12. The Trojan war Summary 就是这张脸庞让千艘战船开拔,使特洛伊无顶的塔楼化为灰烬( Was this the face that launchd a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of ilium? 莎士比亚同时代的诗人克里斯托弗·马洛曾发出这样的感慨。虽然经考古发现得 到证实的特洛伊战争早已烟消灰灭,但荷马史诗所咏唱的英雄们的事迹却已成为 永恒。欣赏金苹果之争、帕里斯( Paris)的判定、海伦( Helen)的私奔、阿喀琉斯 ( Achilles)的愤怒、赫克托耳( Hector)的陨灭等故事常使我们沉浸在远古的幽思之 中,思考着英雄的命运及自己当下的生存状况 Selected Reading A Secret Concerning Thetis One of the first links in the chain of events which formed the prelude to the Trojan War was forged by Prometheus, the great benefactor of mankind. Prometheus, a cousin of Zeus, had given man fire, an element whose benefits had previously bee enjoyed solely by the gods, He had also instructed men to offer to the gods only the and bones of meat sacrifices, and to keep the best bit for themselves. To punish Prometheus, Zeus chained him to a rock high in the mountains and daily sent an eagle to eat his liver, which grew again by night According to some sources, Prometheus was eventually set free by Hercules but others state that he was released by Zeus when he finally agreed to tell him an important secret. This secret concerned the sea-nymph Thetis, who was so beautiful that she counted several gods among her suitors, including Poseidon and Zeus himself; however, a prophecy known only to Prometheus foretold that the son of Thetis was destined to be greater than his father. On learning this, Zeus rapidl abandoned the idea of fathering a son by thetis himself, and decided that she should marry the mortal Peleus instead their son would be achilles, the greatest of the greek heroes at Tro Thetis's Wedding and the apple of discord hetis at first resisted the advance of Peleus, changing into fire, serpents monsters and other forms, but he held tightly on to her through all her transformations and eventually she had to submit. All the gods and goddesses of Olympus save one were invited to the magnificent wedding of Peleus and Thetis; and in the middle of the feast, Eris, the only goddess who had been left out, burst in and threw among the guests the apple of discord, inscribed"for the fairest". This apple was claimed by three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Because they were unable to reach an agreement, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. eventually, Zeus was understandably reluctant to decide the issue himself, he sent the goddesses to have their beauty judged by the herdsman Paris on Mount Ida, outside the city of Troy on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Judgment of paris64 12. The Trojan War Summary “就是这张脸庞让千艘战船开拔，使特洛伊无顶的塔楼化为灰烬(Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?)”—— 莎士比亚同时代的诗人克里斯托弗·马洛曾发出这样的感慨。虽然经考古发现得 到证实的特洛伊战争早已烟消灰灭，但荷马史诗所咏唱的英雄们的事迹却已成为 永恒。欣赏金苹果之争、帕里斯(Paris)的判定、海伦(Helen)的私奔、阿喀琉斯 (Achilles)的愤怒、赫克托耳(Hector)的陨灭等故事常使我们沉浸在远古的幽思之 中，思考着英雄的命运及自己当下的生存状况。 Selected Reading A Secret Concerning Thetis One of the first links in the chain of events which formed the prelude to the Trojan War was forged by Prometheus, the great benefactor1 of mankind. Prometheus, a cousin of Zeus, had given man fire, an element whose benefits had previously been enjoyed solely by the gods, He had also instructed men to offer to the gods only the fat and bones of meat sacrifices, and to keep the best bit for themselves. To punish Prometheus, Zeus chained him to a rock high in the mountains and daily sent an eagle to eat his liver, which grew again by night. According to some sources, Prometheus was eventually set free by Hercules2 , but others state that he was released by Zeus when he finally agreed to tell him an important secret. This secret concerned the sea-nymph Thetis, who was so beautiful that she counted3 several gods among her suitors, including Poseidon and Zeus himself; however, a prophecy known only to Prometheus foretold that the son of Thetis was destined to be greater than his father. On learning this, Zeus rapidly abandoned the idea of fathering a son by Thetis himself, and decided that she should marry the mortal Peleus instead; their son would be Achilles, the greatest of the Greek heroes at Troy. Thetis’s Wedding and the Apple of Discord Thetis at first resisted the advance of Peleus, changing into fire, serpents, monsters and other forms, but he held tightly on to her through all her transformations and eventually she had to submit. All the gods and goddesses of Olympus save4 one were invited to the magnificent wedding of Peleus and Thetis; and in the middle of the feast, Eris, the only goddess who had been left out, burst in and threw among the guests the apple of discord, inscribed “for the fairest”. This apple was claimed by three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Because they were unable to reach an agreement, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. Eventually, Zeus was understandably reluctant to decide the issue himself, he sent the goddesses to have their beauty judged by the herdsman Paris on Mount Ida, outside the city of Troy on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Judgment of Paris