and give birth to gods or 2)demigods.
Author: So this demigod idea means that this person has some features that are very godly, some 3)divine powers; but, at the same time, he is mortal, he can die. I suspect that the Greeks invented this idea because they wanted to reach the gods as much as possible, to create images of themselves that are closer and closer to the gods.
Hercules would grow up to be Greece’s model hero, but he has one powerful enemy who wants to see him destroyed: Zeus’s wife, the Goddess Hera.
迈克尔·方丹(康奈尔大学):赫拉克勒斯是宙斯和一个名叫阿尔克墨涅的凡间女子的私生子。
彼特·斯特拉克(宾夕法尼亚大学):古代神话中有许多这样的故事,讲述凡间女子怀上了神灵的孩子,并且生下一位神祇或者半神人。
作家:半神人就是说这个人一方面具有神性,有神的力量;而另一方面他依然是凡人,终将死亡。我认为希腊人之所以创造出“半神人”这个概念,是因为他们希望尽可能地接近神灵,将自身形象赋予其中,让自己更加接近神灵。
赫拉克勒斯将成为希腊的英雄楷模,但他有一个强大的敌人,她想亲眼看着他毁灭,那就是宙斯的妻子——赫拉女神。
A Terrible Incident 可怕劫数
As the story continues, Hercules comes of age – a man-god 4)straddling two worlds: the human and the supernatural.
Greek Historian: He was unable to form emotional contacts with anyone. In fact, there seems to…have been a kind of 5)schizophrenic quality to his 6)make-up. He was half human and half divine. And yet he had a father who would not protect him from the terrible 7)trials and tribulations that Hera 8)inflicted upon him. He was left alone, 9)suspended between heaven and earth, and having nowhere to go.
Desperate for some 10)semblance of 11)normalcy, Hercules marries a beautiful princess who bears him two sons, but his domestic 12)bliss is short-lived. His 13)nemesis, Hera, soon returns, determined to make sure he never knows happiness.
Expert A: She sends madness to him as he sleeps. And he, in his madness, believes that his wife and his children are his enemies.
Expert B: When Hercules wakes up from this madness, from this 14)ravenous madness, he finds himself covered in the blood of his own family.
Struck: He doesn’t really even know that he’s the one that did it, but nevertheless he has the blood stains on him. It is the physical mark of guilt, and this is the guilt he must bear. And it’s from this horrible incident that the rest of Hercules’s story unfolds.
书归正传,赫拉克勒斯已经成年。这位半神人身处两个世界——人间与神界。
希腊史学家:他无法与人产生情感交流。事实上,似乎……他的性格里面有点儿精神分裂的味道。他一半是人类,一半是神灵。而他的父亲不能保护他免受赫拉强加其身的艰难困苦。他孤独无依,在天地之间漂泊流浪,无家可归。
赫拉克勒斯渴望过上最起码的正常生活,于是迎娶了一位美丽的公主,她为他生了两个儿子,但这个家庭的美满生活好景不长。他的宿敌赫拉很快卷土重来,决心让他永远尝不到幸福的滋味。
专家甲:趁他睡着的时候,她施放了魔法让他变疯。他在疯狂中将自己的妻儿误认作敌人。
专家乙:当赫拉克勒斯从疯狂中清醒过来、这种嗜血成性的疯狂结束以后,他发现自己全身都是家人的鲜血。
斯特拉克:他甚至不知道下毒手的正是他自己,但他身上还有他们的血迹。这就是罪行的铁证,他难辞其咎。也正是这桩可怕的事故引出了赫拉克勒斯接下来的故事。
The Labors of Hercules 赫拉克勒斯的苦役
At Delphi注1, the 15)oracle tells Hercules that only a terrible 16)penance can 17)absolve him of his crimes. To receive that penance, he must go to his cousin and archrival, King Eurystheus注2. But it’s a trick. Hera is using the oracle and King Eurystheus to crush Hercules.
Eurystheus assigns Hercules 12 challenges, all designed by Hera. They will forever be known as the Labors of Hercules. In them, the hero is challenged to rid the Greek world of its greatest evils, to confront its most 18)savage beasts, forces of nature, evil 19)tyrants, and monsters. No man could be expected to survive even one of these challenges, but Hercules must overcome twelve.
Struck: Myths reflect historical events that have long since been past, so…they are a kind of code and a…ancient history that gets passed down from generation to generation. The stories of Hercules come together from people getting together in different cultures, and sharing their own tales of local heroes that they know who overcome great difficulties. And as they share these stories, they start to realize, “Wait a minute, our strong man seems to be a little bit like your strong man.” And then the…the traditions all weave together.
在德尔斐,神谕告诉赫拉克勒斯,只有严酷的自我惩罚才能抵消他的罪行。为了接受惩罚,他必须去找自己的表兄以及主要对手——欧律斯透斯国王。但这是一个圈套。赫拉利用神谕以及欧律斯透斯来彻底打垮赫拉克勒斯。
欧律斯透斯给赫拉克勒斯安排了赫拉一手策划的12项挑战。它们从此被世人称为“赫拉克勒斯的苦役”。在这些挑战中,这位英雄要接受考验,为希腊解除最可怕的恶魔的威胁,对抗这个国家最凶猛的野兽、自然力量,邪恶的暴君以及怪物。没有人指望自己能活着完成其中一项挑战,赫拉克勒斯却必须完成12项。
斯特拉克:神话反映了很久以前的历史事件,因此……这些故事就像一串密码……能解读世代相传的远古历史。赫拉克勒斯的故事是集大成者——来自不同文化的人们聚在一起分享他们的故事,讲述他们所知的本地英雄如何克服巨大困难。互相讲故事的时候,他们突然发现:“等一会儿,我们的牛人似乎和你们的牛人有点像呢。”于是……各地的传统故事就这样交织在一起了。
Joining the 20)Olympians 登上神山
At last, Hercules has completed his penance. He has conquered every obstacle that has been put in his path, and endured physical and mental 21)torment beyond measure. By all rights, he should finally be at peace.
Hera holds an undying 22)grudge against Hercules for being Zeus’s 23)illegitimate son. There is only one escape from her curse: death. He builds a huge funeral 24)pyre. His life on earth ends just as he endured it – in torment.
Struck: And at the very end of it all, Zeus says, “Okay, Hercules, you’ve suffered enough, and you’re so great, I’m actually gonna go ahead and just make you a god.”
This is the myth of Hercules – a timeless story of strength, suffering and 25)redemption.
Struck: It’s the kind of story people like to hear.
Fontaine: Because everyone has experienced trouble, and 26)toil, and suffering in their lives. They’ve all faced monumental tasks that they don’t think they’ll be able to…to complete.
Struck: And they want to hear a story of someone who’s been through such things, but has still gotten through, and made it into the end. That Hercules can achieve success at the end points out to us that there’s a kind of…always a possibility of success, no matter how difficult our life might seem.
最后,赫拉克勒斯终于完成了所有刑罚。他扫除了前进道路上所有的拦路虎,身心俱受重创。按理说,他这回应该获得安宁了。
(但是)赫拉一直对赫拉克勒斯是宙斯的孽种这件事怀恨在心。只有一个办法可以逃脱她的诅咒——死亡。他搭建了一个巨大的火葬柴堆。他在人间的生命就像其受尽苦难的人生一样,在煎熬中结束。
斯特拉克:最后,宙斯说:“好了,赫拉克勒斯,你已经吃够苦头了,而且你很伟大,我决定封你为神。”
这就是赫拉克勒斯的神话传说,一个关于力量、苦难与救赎的永恒故事。
斯特拉克:这是人们爱听的故事。
方丹:因为每个人在生命中总会经历困难、辛劳与苦楚。他们都会遇到自认为无法……完成的重大考验。
斯特拉克:他们希望听到一个这样的故事,讲述主人公同样经历了这些事情,但他仍能披荆斩棘,笑到最后。
赫拉克勒斯最终取得成功让我们明白到,无论生活看似多么艰辛,人生总是……阳光总在风雨后。
扩展阅读：赫拉克勒斯的12项任务
● 杀死涅墨亚的狮子（Slay the Nemean Lion）
● 消灭勒耳那的九头蛇许德拉（Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra）
● 生擒月神阿尔特弥斯的金角牡鹿（Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis）
● 活捉厄律曼托斯山的野猪（Capture the Erymanthian Boar）
● 在一天之内把奥革阿斯国王的马厩打扫干净（Clean the Augean stables in single day）
● 砍杀斯廷法利斯沼泽的食人鸟（Slay the Stymphalian Birds）
● 捕捉克里特公牛（Capture the Cretan Bull）
● 偷走狄俄墨得斯国王的食人马群（Steal the Mares of Diomedes）
● 得到阿玛宗女王的腰带（Obtain the Girdle of the Amazon Queen）
● 夺取巨人革吕翁的牛群（Obtain the Cattle of the Monster Geryon）
● 偷取赫斯珀里得思姐妹的金苹果（Steal the Apples of the Hesperides）
● 捕捉冥府看门狗刻耳柏洛斯并将其带到凡间（Capture and bring back Cerberus）
