冥界之神哈得斯

農歷七月十五是“中元節”，即中國的“鬼節”。傳說這一天是地獄之門開啟之日，已故祖先可回家團圓。而西方文學作品中也常出現地獄的說法，那么希臘神話中的地獄是怎樣一番景象呢？

The God Himself

Hades was the God of the Underworld， and he gained his world through drawing lots1) with his brothers—Zeus and Poseidon. Zeus became the ruler of the sky， and Poseidon ruled the world of the sea.

Hades usual image was just like Zeus， a strong， bearded middle-aged man， but with a bident2)， sometimes a spear as his weapon. His usual image in art was one with a crown， which made him look different from Zeus and Poseidon. He was often seen with his queen Persephone3) and his triple-headed dog Cerberus.

Hades

The Entrance: Hades was a bleak4) world. It was said that the entrance to this world was the volcanic5) region near Vesuvius6)， where the whole country was broken into chasms7) from which sulphurous8) flames arose.

The Rivers: If we could approach the region， what would greet us would be the rivers in Hades: Acheron—the river of sadness; Cocytus—the river of lamentation9); Lethe—the river of forgetfulness; Phlegethon—the river of fire. Styx was the river of hate， and it was also the river of the unbreakable oath， by which the gods swore.

The Ferryman: On the black river Cocytus， the ferryman， Charon， old， but strong and vigorous， was responsible for ferrying passengers in his boat to the opposite bank. The man chose those he wanted to ferry but demanded a coin from each soul for transportation.

The Guardian Dog: The guardian dog was the triple-headed dog Cerberus， its necks hissing10) with snakes. It guarded the entrance and almost no one could return to our world again once having descended into its world.

Realms11) of Hades

According to Greek Mythology， all creatures would go to the underworld when they died， whether he had lived a virtuous12) life on earth or he was a sinner or a monster. The difference lied in which part of the underworld he was judged to live.

Generally there were three realms in Hades. For those who lived lives having nothing to do with virtue， such as babies who died at birth， there was the ordinary realm. For the sinners， they had the Tartarus13)， a deep pit， where they were given punishments symbolic14) of their crimes on earth. The just and virtuous people lived in the Elysian Fields. The Elysian Fields meant paradise. The region had a sun and stars of its own. The residents breathed a freer air， and saw all objects clothed in a purple light. They enjoyed themselves in various ways， some in sports on the grassy turf15)， in games of strength or skill， others dancing or singing. The life here was happy and peaceful.

冥王其人

哈得斯是冥界之神，他通過和兄弟天神宙斯和海神波塞冬抓鬮的方式獲得了自己的領地。宙斯成為了天庭的統治者，波塞冬則統領海洋世界。

哈得斯的形象和宙斯相似，都是長著胡子的中年男子，但他的武器是雙叉矛，有時是長矛。在藝術作品中，通常會將他的形象處理成戴著王冠的人，使他看起來有別于宙斯和波塞冬。他經常和王后珀爾塞福涅以及三頭狗刻耳柏洛斯在一起。

冥界

入口：冥界是一個荒涼的世界。據說這個世界的入口位于維蘇威火山附近的火山區，在那里，整片土地都分裂開來，布滿了裂縫，硫燃燒的火焰便從縫隙中噴薄而出。

冥河：如果我們能接近那個地區，首先映入眼簾的便是冥界的河流：悲傷之河Acheron、慟哭之河Cocytus、遺忘之河Lethe和地獄火河Phlegethon。Styx是憎恨之河，也是誓言之河，諸神在此河旁立誓。

艄公：在黑色的慟哭之河Cocytus上有一位艄公卡龍，他雖然上了年紀，但身體健壯且充滿了活力，他負責用船將乘客擺渡到對岸。他可以選擇自己愿意擺渡的靈魂，但會向每一個靈魂索要一枚銅板作為交通費。

守護犬：冥界的守護犬是三頭狗刻耳柏洛斯，它的脖子上纏繞著嘶嘶吐信的蛇。它守護著地獄的入口，一旦墮入這個世界，幾乎沒有人可以重返陽間。

冥界分界

根據希臘神話，所有的生靈死后都要去冥界，無論是一生守德的人，還是罪人，抑或是個妖怪。不同之處在于，他們會被裁決去冥界的不同地域生活。

通常，冥界劃分成了三個區域。死前的生活與道德毫無關聯的人，比如出生時便夭折的小孩子們，他們去的是普通區域。但如果是罪人，他們就要去地獄深淵，一個深坑，在那里接受象征著他們生前罪孽的懲罰。而公正及有德之人則居住在極樂世界里。極樂世界的意思是“伊甸園”。這里有自己的日月星辰。居住在這里的人可以呼吸更加自由的空氣，他們所看到的一切都籠罩在紫色的光韻之中。他們以各種方法愉悅身心，有人在草坪上進行體育鍛煉，有人進行力量或者競技的游戲，而其他人則跳舞或者唱歌。這里的生活歡樂而寧靜。

Hades Getting His Queen by Force

Perhaps Hades' best known story is his taking of Persephone as his wife by force.

Eros was urged by his mother to try his power， and he shot his arrow at the god of the underworld. When Persephone was playing with her companions， gathering lilies and violets， and filling her basket and her apron16) with them， Hade saw her from his chariot17). Immediately Hades fell in love with Persephone. He came down from his chariot and carried her off. She screamed to her mother and her companions for help and gave the river god her wreath， asking him to report this event to her mother， Demeter.

Demeter saw the wreath and knew that her daughter was kidnapped by Hades. She turned to Zeus for help. Zeus instantly sent his messenger Hermes to Hades to prevent Persephone from eating anything Hades offered her， for the rule is once a mortal or a god has taken anything of the underworld， he/she has to stay there for the rest of his/her life. Meanwhile in the underworld， Hades was trying every trick to lure Persephone into taking some of the fruit. Finally， she tasted some pomegranate18). So when Hermes arrived there was little to be done. Zeus had to agree that Persephone should stay in Hades for at least half a year.

Four Seasons

Demeter cursed the earth when her daughter was not with her， making the soil frozen with frost and snow. That is why we have autumn and winter. When her daughter came back from the underworld， she was joyful， and she made the soil soft and the wind mild. That is why we have spring and summer.

哈得斯武力娶妻

哈得斯最廣為人知的也許就是他武力娶珀爾塞福涅為妻的故事了。

愛神在母親的強烈要求下要一試法力，他射中了冥王。當時珀爾塞福涅正和同伴們在玩耍，采集百合和紫羅蘭，裝滿了她的花籃和衣裙。坐在戰車里的冥王看見了珀爾塞福涅，立刻愛上了她。他走下戰車，擄走了她。她尖叫著向母親和伙伴們求救，并把花環扔給了河神，請他將所發生的一切報告給她的母親得墨忒耳。

得墨忒耳看到花環，得知女兒被哈得斯擄走了。她向宙斯求救，宙斯立刻派他的使者赫爾墨斯到冥界，去阻止珀爾塞福涅吃冥王提供的任何食物。因為冥界的規矩是：不論凡人或神，一旦吃了冥界的任何東西，他/她的余生就不得不在那里度過了。而與此同時，冥王正費盡心機地誘騙珀爾塞福涅吃一些水果。最終，她嘗了一些石榴。于是，當赫爾墨斯到達冥界的時候，已經回天無力了，宙斯只得同意讓珀爾塞福涅一年中至少有半年要留在冥界。

四季劃分

當女兒不在身旁時，得墨忒耳就詛咒大地，使大地因霜雪而封凍，這時就是秋天和冬天；而當女兒從冥界返回時，她就會很快樂，于是讓土壤松軟，惠風和煦，這時就是春天和夏天。

1.Hades：冥府，陰世；冥王。音譯為“哈得斯”，該詞的字面意思為“看不見的”。而冥王通常也被認為是財富之神，因為他掌管的地下冥界聚集了大量的財富。他的羅馬名字是Pluto，因此，以pluto為詞根的詞可能與“財富”有關，比如plutocracy的意思是“富豪政治”。

2.Elysian Fields：等同于“Elysium”，表示“(英雄及好人死后所住的)樂土，極樂世界”，也指“樂園，天堂”。因此，Elysian表示“幸福的，歡樂的”。

3.Titanic：來源于“Titan(提坦神)”，Titan是巨人族，因此該詞表示“巨大的，龐大的，強大的”。

4.Demeter：得墨忒耳，希臘神話中的谷物女神，傳說她在尋找女兒的過程中教會了人們耕種，也使我們的世界分成了四季。她的羅馬名字是Ceres，即cereal (麥片)一詞的詞根。

1. Hades，Tartarus和Hell

一般來講，人們習慣把外來文化和本土文化元素對等起來，或者把外來文化與本土文化進行同化處理。例如，人們往往會根據中國傳統文化中地獄的概念把Hades翻譯成“地獄”，但實際上這并不準確，與中國文化中的“地獄”接近的概念是Tartarus，它是希臘神話中冥界的三部分之一，是罪人死后的居所。而Hell出自基督教文化，由于基督教文化是一神論，而希臘神話是泛神論體系，因此Hades和Hell是不同的概念，不能等同。

2. Hades哈得斯

哈得斯并不是我們所說的“閻王”，更不是“閻羅王”。他是整個冥界的主宰，是一個形象。而“閻王”不是一個形象，中國傳說中的冥間有“十殿閻王”之說，因此，“閻王”有十個形象，其中掌管第五殿的才是大家常說的“閻羅王”。

Top 3：Ixion伊克西翁。此人生前能言善辯，英俊、勇敢，但心地邪惡。他為了自己的利益，殘忍地殺害了岳父，所有人都嫌棄他，死時也不能得到寬恕，只有宙斯赦免了他的罪。但他卻動起了赫拉的念頭，在確認屬實之后，他被罰到地獄，被綁在輪子上永久旋轉。

Top 2：Sisyphus西西弗斯。西西弗斯是希臘古時的暴君，他企圖逃脫死亡，于是騙冥王戴上自己的手銬，致使冥王回不了地獄，沒人能夠死去。最后，冥王叫來了幫手，把他拽到了地獄，懲罰他推巨石上山，但巨石在近山頂時又滾下，于是重新再推，如此循環不息、永無休止。所以人們用“Sisyphean”來表示“艱難而無盡頭的，徒勞的”。

Top 1：Tantalus坦塔羅斯。其實坦塔羅斯在生前已經受到了神的眷顧，可以接受神的宴請，死后本可以在“伊甸園”過著安樂的生活。但是他并沒有珍惜這種恩惠，反倒自大地認為自己和神沒有什么區別。他把自己的兒子殺了，做成菜肴貢獻給諸神，只是為了試探眾神能否看穿他。對于這樣的罪行，他所受到的懲罰是永恒的饑餓和焦渴。在地獄，低頭就有河水，但他卻喝不到，因為他一低頭河水就馬上退去；他頭上的樹枝碩果累累，但他一舉手，果實就向后退。因此他只能永久忍受饑渴。“Tantalus”也用來指“上鎖透明瓶酒柜”，這個酒柜因無鑰匙開啟取不到酒而使人眼饞，因此得名。

Ancient Greek Games

for Gods

敬神的古希臘運動會

虔誠的古希臘人對神頂禮膜拜，他們取悅諸神的方式是舉辦各種名目的競技會，古奧運會就是其中影響最為深遠的一種。這是為什么呢？

The Greeks believed that their gods particularly loved to see strong， fit， graceful human bodies， especially boys' and men's bodies. So one way to get on the good side of the gods was to exercise， to eat right， to oil your skin， to create a beautiful body that the gods would love. Because of the Greek tendency to turn everything into an agon (有獎競賽)， a competition， this also meant that there were a lot of athletic competitions in Greece. The most famous of these is the Olympic Games， but there were other games held in other places as well， like the Isthmian Games at Corinth.

那么，都是哪些人參加這些運動會呢？

Young men (from richer families who didn't have to work) in most Greek cities spent a lot of their time training for these competitions， and the best of them were chosen to compete against the best young men from other cities. Then they would all meet， at the Olympic Games or the Isthmian Games or elsewhere， and compete for prizes and for the favor of the gods. Of course these games also served as good training for the army， because all these men would be soldiers as well. The competition was very important， and there was a feeling that losing at games meant that the gods didn't like you.