【希腊众神系列】＂十二试炼＂的大力神Hercules

Creation of Milky Way

Keywords:

Hercules (大力神：赫拉克勒斯)

Milky Way (银河)

Hydra (九头蛇)

12 Labours of Hercules (十二试炼)

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Most Greek heroes were said to be demigods born out of a union between a divine father and a mortal mother. They were human but they were said to possess magnificent powers. They were warriors, lovers and world redeemers, but always under the watchful eyes of their parent gods of all the semi-divine heroes. 

绝大多数希腊英雄的父亲是天神，母亲是凡人；这些英雄本是凡人，却拥有强大神力，他们是勇士、情人、世界的救赎者，但父辈天神常常关注着这群半人半神的凡间英雄。

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Hercules symbolised the ultimate superhuman. No feat was beyond his reach. He was born the son of a mortal woman and the supreme god Zeus who took advantage of Hercules his mother by disguising himself as her husband. Zeus' wife the goddess Hera became jealous of the infant Hercules, she attempted to have two snakes strangle him and his mother, while they were sleeping. However, the fearless infant killed the snakes with his small but mighty hands. At age eight, Hercules was said to have strangled a lion who had been killing flocks of sheep. As an adult, Hercules’ strength and bravery stood unrivalled but he eventually reached a crossroad in his life.

Hercules象征终极超人。他战无不胜的Zeus之子（宙斯曾佯装成了Hercules母亲丈夫的模样，欺骗了Hercules母亲）。Zeus之妻Hera嫉妒婴孩时期的Hercules，趁着Hercules母子二人熟睡时，用蛇缠绕住他们。然而，无所畏惧的婴孩用强劲有力的小手杀死了蛇。八岁时，据说Hercules扼死了曾伤及羊群的狮子；成年后，Hercules的力量与勇气依旧无人可及，但最终他抵达了人生的十字路口。

Baby Hercules strangling a snake sent to kill him in his cradle (Roman marble, 2nd century CE).

“One day, he was walking down a path and two goddesses appeared to him and they were the personification of justice and of good, and he had to make a choice between an easy path and an easy life and one that would involve being a just person performing labours and deeds for the good of mankind.”

“某日，Hercules沿道路行走，两位掌控公平、正义的天神显灵，要他在两条路上进行选择：一条是轻松安逸之路；一条是成为正义之士，为人类善行善举。”

The Choice of Hercules

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At the time, Hercules was not aware of which road he would take. He eventually fell in love and married, but the goddess Hera was still determined to seek revenge on him. She cast a spell over Hercules, and in a fit of madness, he murdered his own children. Later, when he realised what he had done, Hercules contemplated suicide as a last resort. He sought the advice of the Oracle at Delphi, the priestess advised Hercules that he could redeem himself by serving a king for 12 years. The king instructed Hercules to embark on a series of tasks. If he could complete them, he would be elevated to the status of God and allowed to join the other divinities on Mount Olympus. The feats became known as the 12 labours of Hercules.

当时的Hercules没意识到自己会选择哪条路。他最终恋爱并结婚，但Hera却没有放弃报仇的决心。她给Hercules施了魔咒，使得他癫狂时谋杀了自己的孩子。后来，意识到自己的行为时，Hercules想要自我了结，他抵达Delphi向神请旨，牧师建议他效力某君主12年。国王指挥他完成了一系列任务。若能完成，Hercules将晋升为天神，跻身奥林匹斯山的众神之位。后来这些任务被称为Hercules的"十二试炼"。

The 12 Labours of Hercules

Among these dangerous tasks, Hercules had to strangle a voracious lion which had been devouring animals and humans. Alike, he also stabbed and burned the multiple heads of the Hydra, a dragon-like beast who was destroying peasant crops. And he placated a herd of man-eating horses by feeding them the flesh of the master. 

这些艰难功绩中，Hercules需要扼死吞噬动物和人类的贪婪狮子；同时，他刺伤并焚烧了Hydra的多颗头颅（Hydra是破坏粮食作物的龙形怪兽）；甚至，他用人肉喂养烈马，平息了食人烈马的愤怒。

Pieter paul rubens, ercole e i leone nemeo

Hercules and the Hydra (ca. 1475) by Antonio del Pollaiuolo; the hero wears his characteristic lionskin and wields a club

Hercules Fighting Horses

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Hercules triumphed in completing his twelve labours and became a symbol of courage at the end of his mortal life. Hercules had to be burned alive to melt all his corruptible and mortal parts. Then, it was said he ascended Mount Olympus to join the rest of the gods in ancient times. Sanctuaries were built all over the Mediterranean in honour of this great hero, but whether Hercules really existed is a riddle buried under a sea of broken marble and fragments of pottery for centuries. Archaeologists have been searching for answers as to whether heroes such as Hercules ever existed or if they were simply figments of imagination sprung from the minds of the ancient Greeks. The answer to these questions may be buried under massive ruins discovered in Hissarlik. 

Hercules完成了十二件功绩，弥留之际成为了勇气之象征。Hercules必须被活活烧死，才能了结腐化堕落的尘世情节。据说他荣升到奥林匹斯山巅、跻身古代希腊众神。地中海地区修建了大量圣所来纪念这位英雄，但Hercules是否曾真实存在一直都是一道谜题，这个谜题藏匿于大片的大理石和陶罐碎片之中。考古学家一直在搜寻谜底，以探寻Hercules这样的英雄是否存在，亦或他们只是古希腊人凭空想象出来的。这些问题的答案藏匿在Hissarlik的废墟之下。

Hisarlik Ruins

Source from: Youtube

Dictated by: Nieve

Translated by: Nieve