2015-06-22

【Aiden in English】

        People know Shakespeare and his poems. Although the language is a bit… quirky to say the least people adore him. People also adore Greek history. So they should also love Homer. 

        Homer was the great teacher and famous poet of the ancient epics Iliad and Odyssey. These two epics are composed of long poems that tell a story or in this case, multiple historical stories. Obviously, many of these poems sounded greatly exaggerated, and some historians even say that Homer’s stories weren’t even original and that they were oral traditions passed down through generations. Somebody finally wrote them down, and that lucky person was named Homer. 

        In Khios of Greece, Daskalopetra or Teacher's Stone in Greek claimed to be a birthplace of Homer and have a rock where Homer sat on while writing the stories and teaching his students. Many other places also claim to have housed Homer. But so far, Daskalopetra is considered as an archaeological site. He captured the stories about the brutal battles in Troy in 1270 B.C. The rock was nothing special, just a platform with a piece jutting out in the center. If I were the rock, I would love the attention given to me from just having a person sit on me.

        Homer and Shakespeare are two amazing poets who are on a level of their own. Although you can’t compare them whose poem styles are way too different, they both have a common goal in writing.

【红霞译文】

        人们都知道莎士比亚和莎士比亚诗句，尽管其言辞有点拗口……，但还是得到大家的推崇。人们同样痴迷希腊历史，由此也应敬仰荷马。

        荷马曾是一位了不起的老师以及闻名天下的诗人，著有史诗《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》，这两部长卷实为叙述故事，其中涉及到许多历史事件。显然，若干诗句听起来天花乱坠，有些历史学家甚至认为荷马之作并非出自原著，故事情节都是代代相传的轶事趣闻，总而言之，早晚有人出面整理成章，而荷马恰好荣膺时代俊杰。

        在希俄斯岛上，有一个名叫达斯卡洛佩特拉即希腊语“教师之石”的小镇自称是荷马的出生地，镇里存有一块石头，据说当年荷马曾坐在上面写诗并给学生授课。其它不少地方趋之若鹜，纷纷扬言自己所在的地方才是伟人的家乡，但至今只有这个考古遗址得到史学界认可。《荷马史诗》描述了公元前1270年残酷的特洛伊战争，但眼前所谓的“荷马岩”却没有什么特别，只不过在平台上竖起一块大石头而已，假如我是那块石头，心中难免美滋滋的，这么多人主动与我亲热。

        荷马与莎士比亚是两位超乎寻常的伟大诗人，当然我们不能把他俩放在一起进行比较，毕竟彼此诗风迥异，但两人的写作目标是一致的。

《奥德赛》节选

            公主在对面站定，奥德修斯不禁思忖，

            是抱住美丽的姑娘，以双膝的名义请求，

            还是远远地这样站定，用温和的语言，

            真切地恳告，请求指点城市赠衣穿。

            他心中思虑，觉得这样做更为合适：

            远远站住，用温和的语言真切恳求，

            不要鲁莽去抱膝，令少女心中生嗔怨。

            他于是温和而富有理智地开言这样说：

            ‘恕我求问，姑娘，你是天神或凡人？

            你如果是位执掌广阔天宇的神明，

            我看你与伟大的宙斯的女儿最相似，

            无论容貌，无论身材或是那气度。

            如果你是位生活在辽阔大地的凡人。

            那你的父亲和尊贵的母亲三倍地幸运，

            你的兄弟也三倍地幸运，你会使他们

            心中永远充满不灭的喜悦和欢欣，

            看见你这样一美丽的姑娘去歌舞。

            但有一人比所有其他的人更幸运，

            他若能把你娶回家，付出优厚的聘礼。

            我从未亲眼见过如此俊美的世人，

            或男或女，我一看见你不由得心惊异。