5. Hades and his underworld Summary 赫西奥德( Hesiod)在其作品《神谱》中把宇宙分为三层:最上面的是万众仰 羡的奥林匹斯众神聚集地的天庭,中间是充满艰辛和苦难的人间,而下层则是哈 迪斯和伯尔塞福涅所统治的冥界。希腊神话的死亡观不存在带善恶判断的天堂与 地狱,而是认为冥界是所有死者唯一的去处,因此哈迪斯的神话形象虽冷酷但并 无大多宗教神话中的恶神色彩,古希腊神话中的哈迪斯形象也是典型的英挺男 子。即便如此,在这个“有去无回的神秘之国( the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns)”(W. Shakespeare: Hamlet,I1i.79-80),不同的魂灵有着 具体的、不同的归宿,而其中的神祗更是令凡人感到阴间的恐怖。 Selected Reading The kingdom of the dead was ruled by one of the twelve great Olympian, Hades ( Pluto), and his queen, Persephone. It is often called by his name, Hades. It lies beneath the secret places of the earth. Tartarus and erebus are sometimes two divisions of the Underworld, Tartarus the deeper of the two the prison of the Sons of the Earth; Erebus where the dead pass as soon as they die The Underworld is vague, a shadowy place inhabited by shadows. Nothing is real there. The ghosts'existence, if it can be called that, is like a miserable dream. The path down ten tache.a to it leads to where Acheron. the river of woe pours into Cocytus", the river of lamentation Three other rivers, besides Acheron and Cocytus, separate the underworld from the world above: Lethe, the river of forgetfulness; Phlegethon, the river of fire; Styx, the river of hate. An aged boatman named Charon ferries the souls of the dead across the water to the farther bank, where stands the adamantine* gate to Tartarus. Charon will receive into his boat only the souls of those under whose tongue the passage money---a coin---was placed when they dies and who were duly buried On guard before the gate sits Cerberus. the three-headed or. some say, fifty-headed, dragon-tailed dog, who permits all spirits to enter, but none to eturn. On his arrival each one is judged by Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus at a place where three roads meet Rhadamanthus tries Asiatics and Aeacus tries Europeans but both refer the difficult cases to Minos. As each verdict is given the ghosts are directed along one of the three roads: that leading to the Asphodel Meadows, where those ghosts who are19 5. Hades and his Underworld Summary 赫西奥德(Hesiod)在其作品《神谱》中把宇宙分为三层：最上面的是万众仰 羡的奥林匹斯众神聚集地的天庭，中间是充满艰辛和苦难的人间，而下层则是哈 迪斯和伯尔塞福涅所统治的冥界。希腊神话的死亡观不存在带善恶判断的天堂与 地狱，而是认为冥界是所有死者唯一的去处，因此哈迪斯的神话形象虽冷酷但并 无大多宗教神话中的恶神色彩，古希腊神话中的哈迪斯形象也是典型的英挺男 子。即便如此，在这个“有去无回的神秘之国(the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns)”(W. Shakespeare: Hamlet, III.i.79-80)，不同的魂灵有着 具体的、不同的归宿，而其中的神祗更是令凡人感到阴间的恐怖。 Selected Reading The kingdom of the dead was ruled by one of the twelve great Olympian, Hades (Pluto), and his queen, Persephone. It is often called by his name, Hades. It lies beneath the secret places of the earth. Tartarus and Erebus are sometimes two divisions of the Underworld, Tartarus the deeper of the two, the prison of the Sons of the Earth; Erebus where the dead pass as soon as they die. The Underworld is vague, a shadowy place inhabited by shadows. Nothing is real there. The ghosts’ existence, if it can be called that, is like a miserable dream. The path down to it leads to where Acheron1 , the river of woe, pours into Cocytus2 , the river of lamentation. Three other rivers, besides Acheron and Cocytus, separate the underworld from the world above: Lethe, the river of forgetfulness; Phlegethon, the river of fire; Styx, the river of hate. An aged boatman named Charon ferries3 the souls of the dead across the water to the farther bank, where stands the adamantine4 gate to Tartarus. Charon will receive into his boat only the souls of those under whose tongue the passage money---a coin---was placed when they dies and who were duly buried. On guard before the gate sits Cerberus5 , the three-headed or, some say, fifty-headed, dragon-tailed dog, who permits all spirits to enter, but none to return. On his arrival each one is judged by Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus at a place where three roads meet. Rhadamanthus tries Asiatics and Aeacus tries Europeans; but both refer the difficult cases to Minos. As each verdict6 is given the ghosts are directed along one of the three roads: that leading to the Asphodel Meadows, where those ghosts who are