15

荷马史诗 Homer's Epics

背景介绍

荷马史诗是古希腊文学中最早的史诗，相传由公元前9世纪—前8世纪古希腊盲诗人荷马创作，由两部长篇史诗《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》组成。荷马史诗被认为是最伟大的古代史诗，有希腊人的《圣经》之誉。

情景对话

Dave: Have you ever read Homer's Epics?

Shasta: I’ve read the Odyssey , but never tackled the Iliad.

Dave: That's interesting. Isn't the Odyssey a sequel to the Iliad?

Shasta: It is, but I was just drawn to this one more. Have you read it?

Dave: No, but I’ve always wanted to. What is it about?

Shasta: Well, it's mainly about Odysseus (or Ulysses) and his journey home after the fall of Troy.

Dave: What was the fall of Troy exactly? It sounds familiar, but I don't actually know much about it.

Shasta: It's part of the Trojan War which took place in Greek mythology.

Dave: And Troy is a person?

Shasta: Not quite — it's a city.

Dave: Oh, yes of course, I suppose I should have known that!

Shasta: The Trojan war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and is discussed in many works of Greek literature, including Homer's epics.

Dave: So what happens on his journey home then?

Shasta: Well, I won't give you all the details, but basically, his journey home takes ten years and while he is gone, everyone assumes that he is dead, so his wife and his son have to deal with different men trying to compete for her hand in marriage.

Dave: Sounds interesting… though I’m not sure it'd be up my street.

Shasta: Perhaps you'd be more interested in the Iliad then? The Iliad is about the Trojan War itself, including many Greek legends about it.

Dave: How long was the war?

Shasta: Ten years, but the Iliad actually only covers a few weeks in the final year of the war.

Dave: Why are Homer's epics such an important part of Western literature?

Shasta: Well, the Iliad and Odyssey are two of the oldest works of literature in the Western world.

Dave: How long ago was it written?

Shasta: They believe it was written near the end of the 8th century BC but they also believe that it was originally a story that was passed down orally fi rst.

Dave: Like a bunch of people telling stories around a campfi re?

Shasta: Something like that.

Dave: Well, why didn't you tell me that before? Now I can relate to it!

戴夫： 你读过荷马史诗吗？

沙斯塔： 我读过《奥德赛》,但从未读过《伊利亚特》。

戴夫： 那挺有趣的。《奥德赛》不是《伊利亚特》的续集吗？

沙斯塔： 是的，不过我只是对这一部更感兴趣。你读过吗？

戴夫： 没有，不过我一直都想读。它的内容是什么呢？

沙斯塔： 哦，它主要是讲奥德修斯及其在特洛伊陷落之后的返乡之旅。

戴夫： 特洛伊陷落怎么回事？听起来挺耳熟的，但是实际上我了解得不多。

沙斯塔： 是希腊神话中特洛伊战争的一部分。

戴夫： 那么特洛伊是一个人吗？

沙斯塔： 不是——是一座城。

戴夫： 噢，当然是的，我想我应该知道的！

沙斯塔： 特洛伊战争是希腊神话中最重要的事件之一，许多希腊文学作品都讨论过这场战争，包括荷马史诗。

戴夫： 那么在他返乡的旅程中发生了什么故事呢？

沙斯塔： 哦，我不告诉你具体的细节了，不过主要的情节是：他返乡的旅程耗时10年；由于他离乡未返，大家都以为他死了，而他的妻儿则不得不应对向他妻子求婚的不同男人的纠缠。

戴夫： 听起来挺有意思的 …… 虽然我不确定它是不是我喜欢的。

沙斯塔： 那么你或许会对《伊利亚特》更感兴趣吧？《伊利亚特》就是讲特洛伊战争的，其中包括许多相关的希腊神话。

戴夫： 那场战争历时多久？

沙斯塔： 10年，不过《伊利亚特》实际上只讲述了战争的最后一年中的几个星期。

戴夫： 为什么荷马史诗在西方文学中占有如此重要的地位？

沙斯塔： 哦，因为《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》是西方文学著作中最古老的两部。

戴夫： 荷马史诗是什么时候写的呢？

沙斯塔： 他们认为，荷马史诗大约写于公元前8世纪末，不过他们也认为荷马史诗最初是一个口口相传的故事。

戴夫： 就像一群人围着篝火讲故事，是吗？

沙斯塔： 差不多是那样。

戴夫： 哦，那你之前怎么不说呢？现在我能明白了。

词汇注解

sequel	后续，续篇
event	事件
up one's street	合某人的心意
assume	假定，认为
pass down	传下来
originally	最初，原本 /2tf5rQdONiXmwCoBjhdAEc6uMyW7AzwY1iW5FYWXUWA4/k6y4A7hB1fJE2Wangj