1、1比較史特別專題：比較神話學：中國、希臘及其他人類的起源Creation II人類起源神話比較I 人類的始源；II 人類活性的來由。I 人類的始源(A) 製造型 (神造型)認為人是由神製造的，相信和原始時代的工藝技巧有關，認為人也和工具、器皿般，可以製造。中國、希臘、希伯萊的神話，都認為神用泥土摶人。泥土是人類最早用來塑造各種器皿的材料，陶器是遠古時代第一種可以隨著人的意願製造的器皿。又，泥土中可以長出植物來。 希臘神話的普羅米修斯認為泥土中有神的種子。(B) 演變型 (自然發生型)認為人類是由某種生物演變而成的。人類觀察禽畜繁衍知識，植物生長、開花結果知識，及圖騰崇拜的心理因素結合的產物。中
2、國神話詩經大雅生民最初生下人的是姜原女神 她踏著天帝的大腳趾印裡，感受其氣，於是受孕了，生下一個大蛋，由大鳥飛來用翅膀孵育它，最後產下后稷。他種黃豆、禾稻、麻、瓜等莊稼、農作物，是中國發明農耕的神。II 人類活性的來由希臘神話為了給用泥土造成人形以生命，普羅米修斯 (Prometheus) 請 Eros 把生活精神吹進人的鼻孔，又從各種動物的心攝取善與惡，放入人的胸膛裡，Athena又把靈魂與呼吸吹送給人 使人類有活性。 人類有氣息、呼吸、動作、血等，又有思想、有善與惡區別的靈魂等。2中國神話的女媧開天闢地之後，大地已經有山川草木及鳥獸等，但沒有人類，所以，世界仍是荒涼、寂寞。女媧覺得孤獨，認
3、為天地之間，應該加一些生物 在水池旁蹲下，掘了池邊的泥土，滲合入水，仿照水裡自己的形象，揉團成為人。( 即 女媧摶黃土以作人) (摶= 不斷地揉弄 )後，又引繩於泥中，舉以為人。 根據袁珂中國神話傳說大地上既然已經有了人類，女媧的工作似乎可以終止了，但是她又考慮著怎樣才能使他們繼續生存下去呢？人類是要死亡的，死亡一批再造一批麼，太麻煩了。於是她就把男人們和女人們配合起來，叫他們自己去創造後代，負擔嬰兒的養育責任，人類的種子，就這樣地綿延下來，並且一天比一天加多了。 女媧製造人，亦建立婚姻，及令人類繁衍後代。希臘神話，在創造人類的過程則反映人、神對立的觀點。 人是反對 Zeus (宙斯) 的普羅
4、米修斯 (Prometheus) 所創造的，普羅米修斯為了人類的幸福到天上偷天火而受到宙斯的無理懲罰，(Zeus 還製造了 “Pandora” 令人間充滿瘟疫和災禍)。後記 中國的普羅米修斯？(1) 茅盾神話研究認為中國的夸父，可作相比。夸父與日逐走可作與神爭霸的象徵。又夸父飲於河渭，河渭不足 ，及棄其杖，化為林 ，可見夸父的巨大令人聯想起希臘神話的巨人 (Titans)。普羅米修斯盜火時用的樹枝，可與夸父的手杖相比。(2) 袁珂神話選擇百題認為鯀 (禹之父) 竊息壤治水被殺於羽山的事跡，可與普羅米修斯的盜火種而被宙斯懲罰的事跡相比。(3) 陳鵬翔中西文學裡的火神研究則以中國神話的一系列火神作
5、比較包括燧人氏、炎帝神農氏、祝融等。燧人氏鑽木取火神農是農牧之神，也是火神，他繼承伏羲為王之後，採用火為朝廷之表徵，3 又稱炎帝。普羅米修斯的主要事跡(1) 造人普羅米修斯知道神的種子隱藏在泥土裡，所以他用河水把一些泥土濕潤了；捏塑著，使它成為神的形象，再從各種動物的心，攝取善和惡，放入人的胸腔裡，又請 Athena 把靈魂和呼吸使人有生命。(2) 引導人類進入文明社會。普羅米修斯教導最初的人類去觀察日、月、星、辰的升降，以辨別春、夏、秋、冬；教人類計算和用寫下的符號來思想、溝通；又教人類駕馭牲畜等等。(3) 維護人類與宙斯抗爭(i) 普羅米修斯分公牛肉 把骨頭堆成大堆，並用肥脂包起來，看上去
6、像是好肉；又把肉推成小堆，並用牛皮、內臟遮蓋著，於是宙斯選了大堆(骨頭) ，人類則獲得小堆(肉) (ii) 普羅米修斯用一根空心樹枝，從太陽車盜火到人間。 普羅米修斯被鎖在山上，受著萬年之苦，每天被宙斯的鷹啄食他的肝臟，但普羅米修斯堅強不屈，不向宙斯低頭。中國神話(1) 造人女媧 ( a)摶黃土作人 ；(b) 煉五色石補天 。女媧與普羅米修斯的共同點他們創造了人類後，給人類創造一個安居幸福的生活環境。不過，不同處是普羅米修斯替人類謀幸福，卻與宙斯對立；女媧則只是與自然界作搏鬥，卻得到太祖贊同，最後得到雷車登天。可能反映中國的天人合一宇宙觀與希臘的人本主義不同。(2) 引導人類進入文明社會中國
7、伏羲、神農伏羲 師蜘蛛而結網 抱朴子包羲氏 (伏羲) 之王天下也，仰則觀象於天，俯則觀法於地；觀鳥獸之文，與地之宜，近取諸身，遠取諸物，於是始作八卦以通神明之德，以類萬物之情。 易繫辭神農既誕，九井自穿，汲一井則眾水動。 水經注神農之時，天雨栗，神農遂耕而種之，作陶冶斤斧，為耕 鋤耨，以墾草莽，然後五穀興助，百果藏實。 中國神話傳說詞典4普羅米修斯包括 (1) 漁獵社會與(2) 農耕社會；中國則分 (1) 伏羲是漁獵時代，製造捕魚工具網；還觀天、地、鳥、獸而畫八卦。 天文、地理、文字符號產生。(2) 神農則是農耕時代生產者，還發明中草藥，教化人民。偷天火山海經大荒北經夸父不量力，欲追日景，逮之
8、於禺谷。將飲河而不足也，將走大澤，未至，死於此。 又山海經海外北經夸父與日逐走，入日。渴欲得飲，飲於河、渭不足，北飲大澤，未至，道渴而死。其杖，化為林。 夸父逐日或者不單表示與日逐走而已，可能象徵古代人民追求光明，與大自然鬥爭，甚至是有征服大自然的雄心壯志。夸父是后土的孫；后土的幽冥之王， 夸父是后土的繼承者，是未來幽冥之王。王孝廉中國神話與傳說夸父 是古人解釋畫夜循環的神話！逮之(日)於禺谷即是古代人類看到黃昏的景象而產生的聯想。太陽被捉到幽冥去。不過，夸父(不自量力 )終於渴死了，於是 (翌日) ，太陽又再升起了！中國教民鑽木取火 熟食的行為 是遂人氏韓非子五蠹上古之世民食果窳蚌蛤，腥臊死
9、臭，而傷害腹胃，民多疾病。有聖人作鑽燧取火，以化腥臊而民悅之，使王天下，號之曰燧人氏。 (3) 維護人類與天神抗爭中國神話的鯀盜天帝的息壤為人類治水，被天帝派祝融殛於羽山。與普羅米修斯盜天火給人類，給宙斯鎖於山上，被鷹啄其肝臟相似。鯀與普羅米修斯都是為人類犧牲自己。5Comparative Greek and Chinese Mythology (Fred Cheung)Myths of Creation: the Origins of Human Beings (compiled from Powell, Classical Myths, pp. 106-133)Where do human
10、 beings come from? What sets them apart from other creatures? Why is it their fate to labor, suffer, and die? The myths of the ancient Greeks and Romans offered answers to these questions. Certain elements of the stories they told about human origins and the human conditions are strikingly similar t
11、o corresponding stories from Mesopotamia and the Bible. Prometheus, Maker of Mortals:. the maker of human beings is said to be Prometheus, the Titan who took Zeuss side in the battle against his brother and sister Titans.Like Cronus, and like Zeus himself, Prometheus was known especially for being c
12、lever, the inventor of many things, including the race of mortals. He was said to have fashioned human beings from mud and water or from mud combined with wind. The Roman poet Ovid gives the fullest surviving version of the story. After describing the emergence of the world from Chaos, Ovid tells us
13、 that Prometheus made the human race by mixing primeval earth and water. Because the earth contained divine seed, the human was a superior being:An animal blessed with a higher soul was still needed,One abler to reason more deeply, one able to govern the others.So man was born. Perhaps the maker of
14、all things produced himOf heavenly seed, in hopes of creating a yet better world.Or perhaps the newborn world, freshly set off from the ether, Still retained a few seeds of the heaven from which it had come.The son of Iapetus Prometheus fashioned earth and water commingledInto the image of gods, who
15、 are rulers of all things created.The other beasts, four-footed, gaze at the earth, looking downward;But man was given a posture which forces his eyes to the heavens,Walking erect and lifting his sight to the stars in their courses. (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1:76-86)A related Eastern story also told how
16、 humans were made from mud or clay. Hence our bodies turn to dust when we die, a version that entered the biblical narrative of how “the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis, 2.4)6The Sumerian Creation
17、of Man from Mud:. Enki (the clever god) instructed Ki, “Earth”, and together they fashioned servants of clay to provide for the gods needs - the prototypes of ordinary humans. The story explains the origin of ordinary human beings; a creature so made and destined to serve as slave of the gods and ca
18、n never hope for happiness. Prometheus, Protector of Mortals (Human Beings):Prometheus had much in common with his Eastern predecessor Enki, and in the classical tradition he was the creator of the mortals. He was also their protector, an important figure to modern European culture. His lineage was
19、as lofty as that of Zeus, for his father Iapetus was a Titan, brother of Cronus. Prometheus essential quality is encoded in his name, which means “forethinker,” like a character from folklore. His name has the same linguistic root as Metis, “Cleverness,” Zeus;s first consort, and points to his inven
20、tive intelligence. Ancient myth usually depicts early human beings as having lived in a paradise, now lost, a biblical Eden. The Greeks (and Mesopotamians) also told stories of a better time in the remote past. Prometheus taught them (human beings) brickmaking, woodworking, the calendar, numbers, wr
21、iting, animal husbandry, and seafaring. The highest human skills, then, are the gifts of Prometheus: medicine, metallurgy, and prophecy from dreams, the shape of intestines, and astronomical phenomena. Prometheus is the great culture-bearer. He made human life what it is.Prominent Themes in Classica
22、l Stories of Human Origins:The Greeks and Romans did not have a book of Genesis to decree what one should believe about the origin of humans and their early life in the long-ago faraway times when mortals lived close to gods. Hesiods account was by far the most popular, but other traditions abounded
23、. Although different in detail, most reports agreed that human came from the earth, a theme that first appeared in Mesopotamian myth. Of course, the notion that Earth is a mother is logical and may appear independently in any culture. Humans may simply emerge from the earth, growing like plants from
24、 seeds or semen placed within it. Deucalion threw stones over his shoulder like a man sowing a furrow, and up sprang men; the Giants, too, were born when the semen-blood from Uranus severed genitals fell to the earth.A second way for mortals to issue from the earth is at the hands of an artisan god.
25、 So Hephaestus made pandora from clay. A tradition later than Hesiod says that 7Prometheus mixed clay with wind to make the first humans, as in the biblical story the creator made Adam by breathing on the dust of the earth. The image of humans growing from the earth is derived from agriculture; the
26、tradition of the artisan god derives from potterymaking. The essential quality of humans is to be mortal, destined to die. This quality separates us forever from the company of the gods. Because gods too emerged from Gaea/Earth, they and mortals share a common origin, . Now we (human beings as mortals) live apart from the gods, eat cooked meat, labor for our keep, marry to reproduce, and die.(Powell, Classical Myth, pp. 106-133).
