116-Greek gods and heroes-Gustav Schwab-Methdology-1840
Barack
2017/04/ 15
2020/05/0 7
- hero, it would give him the biggest threat is not the enemy in front of him, but his family and friends behind.
"Greek Mythology", first published in Germany in 1840. It collects various legends about gods and heroes of the ancient Greek nation, and vividly depicts the social life of the ancient Greeks.
Gustav Schwab was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1792 and died in 1850. Studied at the University of Tubingen. He used to be Schiller's teacher. His main literary contribution is to discover and sort out ancient cultural heritage. Representative works: "Greek Mythology" and so on.
Part of the catalog
1. Prometheus
2. The century of mankind
3. Pila and Deucalion
4. Zeus and Io
5. Phaeton
6. Europa
7. Cadmus
8. Pentos
9. Perseus
10. Creusa and Ion
Although we would not really believe that the Trojan War was just for the fight for Helen, not for the benefit. But there is such a legend that when the Trojan War reached its tenth year , the Greeks were tired of the war and complained that it was not worth fighting for a woman for so long . But when they saw Helen's beauty with their own eyes, they changed their minds, thinking that the war would be okay for another 10 years. Visible , man's wisdom, degree and extent of a woman's beauty as inversely proportional, and proportional to the degree of courage and a woman's beauty .
" He (Prometheus) knew that the seeds of the gods were hidden in the soil, so he picked up some of the soil, moistened it with river water, and squeezed it in this way, making it the god-the ruler of the world. Image. In order to give life to the human form made of mud, he ingests good and evil from the hearts of various animals and seals them in the human chest. Among the gods, he has a friend, the goddess of wisdom, Athena; She was amazed at the creation of the son of Titan, for blowing soul and divine breath to this creature with only half life. "
There are also legends in China that Nuwa used clay to create people. It seems that the myths of various countries tend to think that people are made of clay. This is probably a concept that farming civilization is more likely to produce, because people's supplies all come from the soil, and they are buried in the soil after death.
" His (Prometheus) wit drove him to deceive the gods. He slaughtered a bull on behalf of his creation and asked the gods to take the part they liked. After he finished killing, he divided it into two piles. He put meat, viscera and fat on one pile, covered with cowhide, and a cow belly on top; on the other pile, he put bare bones, cleverly covered with cow suet. But this pile is relatively large. Some! The all-knowing and all-powerful Zeus saw through his deception and said: "Son of Iapertos, prominent king, my good friend, how unfair your distribution is! ”” ”
What I have been unable to understand is that since the gods are so powerful, why do we need human sacrifices? They can kill humans easily , so why not kill livestock themselves ? People kind of tribute to them are not easy things can get it? And they have the most beautiful food, so why should they enjoy the livestock of the world?
" This woman (Pandora) is holding a gift in both hands-a huge closed box. She just walked to Epimetheus when she suddenly opened the lid, and a large group of disasters flew out. , Quickly spread to the ground. But there is the only beautiful thing hidden deep in the bottom of the box: hope! Because of the warning of the Father of the gods, before it flew out, Pandora put down the lid and closed the box permanently. Now count Unclear different forms of misery fill the earth, the air, and the sea. Diseases linger among mankind day and night, secretly and quietly; because Zeus did not give them a voice. Various fevers attack the earth, and death, In the past, I staggered into the world so slowly, but now I move forward with flying steps. "
Myths and religious stories are often allegorical . Although the story is simple, it reveals some truths in life. People were tempted by beauty and other things and opened Pandora's box, which also caused endless disasters. Only "hope" can redeem mankind.
" The suffering of this prisoner (Prometheus) was judged to be permanent, or at least thirty thousand years. He roared loudly and called out the wind, the river, the void where nothing can hide, and the earth of the mother of all things, for His pain testified, but his spirit was still very strong. "No matter who, as long as he learns to recognize the unshakable power of destiny," he said, "he must endure the pain awarded by the goddess of fate. "Zeus' threats also failed to persuade him to explain his unlucky prophecy that a new marriage will corrupt and destroy the king of the gods. Zeus will do what he says. He sends a eagle to peck every day. He eats prisoner’s liver, but no matter how much he eats, the liver regenerates. This pain will continue until someone voluntarily comes out and suffers for him. "
Prometheus offends powerful gods for the sake of weak humans . To do so is really worth of it? Gods can punish him, but humans cannot protect him. Even Hercules, who later liberated Prometheus, was also the son of Zeus, not purely human.
" The first-age human beings created by the gods were golden humans. At this time, Cronus (that is, Saturn) ruled the kingdom of heaven. They lived carefree, without labor and sorrow, almost like gods. . They will not age. Their hands and feet still have the power of youth. Their limbs are soft and disease-free, and they enjoy feasts and happiness throughout their lives. The gods also love them and give them rich harvests and magnificent livestock. Be theirs When the time of death comes, they will fall into undisturbed long sleep; but when they are alive, they have many wishful things. The earth automatically grows very rich fruits for them. Their needs are met, and everyone is in peace and happiness. Live happily. When the goddess of fate judges them to leave the earth, they become benevolent protectors, walking around in the clouds, giving gifts, presiding justice, and punishing sins. "
" Subsequently, the gods created second-age humans, silver humans; this is different from the first race in appearance and spirit. Their children and grandchildren have maintained their childhood for hundreds of years, and they will not be mature and are under the care of their mothers. And spoiling. In the end, when such a child grows up to adulthood, he is left with only a short life. Because they can't control their feelings, their presumptuous actions make this new humanity fall into disaster. They are rude and arrogant, and each other Violation, no longer offering proper sacrifices to the altar of the gods to show respect. Zeus was very angry that they lacked respect for the gods, so he wiped out this race from the earth. But because this silver race is not entirely There is no morality, so there must be some kind of honor. When they terminate human life, they can still roam the earth as demons. "
" Now the heavenly Father Zeus has created a Tertiary race, bronze humans. This is completely different from humans in the Silver Age. They are cruel and rough, accustomed to war, and always kill each other. They damage the fruits of the fields and eat and drink. The flesh and blood of animals; their stubborn will is as hard as a diamond. From their broad shoulders grow irresistible giant arms. They wear bronze armor, live in bronze houses, and operate with bronze tools because they There was no iron at that time. But although they were tall and terrible and kept fighting with each other, they couldn't resist death. When they left the clear and bright land, they descended into the dark night of the underworld. "
" When this race is completely Simie, the son of Zeus Cronos created Quaternary race, they rely on the land to produce life. These new humans are more noble than ever before in human and public positive. But they are ancient The heroes of the so-called demigods. But in the end they also fell into vendettas and wars. Some were outside the city of Thebai for the land war of King Oedipus, and some took ships to the Troy wilderness for the beautiful Helen . In battles and disasters, they ended their survival on the ground. Zeus assigned them to the bright island of Bliss in the dark ocean. Here they lead a peaceful and happy life after death. Three times a year, the rich earth gives them Their sweet fruit harvest. "The 4th era is the era of heroes.
"The ancient poet Hesiod talked about the legend of the human century. He ended with this sigh: "Ah, if I am not born in the fifth age of the present human being, let me die earlier or be born later. ! Because now is the century of black iron. Humans at this time are totally sinful. They work day and night and worry about them. The gods make them have deeper and deeper troubles, but the biggest troubles are brought to themselves by themselves. Fathers do not love sons; sons do not love fathers. Guests hate their host, and friends hate their friends. Even the brothers are not as sincere as in ancient times, and the white hair of their parents is not respected. Old people have to listen to shameful words and endure blows. Ah, ruthless humans! Have you forgotten the referee given by the gods and dare to live up to the upbringing grace of senior parents? Powerful people are everywhere, and people destroy their neighboring cities. Covenant-keeping, good, and just people are not rewarded, while evil and hard-hearted blasphemers are honored. Kindness and elegance are no longer respected. The wicked are allowed to hurt goodness, tell lies, and bet on false spells. This is why these people are so unhappy. Discord and malicious jealousy pursued them, and made their eyebrows furrowed. Until this time, the goddesses of the highest kind and dignity who have often come to the earth are now sadly covering their beautiful limbs with white robes and returning to the eternal gods. There is nothing left for mankind but misery, and this misery is invisible! " "
Here, the history of mankind is divided into five discrete ages: the golden age, the silver age, the bronze age, the heroic age, and the current age of black iron. In Christian mythology, people think that mankind has been destroyed many times. In Greek mythology, they also believed that humans were repeatedly created and destroyed.
" Zeus returned to Mount Olympus , the gods sat and deliberation, decided to destroy all the shameful human race. He was about to castigate the whole earth with lightning, but immediate stop, because I am afraid that Congress is calamity day and, and burned The pivot of the universe. So he put down the thunder and lightning that Cookrops had cast for him, determined to land with heavy rain and flood mankind with floods. "
In the myths and legends of most peoples , there was a period of flooding in prehistoric times. Is this the memory of human ancestors from the ice age? And most legends also tend to think that deities live on mountains or in the sky.
" They ( Ducathion and Pila ) knelt before the semi-destroyed altar of the goddess of justice Themis, and prayed to the immortal goddess: "Tell us, goddess, how we can recreate the extinct human race. Ah, help the world be born again! "Leave from my altar," a voice replied. "Cover your head, untie your clothes, and throw your mother's bones behind you." They meditated on the mysterious words for a long time. Pilar was the first to break through the silence. "Forgive me, great goddess," she said, "if I tremble and disobey you; because I hesitated, I don’t want to throw my mother’s bones. Offend her ghost! "But Deucalion's heart suddenly brightened, as if a ray of light flashed. He comforted his wife with soothing words. "Unless my understanding is wrong, the god's command will never tell us to do something wrong," He said, "The earth is our mother, and her bones are stones. Pila, it is the stone that is going to throw behind us! " "
The gods seem to always dislike making their predictions too obvious. Often the method implied pointed out , need those puzzle to be their own imagination. Does this imply that the ancient priests deliberately gave ambiguous predictions to prevent mistakes in their predictions, so as to ensure that both positive and negative could be explained?
" Hera, the mother of the gods, has known her husband's unfaithfulness for a long time. Because he often carried her on his back, indiscriminately in love with the daughters of demigods and mortals. She never restrained her anger and jealousy, she always harbored tenacity. Her suspicion monitors every movement of Zeus on the ground. Now she is looking at the place where her husband is hiding her pleasure. She is surprised to see that the place is also clouded with clouds on sunny days. It is not rising from the river, nor Not from the ground, nor for other natural reasons. She immediately became suspicious. She searched Olympus and found no Zeus. "If I am not mistaken," she said angrily, "my husband Must be doing a serious sin against me again. " "
The source of a man's effort begins with Zeus, the father of the gods , and the source of women's jealousy and sensitivity begins with Hera, the mother of the gods. If the wife is weak, she can only endure it in silence. And if the wife and the husband are equally strong, then the two continue to carry out this kind of reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance rest.
" On the bank of the Nile, she (Io) knelt on her front feet, held her head up, and looked up at Zeus in the sky in silent complaints. He saw her, aroused pity, and immediately went to Hera, embraced her, and begged her. Have mercy on this poor girl. He explained that she did not entice him to become unrighteous, and swears by the river in the lower realm (because gods often swear that way) that he will never give up his love for her in the future. When he is begging her Hera also heard the scream of the heifer from the clear sky. She softened her heart and allowed Zeus to restore Ios to its original form. "
A loving but powerful husband. Like a jealous wife who has the same power . The two were afraid of each other . When the husband is greedy for other young and beautiful women. This will be the beginning of the latter's tragic fate. Because she could not refuse the former, and once their personal affair was discovered by the lover's wife, the lover could not protect the poor woman .