吴春晓

希腊人的经济依赖于岛屿之间的贸易往来，因此，海洋和陆地同等重要。因此，自古以来海神在希腊神话与宗教中就占据着不可替代的地位。

Poseidon's Many Names

Like his brother Zeus, Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, has many names—Earthshaker1), Rain-God, Cloud-Gatherer, and Poseidon of the Thunderbolt, to name just a few.

Poseidon's common domain is the seas, where ancient Greek people believed the most terrible earthquakes happened, hence giving Poseidon the name—Earthshaker.

Poseidon was powerful, decisive2), competitive, and dignified3). The common symbols of Poseidon include tridents4), horses(stallions5)), springs and dolphins, each involving an interesting story.

Poseidon's trident is now the symbol of sea power and the mark of many maritime6)universities. People use trident to name certain ships, too.

Poseidon's common image is as a bearded middle-aged man, sometimes driving a chariot7) drawn by sea horses, and sometimes sitting on a spring with a trident in hand. He is often accompanied by his wife, Amphitrite, the Goddess of the Sea, and their son, Triton, a merman8) blowing a conch9) shell to calm or raise the waves.

Poseidon's Many Love Conquests

Also like his brother, Poseidon was famous for his many love conquests. Once he pursued Athena, but was rebuffed. Athena's rejection threw Poseidon in the willing arms of the hauntingly10) beautiful Medusa. They stayed overnight in the temple of Athena. Athena, furious over this insult, turned Medusa into a hideous11) monster with writhing12) snakes in place of her hair. And Medusa's face could turn anyone into stone if he/she looked at it directly. But she was later killed by the hero Perseus.

Perhaps the most infamous of Poseidon's love pursuits was when he chased Demeter, the Goddess ofCrop, when she was full of grief, searching for her daughter, Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. Demeter had turned herself into a mare13) and hid inside a herd of horses to escape Poseidon's advances. Poseidon then simply transformed himself into a stallion. They two had a little horse Arion as their son, who understand plainly human speech and always won in horse race.

Poseidon Winning His True Love

Poseidon eventually did manage to fall in love with a goddess who loved him too. As he watched the Sea Goddess Amphitrite dancing, something stirred in him, and he tried to approach her in his usual violent way. Amphitrite fled and hid herself at the bottom of the sea.

Suddenly Poseidon realized that he truly loved this goddess, so he searched for her everywhere. But he could not find her, and he was filled with sadness and a great sense of loss. His friend, a dolphin, volunteered to find her and plead for his case. And the dolphin succeeded, convincing Amphitrite of Poseidon's love and wish to make her his wife and the Queen of the Sea.

Amphitrite was deeply touched and returned with the dolphin to marry Poseidon. She eventually bore two of his children. Their son Triton rode with Poseidon in his chariot across the seas, trumpeting14) with a sea shell to announce Poseidon's arrival wherever they went.

Like Hera, Amphitrite was also jealous of Poseidon's attraction to other women, such as lovely Scylla15). Amphitrite threw magical herbs into the water while Scylla was bathing, turning Scylla into a hideous sea-monster with six heads, three rows of teeth, and twelve feet. Scylla was finally turned into a stone.

Poseidon as a Vengeful16) God

Poseidon was a vengeful god. After fighting the Trojan war for ten years, Odysseus17) began his journey back to his own island. But on Odysseus' way, he was trapped by Poseidon's one-eyed son—Polyphemus18), who threatened to eat all his crew members. When Odysseus managed to escape, he not only blinded Polyphemus' only eye, but also insulted him. This enraged Poseidon, who then spent eight years getting even with19) Odysseus, causing earthquakes, storms on Odysseus' sea voyages, and throwing sea monsters in his path and so on.

Once Poseidon was banished from his home, for he tried to dethrone20) Zeus. He and Apollo were sentenced to a year of manual labor building the great wall around Troy while working disguised21) as mortals. The king of Troy had promised to pay the gods with gold vines when the wall was finished but failed to keep his end of the bargain. Poseidon was infuriated22) and sent a sea monster to punish the city, but the monster was killed by Heracles.

But Poseidon could hold a grudge23) for a long time. During the Trojan war Poseidon was delighted to fight on the side of the Greeks.

Poseidon as a Faithful God

Poseidon always gave his word and kept it. When the king of Crete Minos24) requested a gift from Poseidon, a fine bull to sacrifice, Poseidon generously sent him the very finest from his herd, so fine that King Minos decided to keep it himself instead of sacrificing it. Poseidon was angry and caused the king's wife to fall in love with the bull. The eventual outcome of their love affair was the birth of a monster, half-bull and half-human, called the Minotaur25). The monster had to be kept in the center of the labyrinth26) below the king's palace. It was later killed by Theseus, one of Poseidon's sons.

波塞冬的众多头衔

和他的兄弟宙斯一样，海神波塞冬的头衔非常多——撼地之神、雨露之神、集云之神、雷电之神波塞冬，不胜枚举。

波塞冬的主要领地是海洋。古希腊人认为那里是最可怕的地震的起源地，因此人们称呼波塞冬为“撼地之神”。

波塞冬孔武有力，处事果决，争强好胜，威严高贵。波塞冬最常见的象征物包括三叉戟、马(公马)、温泉和海豚，而每个象征物都涉及一个有趣的故事。

波塞冬的三叉戟现在是海洋力量的象征，也是很多海事大学的标志。人们也用三叉戟来命名某些船只。

波塞冬最常见的形象是一位长满胡须的中年男子，时而驾驶着海马拉的战车，时而手执三叉戟坐在温泉上。通常，陪伴在他身边的是他的妻子海洋女神安菲特律特，和他们的儿子特赖登—— 一条吹着海螺号角的人鱼，他的号角声能够平息或者掀起巨浪。

波塞冬的众多爱情征服战

和他的兄弟宙斯另一个相似之处是，波塞冬也因为他的许多爱情“俘虏”而闻名。他曾经追求过雅典娜，但却遭到了拒绝。雅典娜的拒绝把波塞冬推进了美艳惊人的少女美杜莎的热情怀抱。他们就在雅典娜的神殿里过夜。蒙受此等侮辱，愤怒至极的雅典娜把美杜莎变成了怪物，将她的秀发变成了嘶嘶怪叫的毒蛇，让她的面容拥有能把任何直视她的人变成石头的魔力。后来美杜莎被英雄珀尔修斯所杀。

也许波塞冬最不光彩的爱情追求就是他对谷物女神得墨忒耳的追求了。当时得墨忒耳满怀悲伤，正寻找她失踪的女儿——冥后珀尔塞福涅。为了躲避波塞冬的追求，得墨忒耳把自己变成了一匹母马，藏在马群中。可是波塞冬紧接着把自己变成了一匹公马。他们生了一个儿子——小马阿里昂，他不仅通晓人类语言，而且总能在赛马中胜出。

波塞冬赢得真爱

最终，波塞冬成功地爱上了一位女神，而这位女神也爱他。当他看见海洋女神安菲特律特翩翩起舞时，他感到了内心的激荡，于是他试图用他惯常使用的暴力手段接近她。安菲特律特逃跑了，藏在海洋深处。

突然，波塞冬意识到他真的爱上了这位女神，于是他四处寻找她，但是却并没有找到。他满怀悲伤，无比失落。他的朋友，一只海豚，主动要求替他寻找女神并为他说情。海豚成功地找到了安菲特律特，说服她相信了波塞冬的爱情，也相信了波塞冬想娶她为妻，让她成为海洋女王的愿望。

安菲特律特深为感动，和海豚一起回到波塞冬身边嫁给了他。最后，她为他生了两个孩子。他们的儿子特赖登和波塞冬一起驾车巡海，无论去哪儿，他都会吹响号角，宣告海神的驾临。

和天后赫拉一样，安菲特律特也非常忌妒其他吸引波塞冬的女人，如可爱的少女斯库拉。当斯库拉在海中洗澡时，安菲特律特把魔药扔到海里，把斯库拉变成了一个长着六个头、三排牙齿和十二只脚的海怪。斯库拉最终被变成了一块石头。

报复之神波塞冬

波塞冬是一位报复心很强的神。当持续十年之久的特洛伊战争结束后，奥德修斯开始了返岛航行。但是在返岛途中，奥德修斯被波塞冬的独眼儿子波吕斐摩斯困住，波吕斐摩斯甚至还威胁他，说要吃掉他全部的船员。当奥德修斯设法逃脱时，他不仅弄瞎了波吕斐摩斯的独眼，而且还羞辱了他。这让波塞冬感到异常愤怒，他花了八年时间来报复奥德修斯：包括在奥德修斯的海上航行中不断引发地震、刮起暴风雨，以及在他的旅途中安排海怪等。

因为曾经试图推翻宙斯，波塞冬曾一度被从家里驱逐出来。他和阿波罗一起被处以刑罚，化装成凡人从事长达一年的体力活，为特洛伊城周围修筑一道坚固的城墙。当时，特洛伊国王允诺如果城墙竣工就会赏赐给这两位神以金葡萄，但他却没能兑现诺言。波塞冬怒不可遏，于是指派海怪来惩罚特洛伊城，不过海怪被赫拉克勒斯杀了。

但是，波塞冬能记仇很长时间。在特洛伊战争期间，他非常乐意地加入到了希腊盟军的行列。

守信之神波塞冬

波塞冬总是言出必行。当克里特岛国王弥诺斯向波塞冬索要一头健硕的公牛作为祭祀的礼物时，波塞冬慷慨地挑选了自己牛群中最好的一头送给他。这头公牛太招人喜欢了，弥诺斯国王都不忍心把它杀掉作祭祀品，反而将它据为己有。波塞冬很生气，于是让国王的妻子爱上了这头公牛。而他们这份爱的最终结晶是一个半人半牛的怪物——弥诺陶洛斯。这头怪物被关在克里特岛王宫下面的迷宫中心，后来被波塞冬的一个儿子忒修斯所杀。

Vocabulary

1. Earthshaker [5:W7FeIkE(r)] n. 【希神】撼地大王(海神波塞冬或主神宙斯的别名)

2. decisive [dI5saIsIv] adj. 坚定的，果断的；决断的

3. dignified [5dI^nIfaId] adj. 有尊严的；庄严的；高贵的；高尚的

4. trident [5traIdEnt] n. 【希神】(海神的)三叉戟

5. stallion [5stAljEn] n. 种马

6. maritime [5mArItaIm] adj. 海的；海上的；航海的，海事的

7. chariot [5tFArIEt] n. (古代的)双轮战车

8. merman [5mE:mAn] n. (传说中的)男性人鱼

9. conch [kCNk, kCntF] n. 【希神】(海神特赖登的)海螺壳号角

10. hauntingly [5hC:ntINlI] adv. 萦绕于心头地；不易忘怀地；给人以强烈感受地

11. hideous [5hIdIEs] adj. 极丑的，可怕的

12. writhe [raIT] vi. 盘绕，缠绕；蜿蜒移动

13. mare [5mZE(r)] n. 母马，牝马

词汇学习

Between Scylla and Charybdis：处于锡拉岩礁和卡律布狄斯之间，比喻腹背受敌，进退两难，与汉语中“四面楚歌”或“进退维谷”的意思相似。Scylla(锡拉岩礁)是位于意大利墨西拿海峡上的一处岩礁，其对面为卡律布狄斯大漩涡。在希腊神话中，Scylla(斯库拉)原为少女，一说是因为被海神波塞冬所爱，遭到海后安菲特律特的嫉妒和迫害变成了海怪，后变成了石头；另一说是因为被人鱼Glaucus(格劳库斯)所爱，因此被深爱着格劳库斯的女巫Circe(喀耳刻)配置成的魔药变成怪物。她变成海怪后，就在水手必经的路上抓水手充饥。Charybdis(卡律布狄斯)本是波塞冬和大地女神该亚所生的海洋仙女之一，因为偷了赫拉克勒斯的牲畜而被宙斯扔到海里，变成了一张吞噬海浪的大嘴，兴风作浪。于是，“between Scylla and Charybdis”这个短语的意思就是形容前有堵截、后有追兵的危险处境。

文化链接

1. Merman：(传说中的)男性人鱼。对于多数中国读者来说，丹麦的美人鱼是浪漫奔放的北欧文化和异域风情的代名词，但对男性人鱼(美男鱼)就知之甚少了，甚至会觉得这个说法很可笑。实际上在希腊神话、北欧神话、爱尔兰神话中都有关于男性人鱼的描述。在希腊神话中，男性人鱼一般为人头鱼身，全身泛着绿色的光，经常携带三叉戟，有着神奇的魔力。在爱尔兰神话中，他们却经常是丑陋粗鄙的。但他们都能治愈疾病，配置魔药，有时也由于对人类生活过分好奇而对人类造成意外伤害。他们一般不与普通女人结合，一旦结合，他们的妻子就会变成美人鱼。

2. Trident：三叉戟。在希腊神话中，三叉戟是海神波塞冬的象征物和武器，传说是他用三叉戟劈开大山，将山石变成岛屿的。但基督教和天主教却认为三叉戟是魔鬼撒旦的武器，这种对立被一些学者认为是新宗教代替旧宗教的证据。在现代一些海军院校的徽章上，三叉戟被当作是海洋力量的标志。

3. Medusa：水母，美杜莎。她的头具有把正面面对她的人变成石头的魔力，因此很多艺术家现在把她作为 “最为惊世骇俗、魅力无法抗拒”的代名词，把她印在衣服或者皮具上面。最为著名的是服装大师范思哲的服装标志。同时，美杜莎也是很多旗帜上的图案。

4. Labyrinth：迷宫。位于克里特岛国王弥诺斯的喀纳索斯宫殿下，是用来禁闭牛首人身怪物弥诺陶洛斯的地方，由希腊著名的建筑师Daedalus(代达罗斯)所建。建成之后，国王怕家丑外传，于是就把代达罗斯和他的儿子Icarus(伊卡罗斯)关在了迷宫中。这对父子用蜡油粘上两副翅膀，飞出了迷宫。途中，伊卡罗斯不听父亲的劝告，飞得太靠近太阳，蜡油被融化，翅膀脱落，他坠入爱琴海而死。他们所修的这座迷宫后来成为“繁复的场所”的代名词。值得一提的是，克里特岛迷宫并不是神话中无从考证的存在。现代考古学者以神话作为考古依据，挖掘出了特洛伊的老城和部分城池。同样，他们也在克里特岛喀纳索斯古宫殿遗址中挖掘出了很多可以证明迷宫确实存在过的证据。也有学者认为复杂的喀纳索斯古宫殿本身就是一座迷宫。

Vocabulary

14. trumpet [5trQmpIt] vi. 吹喇叭，吹小号

15. Scylla [5sIlE] n. 【希神】斯库拉(栖居锡拉岩礁上攫取船上水手的女妖)

16. vengeful [5vendVful] adj. 图谋报复的；报仇心切的

17. Odysseus [EU5dIsju:s] n. 奥德修斯(一译“俄底修斯”，古希腊荷马所作史诗《奥德赛》中的主人公，伊赛卡国王，特洛伊战争中领袖之一，曾献木马计，使希腊军获胜；罗马神话中称作Ulysses)

18. Polyphemus [7pClI5fi:mEs] n. 【希神】波吕斐摩斯(独眼巨人，被禁锢于其洞穴的奥德修斯灌醉后弄瞎其独眼)

19. get even with: 报复

20. dethrone [dI5WrEun] vt. 废黜

21. disguise [dIs5^aIz] vt. 假扮，化装

22. infuriate [In5fjuErIeIt] vt. 使十分生气，使大怒，激怒

23. grudge [^rQdV] n. 不满；嫌隙；积怨

24. Minos [5maInCs] n. 【希神】弥诺斯(王)(克里特岛之王，秉公治国，死后为阴曹地府三法官之一)

25. Minotaur [5maInEtC:(r)] n. 【希神】弥诺陶洛斯(人身牛头怪物，被弥诺斯王之孙禁闭在克里特岛的迷宫里，每年要吃雅典送来的童男童女各七个，后被雅典王忒修斯所杀)

26. labyrinth [5lAbErInW] n. 【希神】迷宫