1、1比較史特別專題：比較神話學：中國、希臘及其他愛情故事愛情觀念之差異：愛情是人類與生俱來的本能，中西古代神話都充滿著各式各類的愛情故事；但由於民族性的差異，表現在神話裏的愛情故事也不相同；一些神話學者認為中國神話的愛情故事有兩大特色：（）凡是愛情與孝道抵觸時，不論當時人是多麼痛苦，中國神話多是捨愛情而重孝道；（）注重貞潔守一，認為心靈和諧勝過肉慾的放縱；相對的西方，希臘神話則較多描述縱慾亂愛。中國神話的牛郎織女有很多版本，其中一是：天帝有一女兒叫織女，住在天河之東，她終年紡織布，極其辛勞；天帝嘉奬其工作，遂把她許配給河西的牛郎。他們結婚後，由於男歡女愛，以致曠棄了各自各的工作。天帝大怒，便命織
2、女返回河東織布，而牛郎則留在河西牧牛耕種，每年只有七月七日渡鵲橋相會。 （荊楚歲時記中華，頁）又根據干寶搜神記 （新興書局）卷十四，頁：古時有一位父親出門遠行，很久沒有回家，他家裏只有一個女兒和一四雄馬。這位女兒因想念父親，有一天竟開玩笑地對馬兒說：若你把父親接回來，我便嫁給你為妻 ；怎料那匹馬立刻絕塵而，去並找到父親 。父親見到馬兒，相信家中的女兒可能出了事故，便立刻騎馬回家，女兒見到父親，當然高興，但卻忘記了對馬兒的承諾。馬兒從此不吃東西，父親查問女兒才知道原因，便射殺馬兒，並把馬皮晒在園子裏。一天，女兒包著飛走了。後來，父親才在桑葉間發現了一些馬頭形的蟲子，據說，這就是蠶蟲的由來。以上的
3、中國神話，織女固然順從天帝之命， （儘管與牛郎生了子女，仍捨棄夫、兒回到河東） ；另一則的女兒亦只有思念父親而忘卻對雄馬的承諾。西方希臘的神話則不同：Pisa 國 Oinomaos 有一公主名 Hippodameia，因貎美而追求者甚多。國王遂公開條件：凡想要 Hippodameia 者，必須在賽馬車中勝過他。由於戰神 Ares 曾送他一對賽馬，所以每次比賽都是國王勝出，而求婚者輸了便要被處死。直到 People 來求婚時，由於 Hippodameia 愛上了 People，於是 Hippodameia 買通了管理國王的馬車的 Myrtilus，弄壞了車軸，使國王摔死，而 Hippodamei
4、a 便與 People 結為夫婦。另一則希臘神話也是重男女之愛情而不重親情的：2Thessaly 國 Aeson 死時，皇子 Jason 年幼，遂由皇叔 Pelias 攝政。Jason 長大後，Pelias 不願讓位，叫 Jason 到 Kolchis 取回國家的信物；金羊毛。Jason 到逹Kolchis 時才知道金羊毛是由一條毒龍守護著，不可能取回。可幸 Kolchis 國的公主 Medea 愛上了他，為了幫助情郎，用迷藥迷暈了毒龍，Jason 因而順利取回金羊毛。Medea 更帶著弟弟 Apsyrtos 乘船與 Jason 私奔。Kolchis 國的父王Aeetes 事後追趕，快追到時，
5、Medea 竟殘殺其弟，並切為八塊，拋下海中，由於希臘人認為屍體不全的，其靈魂便不能進入天堂，所以 Kolchis 國王 Aeetes只好打撈小王子的屍體，而 Medea 及 Jason 則能逃回 Thessaly。此外，更有父女互相殘殺的：Skylla 是 Nisa 城主 Nisos 之女。當 Crete 島的國 Minos 來攻打 Nisa 城時 Skylla卻愛上了英勇豪邁的 Minos 國王。那天晚上，Skylla 趁父親熟睡時，殺父並偷走城門之匙，投入 Minos 懷抱。但 Minos 攻陷 Nisa 城後班師回國時，卻不肯帶Skylla 同行；Skylla 雙手找住船邊，但被其父的
6、靈魂代為海鷹，撲擊 Skylla 而令她墮海亡。這幾個古希臘神話的愛情故事都沒有親情 。至於放縱肉慾方面，古希臘神話的天神 Zeus 更是著名：與 Zeus 有關係的女神、女人，包括：與 Themis 生下春、夏、秋、冬四女神；與 Eurynome 生下優美三女神；與 Mnemosyhe 生下 Muse 九女神；引誘 Metis不成，Zeus 遂把她吞吃了，結果 Zeus 卻因而從自己的頭爆破生出了 Athena；與其姐 Demeter 生下 Persephone，與 Atlas 之女 Maia 生下 Hermes；與Phoebe/Coeus 之女 Letos 生下 Apollo 和 Arte
7、mis；與河神 Inachos 之女 Io 生下Epathus。與凡間女子有關係的，包括：與 Thebes 王 Cadmus 之女 Semele 生下酒神Dionysos； 與 Phonicia 王 Agenor 之女 Europa 生下 Minos 和 Rhadamanthos；與Sparta 王 Tynodareos 之妻 Leda 生下凡間最美麗的女子“Helen ”；與 Thebes 一名貴族 Nykteus 之女 Antiope 生下 Amphion 和 Zethos；與 Argos 王 Akrisitus 之女 Danae 生下 Perseus；與將軍 Amphitryon 之妻
8、Alkmena 生下大力神 Heracles等。此外，愛神 Aphrodite 亦十分放縱：愛神 Aphrodite 的丈夫是鐵匠神 Hephaisto，但她與很多男神、男子都有關係例如：夫兄戰神 Ares；與另一位夫兄 Hermes生下 Hermaphrodite；與酒神生下 Pripus；與 Troy 王 Priam 之表弟 Anchises 生下羅馬人的始祖 Aeneas 等。中國方面則多貶斥縱慾的神話：河伯（河神）冰夷十分好色，他的妻子宓妃3（洛神）極漂亮，但冰夷竟要凡間每年獻給他一位美女，否則他便令河水泛濫，為害人間。後來他終被后羿射瞎了左眼。不過，古代西方（希臘、羅馬）的神話，也有
9、一些可歌可泣的愛情故事：“Cupid Powell, Classical Myth; and Evslin, Evslin, her constant companion was Eros, “love” or “desire” (the Roman Cupid), who emerged from Chaos at the same time as Gaea/Earth and Tartarus, according to Hesiod. In later myths, however, Eros was the son of Aphrodite by Ares, Hermes, or Ze
10、us. (Powell, Classical Myth, p. 193)Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty; so there are more stories told about her than anyone else, god or mortal. Being what she is, she enters other stories; and such is the power of her magic girdle that he who even speaks her name falls under her spell, a
11、nd seems to glimpse her white shoulders and catch the perfume of her golden hair. And he loses his wit and begins to babble, and tells the same story in many ways. But all the tales agree that she is the goddess of desire, and, unlike other Olympians, is never distracted from her duties. Her work is
12、 her pleasure, her profession, her hobby. She thinks of nothing but love, and nobody expects more of her. 5She was born out of the primal murder. When Cronos butchered his father, Oranos (or Uranus), with the scythe his mother had given him, he flung the dismembered body off Olympus into the sea, wh
13、ere it floated, spouting blood and foam which drifted, whitening in the sun. From the foam rose a tall beautiful maiden, naked and dripping. Waves attended her. Poseidons white horses brought her to the island of Cythera. Where she stepped, the sand turned to grass and flowers bloomed. Then she went
14、 to Cyprus. Hillside burst into flowers, and the air was full of birds. Zeus brought her to Olympus, She was still dripping from the sea. She wore nothing but the bright tunic of her hair which fell below her knees and was yellow as daffodils. She looked about the great throne room where the gods we
15、re assembled to meet her, arched her throat and laughed with joy. Hera was watching Zeus narrowly. “You must marry her off,” she whispered. “At once without delay!” “Yes,” said Zeus. “Some sort of marriage would seem to be indicated.” And he said, “Brothers, sons, cousins, Aphrodite is to be married
16、. She will choose her own husband. So make your suit.” The gods around her, shouting promises, pressing their claims, Earth-shaking Poseidon swung his mighty trident to clear a space about himself. “I claim you for the sea,” he said, “You are sea-born, foam-born, and belong to me. I offer you grotto
17、s, riddles, gems, fair surfaces, dark surroundings. I offer you variety, Drowned sailors, typhoons, sunsets. I offer you secrets. I offer you riches that earth does not know - power more subtle, more fluid than the dull fixed land. Come with me - be queen of the sea.” He slammed his trident on the f
18、loor, and a huge green tidal wave swelled our of the sea - high, high as Olympus, curling its mighty green tongue as if to lick up the mountain - and poised there, quivering, not breaking, as the gods gaped. Then Poseidon raised his trident, and the mighty wave subsided like a ripple. He bowed to Ap
19、hrodite. She smiled at him, but said nothing. Then the gods spoke in turn, offering her great gifts. Apollo offered her a throne and a crown made of hottest sun-gold, a golden chariot drawn by white swans; and the Muses for her handmaids. Hermes offered to make her queen of the crossways where all m
20、ust come - where she would hear every story, see every traveler, know each deed - a rich pageant of adventure and gossip so that she would never get bored. She smiled at Apollo and Hermes and made no answer. The Hera, scowling, reached her long white arm and dragged Hephaestus, the lame smith-god, f
21、rom where he had been hiding behind others, ashamed to be seen. And she hissed into his ear, “Speak, fool. Say exactly what I told you to say.” He limped forward with great embarrassment, and stood before the radiant goddess, eyes cast down, not daring to look at her. He said,” I would make a good h
22、usband for a girl like you. I work late.” Aphrodite smiled. She said nothing, but put her finger under the chin of the grimy little smith, raised his face, leaned down, and kissed him on the lips. That 6night they were married. And at the wedding party she finally spoke - whispering to each of her s
23、uitors - telling each one when he might come with his gift. (Evslin, Evslin, it became a mirror, holding the trees and the sky upside down. And Narcissus, looking into the stream, saw a face. He blinked his eyes, and looked again. It was still there - the most beautiful face he had ever seen. As bea
24、utiful, he knew, as his own, but with a nimbus of light behind it so that the hair was blurred and looked long - like a girls. He gazed and gazed, and could not have enough of it. He knew that he could not look upon this face forever and still not be satisfied. . The face looked at him out of the st
25、ream. Again, very timidly, he reached his 9hand. Again the water trembled and the face disappeared. . And Narcissus stayed there, leaning over the stream, watching the face in the water, watching, watching Day after day he stayed there, night after night, never moving, never eating, never looking aw
26、ay from the face. He stayed there so long that his legs grew into the bank of the river, and became roots. His hair grew long, tangled, leafy. And his pale face and blue eyes became delicate blue and white petals - the flower Narcissus, that lives on the river bank, and leans over watching its refle
27、ction in the water. And there you can find it till this day. And in the woods, too, when all is still, you will sometimes come upon Echo. And if you call to her in a certain way, she will answer your call.Eros and PsycheThere was a king who had three daughters, and the youngest, named Psyche, was so
28、 beautiful that Aphrodite grew jealous, and began to plan mischief. She called her son Eros to her, and said, “Son, your mother has been insulted. a maiden lies asleep. You must go pierce her with one of your arrows.” “While she is asleep? What good will it do?” “No good at all. Just evil, which is
29、exactly what I plan for her.” “But she can fall in love only with the one she is looking at when the arrow pierces her. Why bother when she is asleep?” “Because if you scratch her with the arrow while she sleeps, she will form a passion for the first one she sees when she awakes. And I will take car
30、e to supply her with someone very special - the cattle dwarf, perhaps. Or the gardener, who has just celebrated his hundred-and-second birthday. Or a donkey - yes, thats possible, too. I havent decided. But you can be sure it will be someone quite undesirable. Her family will be surprised.” The is a
31、 cruel trick, Mother.” “Oh, yes - its meant to be cruel. I tell you the girl has irritated me. Now be off and do your work.” Obediently, Eros flew down to the castle. He made himself invisible, and flew through the window into the girls chamber. He stood looking at her. “She is very beautiful,” he t
32、hought. “Too beautiful for her own safety, poor girl.” He leaned over her, holding his dart so as to delicately scratch her shoulder. But he must have made some sound, for she opened her eyes then and looked straight into his, although she could not see him. And her huge black brilliant eyes startle
33、d him so that the dart slipped and he scratched his own hand. He stood there feeling the sweet poison spread in his veins, confused, growing dizzy with joy and strangeness. He had spread love, but never felt it, shot others, but never been wounded himself. . He stood looking at her. Suddenly she had
34、 become the most wonderful, the most curious, the most valuable thing in the world to him. And he knew that he would never let her come to any harm if he could prevent it. When he told his mother what had happened she fell into a rage and ordered him 10out of her sight. She then flung a curse upon P
35、syche. She cast an invisible hedge of thorns about her, so that no suitor could come near. The beautiful young princess became very lonely, and very sad. “How dare you torment the girl like that?” Eros said to his mother. “So long as you keep this spell upon her, I will do no business of love. I wil
36、l shoot no one with my arrows. Your praises will not be sung” And indeed Eros refused to shoot his arrows. People stopped falling in love with one another. There was no praise for Aphrodite; her temples stood empty, her altars unadorned. No marriages were made, no babies born. The world seemed to gr
37、ow old and dull in a day. Without love, work dried. And Aphrodite herself, goddess of love and beauty, found herself wasting in the great parching despair that came off the earth like a desert wind. She called her son to her, and said, “I see that you must have your way. What is it you wish?” “The g
38、irl,” he said. “You shall have her. Sharpen your darts now, and get back to work or we shall all run melancholy mad.” oracle: “Psyche is not meant for mortal man. She is to be the bride of him who lives on the mountain and vanquishes both man and god. Take her to the mountain.” “You are Psyche. I am
39、 your husband. You are the most beautiful girl in all the world, beautiful enough to make the goddess of love herself grow jealous.” She could not see anyone. “Where are you?” “Here.” She reached out her arms. She felt mighty shoulders hard as marble, but warm with life. She felt herself being enfol
40、ded by great muscular arms. . Late that night, when Eros had fallen asleep, she crept away and took the torch. She tiptoed back to where he slept and held the lamp over him. There in the dim light she saw a god sleeping. Eros himself, the archer of love, youngest and most beautiful of the gods. She
41、leaned over to kiss his face, still holding the lamp, and a drop of hot oil fell on his bare shoulder. Eros started up and seized the lamp, and doused the light. She reached for him, felt him push her away. She heard his voice saying, “Wretched girl - you are not ready to accept love. Yes, I am love itself, and I cannot live where I am not believed. Farewell, Psyche.” (“When there is no trust, there is no love”). Love knows the secret of love, that believing is seeing.(Evslin, Evslin, & Hoopes, The Greek Gods, pp. 95-106.)
