mythology 1

這學期我們的西洋文學概論選用一本書：

Edith Hamilton, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes

這本書1942年出版，之後不斷再版，成為希臘羅馬神話的經典入門款。除了簡要地介紹神話故事諸神與英雄的故事，這本書的導言也十分精彩。根據Hamilton的觀察，古希臘文化最特別之處是無限奔馳的想像力與至高理性兩者的微妙結合。

到底希臘神話是不是一種宗教信仰? 很難界定，Hamilton點出一個重點：

But religion is there, too. In the background, to be sure, but nevertheless plain to see. From Homer through the tragedians and even later, there is a deepening realization of what human beings need and what they must have in their gods. (p. 19)

希臘神話潛藏一種幽微的宗教觀點，一種深入人性之觀點，人總是擁有一些眾神身上的神性。此觀點閱讀荷馬史詩中刻畫的天神宙斯，饒富趣味：

But Homer’s Zeus is not a fact of nature. He is a person living in a world where civilization has made an entry, and of course he has a standard of right and wrong. It is not very high, certainly, and seems chiefly applicable to others, not to himself; but he does publish men who lie and break their oaths; he is angered by any ill treatment of the dead; and he pities and helps old Priam when he goes as a suppliant to Achilles. In the Odyssey, he has reached a higher level. The swineherd there says that the needy and the stranger are from Zeus and he who fails to help them sins against Zeus himself.

在荷馬史詩中，宙斯不僅僅是居高臨下的天神，更是參與事件的腳色，偶爾也當在旁邊熱情觀戰的觀眾；不過，荷馬史詩賦予宙斯一個道德的天平，處罰背信說謊者，並保護死者、孤苦伶仃的人、流浪異鄉的人。用我們熟知的術語，天神宙斯等同某種希臘人認定的「天道」。