古希臘及中國神話的怪獸與猛獸 (monsters) ( 張學明編 )

古希臘及中國神話的怪獸與猛獸(monsters) • (張學明編)

怪/猛獸 [monster(s)] 的定義： • 根據鄭易里主編的《英華大辭典》，monster是 • 1)(想像中的)怪物； • 2)(尤指史前的)怪獸、巨獸；奇形怪狀的人、獸……。

根據陸谷孫主編的《英漢大詞典》，monster是 • 怪物(一種虛構的非人非獸怪物，如半人半馬的怪物)； • (幻想中的)怪獸；……。)

又根據Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, “monster” is “a legendary animal usually of great size and ferocity that has a form either partly brute and partly human or compounded of elements from several brute forms”. • 從古到今，「洪水、猛獸」一向是人類的大敵。史前時期及神話中更是如此。

中、希神話中，尤其是英雄「追尋」(search)和「贖罪」的神話中，都有怪/猛獸為禍人間而遭英雄擊敗、消滅，突顯出英雄斬妖除魔、為民除害的情況，相信是反映初民面對天災人禍及大自然界的威脅；而怪/猛獸的角色雖是配角、奸角，但其重要性是不可忽視的。中、希神話中，尤其是英雄「追尋」(search)和「贖罪」的神話中，都有怪/猛獸為禍人間而遭英雄擊敗、消滅，突顯出英雄斬妖除魔、為民除害的情況，相信是反映初民面對天災人禍及大自然界的威脅；而怪/猛獸的角色雖是配角、奸角，但其重要性是不可忽視的。

其實，初民與猛獸搏鬥亦象徵著與大自然搏鬥。希臘神話中，大地之母該亞的第一批孩兒就是怪物。大地亦即是大自然的主要部份，而怪物則是大自然的結晶。因此，擊敗怪獸亦即象徵克服大自然的挑戰。其實，初民與猛獸搏鬥亦象徵著與大自然搏鬥。希臘神話中，大地之母該亞的第一批孩兒就是怪物。大地亦即是大自然的主要部份，而怪物則是大自然的結晶。因此，擊敗怪獸亦即象徵克服大自然的挑戰。

神話中的英雄與猛獸戰鬥時，往往使用武器，例如：后羿的故事，「帝俊賜羿彤弓素矰，以扶下民，羿是使去恤下地之百艱」，終於，后羿用其彤弓素矰，射殺鑿齒、猰俞等六獸，甚至令大地乾旱的九個太陽。神話中的英雄與猛獸戰鬥時，往往使用武器，例如：后羿的故事，「帝俊賜羿彤弓素矰，以扶下民，羿是使去恤下地之百艱」，終於，后羿用其彤弓素矰，射殺鑿齒、猰俞等六獸，甚至令大地乾旱的九個太陽。

希臘神話中，「金羊毛」的英雄是用劍擊敗那鳥身龍尾的人面獸。「蛇髮女」的柏修斯則得到荷米斯(Hermes)和雅典娜(Athena)的寶劍和盾牌而能成功斬殺蛇女魅杜莎(Medusa)。因此，我們可以推想到弓箭、劍、和盾牌都是反映初民文明的進步，這些具殺傷力的武器顯然增強了初民與怪獸/大自然搏鬥的實力。希臘神話中，「金羊毛」的英雄是用劍擊敗那鳥身龍尾的人面獸。「蛇髮女」的柏修斯則得到荷米斯(Hermes)和雅典娜(Athena)的寶劍和盾牌而能成功斬殺蛇女魅杜莎(Medusa)。因此，我們可以推想到弓箭、劍、和盾牌都是反映初民文明的進步，這些具殺傷力的武器顯然增強了初民與怪獸/大自然搏鬥的實力。

后羿射殺六獸的神話：「猰俞」是有龍頭、馬尾、虎爪的，在《山海經》亦有這些怪獸的記載，例如：令到民間連年乾旱的怪鳥「人面鴞」是人面、猴身，鴞翅膀，和狗尾的。(章行：《山海經的現代版》。上海：古藉出版社，1999年；頁89)。后羿射殺六獸的神話：「猰俞」是有龍頭、馬尾、虎爪的，在《山海經》亦有這些怪獸的記載，例如：令到民間連年乾旱的怪鳥「人面鴞」是人面、猴身，鴞翅膀，和狗尾的。(章行：《山海經的現代版》。上海：古藉出版社，1999年；頁89)。

希臘神話中，「金羊毛」的怪獸是馬身龍尾的人面獸；「飛馬和貝勒羅」的吐火龍是獅頭、龍尾、羊身的；「蛇髮女妖」魅杜莎是滿頭蛇髮的。總而言之，中、希神話的怪獸都是混合龍、獅、虎、蛇、猴、鳥等大自然的猛獸 —— 侵襲人類的動物組合而成。這些怪 / 猛獸往往是「三頭六臂」，以突顯其攻擊力。例如：后羿射殺的「九嬰」就是一隻「九頭怪」；《山海經》亦曾記載一隻可化身成人的妖怪：「九尾狐」，就有九條尾巴。(章行：《山海經的現代版》。上海：古藉出版社，1999年；頁99)。

希臘神話中，大力神赫拉克勒斯的第二件苦差事就是殺死有九個頭的水蛇；而第十二件苦差事就是到地府斬取有三個頭的地獄狗凱見羅斯的腦袋。至於「九」這個數字常常在神話中描述怪獸，可能只是表示「多」的意思而已。謝選駿則認為「九」是中國神話的「神秘數」，例如：中國古代常被稱為「九州」，上天則稱為「九天」。(謝選駿：《中國神話》。杭州：浙江教育出版社，1989年；頁67)。希臘神話中，大力神赫拉克勒斯的第二件苦差事就是殺死有九個頭的水蛇；而第十二件苦差事就是到地府斬取有三個頭的地獄狗凱見羅斯的腦袋。至於「九」這個數字常常在神話中描述怪獸，可能只是表示「多」的意思而已。謝選駿則認為「九」是中國神話的「神秘數」，例如：中國古代常被稱為「九州」，上天則稱為「九天」。(謝選駿：《中國神話》。杭州：浙江教育出版社，1989年；頁67)。

讓我們再研究一些神話的 「九嬰」，據說是能「噴水噴火」；而蛇髮妖女魅杜莎更有能力令凡人見到她便呼吸停止而化為木石。

又，這些怪/猛獸亦有特殊的自我保護能力，例如：大力神赫拉克勒斯的第一件苦差事中所殺的「奈米亞的獅子」就是「銅皮鐵骨，刀槍不入」，後來要大力神勒死牠，才完成差事；而第二件苦差事中的九頭蛇其中之八個頭，每當一個被斬下便會長出兩個，幸得到他的姪兒愛歐勞斯給他一塊燙熱的烙鐵，每當大力神斬掉一個蛇頭時，他便立刻把脖子烙焦，令蛇頭不能長出來：這八個蛇頭斬掉後，大力神便把第九個蛇頭長埋在大岩石下。又，這些怪/猛獸亦有特殊的自我保護能力，例如：大力神赫拉克勒斯的第一件苦差事中所殺的「奈米亞的獅子」就是「銅皮鐵骨，刀槍不入」，後來要大力神勒死牠，才完成差事；而第二件苦差事中的九頭蛇其中之八個頭，每當一個被斬下便會長出兩個，幸得到他的姪兒愛歐勞斯給他一塊燙熱的烙鐵，每當大力神斬掉一個蛇頭時，他便立刻把脖子烙焦，令蛇頭不能長出來：這八個蛇頭斬掉後，大力神便把第九個蛇頭長埋在大岩石下。

《山海經》記載的九尾狐，據說是能化身成人，以避開人們追殺牠。《山海經》記載的九尾狐，據說是能化身成人，以避開人們追殺牠。 • 這些怪/猛獸更常與天災連在一起 —— 往往被初民認為是天災的源頭。例如：《山海經》記載：若看見「人面鴞」，那個地方便會連年乾旱。另一種叫「相繇」的九頭蛇，若出現則那個地方便會寸草不生。(章行：《山海經的現代版》。上海：古藉出版社，1999年；頁90-92)。相傳，在水中作惡的「蛟龍」，便是水災、洪水的源頭。可幸的是這些怪獸雖然兇殘，但最終亦不敵神話中的英雄。這亦可能反映道德倫理思想「邪不能勝正」的「善終能勝惡」的正面意識。

Heracles, great hero in ancient Greek myths (compiled by Fred Cheung) • (Source: mainly from Powell, Classical Myth) • Heracles, called Hercules by the Romans, was a great hero in ancient Greek myths. His image and career are strikingly similar to those of Gilgamesh [Mesopotamia]. Like Gilgamesh, Heracles is strong and willful. He lusts for adventure and experience. He understands loyalty and friendship. The contrast and hostility between the natural world and the cultural world of humans, a central theme in the story of Gilgamesh, is also strong in stories about Heracles.

He shows his sympathy with the natural world by ….. shooting bow and arrow (when shield and spear were “modern” weapons), and in his bad manners and unruly behavior. Yet he rid the civilized world of dangerous animals and dangerous men. • After a life of suffering, victory, and defeat, Heracles was taken to Olympus, where he became a god, a fate that Gilgamesh only longed for and that Perseus never imagined.

About Heracles’ birth, we hear a complex tale. Perseus’ son Electryon married his own niece, and they had a daughter, Alcmena, and nine sons. Of Electryon’s other brothers, one had a son, Eurystheus, and another had another son, Amphitryon. Electryon became king of Mycene but was attacked by pirates. In the battle all but one of Electryon’s sons were killed. Electryon, bent on revenge, prepared to leave on campaign, entrusting the kingship and care of his daughter Alcmena to his nephew Amphitryon, understanding that Amphitryon would respect her chastity. But before Electryon could leave, Amphitryon quarreled with Electryon and killed him and so was banished.

Taking Alcmena, Amphitryon fled north to Thebes, where Creon, king of Thebes, purified him of blood-pollution. Amphitryon now married Alcmena, but she would not sleep with him until he avenged the death of her brothers, as her father Electryon had planned. Amphitryon gathered with allies and set out against the pirates. He was soon victorious over the pirates and set out for home, eagerly anticipating sexual relations, so long deferred, with Alcmena.

However, Zeus also admired Alcmena’s beauty, and before Amphitryon arrived , Zeus took on Amphitryon’s likeness and appeared at Alcmena’s door. He displayed booty, proof of victory over the pirates, and demanded the sexual favors he had earned. On the next morning, the disguised Zeus left, just before the real Amphitryon appeared.

To Alcmena’s confusion, the real Amphitryon proudly displayed to her his booty, proof of victory, and demanded the long-awaited sexual favors. Once again, Alcmena retired to the wedding bed and in this way received two kinds of seed, immortal and mortal, in a single night. From Zeus’s seed came Heracles, the great Greek hero; and from Amphitryon’s seed came Iphicles, a man of humbler stature.

The notion of simultaneous intercourse with man and god with a queen is old and was developed prominently in the Egyptian religious fiction that Pharoah, king of Egypt, was born not to a mortal, but to the god Amun, who came to the queen in the guise of her husband (just as Zeus, later equated with Amun, took on the shape of Amphitryon). Some would trace the story of Heracles’ birth to the Egyptian tradition, which is portrayed in relief showing sexual union between god and queen in Egyptian temples. • Amphitryon knew that he was father to one of the twins, Zeus to the other, but was not sure which was which. Only when Hera sent serpents to try to destroy the son of the mighty Zeus did Amphitryon learn the truth.

Heracles grew up tall and strong with fine and aristocratic education. Amphitryon taught him how to drive the chariot and brought in the finest tutors. Autolycus, famed for his roguery and thievery (the father of Odysseus), taught him wrestling; Eurytus, greatest of archers, showed Heracles how to shoot; Castor, brother of Polydeuces (and of Helen of Troy), showed him how to fight in heavy armor. • In crisis, Heracles is a great hero: set against savage lion, invading horde, or dragon of chaos; but in peacetime, he can be a danger to others and to himself.

Marriage, Madness, and Murder of Heracles • King Creon of Thebes gave Heracles his daughter Megara in marriage. Heracles settled down and fathered three children, but one day he went mad (by Hera who wanted to punish Heracles as he was the illegitimate son of Zeus), and without warning Heracles murdered the three lovely children.

After murdering his children, Heracles went to Delphi to learn what he must do to atone for the deed. The oracle replied that he must leave Thebes and travel to Tiryns. There he would serve as bondsman to his cousin Eurystheus, king of Mycenae and Tiryns, and perform for him Ten/Twelve Labors. The Greek word is athloi, which really means contests, for which the victor wins a prize. Heracles’ prize would be immortality, the oracle said, and several of his contests were to be waged against Death himself.

The Twelve Labors • The Nemean Lion • The first task Eurystheus demanded of Heracles was to kill a savage lion ravaging the region around Nemea, northwest of Mycenae. Heracles shot at the lion with bow and arrow, then realized, when his arrows bounced off, that the beast had an impenetratable skin. Because his weapons were useless, Heracles seized the lion in a wrestler’s grip, threw it so the ground, and through brute strength snapped its powerful neck. When he tried to skin the lion, Heracles discovered his weapons could not break the skin. Heracles was clever, then, took one of the lion’s own claws and with this unbreakable tool cut the uncuttable skin of the Nemean lion. Ever after, he wore the skin around his shoulders, its gaping jaws embracing his head like a helmet.

The Lernaean Hydra (water serpent) • Heracles’ second labor was to destroy an enormous serpent, the Hydra (water serpent) with many heads, which lived near the swamps of Lerna southwest of Mycenae, where it ravaged the fields and livestock. Iolaus, Heracles’ nephew, accompanied him to the springs…

Heracles soon drove the monster from its lair by shooting burning arrows, then moved in close with a sword. But every time Hearcles cut off one head of the (nine-headed) water serpent, two others grew, and the central head was immortal. Fortunately, Iolaus (Heracles’s nephew) brought fire brands to cauterize the stump of each head. Finally, Heracles buried the immortal head beneath a rock.

The Ceryneian Deer • Heracles third task was to bring in deer living in Ceryneia, a remote mountain in the northern Peloponnesus. This magical deer, … belonged to Artemis (Roman Diana, goddess of hunting/forest). • The Erymanthian Boar • The Augean Stables

The Stymphalian Birds • In Arcadia around a lake called Stymphalis swarmed mighty flocks of death-dealing birds with arrow-firing wings and armor-piercing beaks. Heracles drove them from their cover in the thick forest…. As they flew into the sky, Heracles shot them down with his arrows.

The Cretan Bull • The seventh task of Heracles was to capture the Cretan bull, a magnificent animal summoned from the sea by Minos. Heracles sailed to Crete, seized the bull by the horns, tossed it to the sea, then rode it like a cowboy back to the Peloponnesus; and returned with the labor accomplished.

The Horses of Diomedes • Next Heracles was to capture the horses of Diomedes, a son of Ares and king of a savage tribe in Thrace. These horses, which were not ordinary animals, dined on human flesh. When Heracles reached Thrace, he promptly captured the horse of Diomedes. Because they enjoyed human flesh, Heracles fed them their master, Diomedes.

The Girdle of Hippolyta • Then, Heracles was to bring back the girdle of the Amazon queen Hippolyta (horse-tamer or Antiope) for his daughter. The girdle was a belt that women wore above their hips: to loosen it was to offer oneself sexually, to take it forcibly was rape. This labor is a sexual one, directed against the queen of the man-hating Amazons…. When Heracles arrived, Hippolyta gladly offered him the belt, so great were Heracles’s charms. Hera was angry about this, again she disguised herself as an Amazon and ran through the city proclaiming Heracles had abducted their queen. The Amazon attacked. Heracles, fearing treachery, strangled Hippolyta, removed her girdle, and returned with the labor accomplished.

The Cattle of Geryon • For his tenth labor Heracles had to capture the cattle of the monster Geryon, who had three bodies joined at the waist and lived on the island of Erythia (red land, perhaps named from the color of the sunset) some where in the far west near the river Ocean. This monster possessed a herd of red cattle, watched over by Eurytion and his demonic two-headed dog, Orthus. • Heracles landed, bashed in Orthus’ brains, and killed the herdsman Eurytion. He rustled the cattle and was driving them across a river when Geryon himself attacked. Heracles shot him with his arrow, and returned with the labor accomplished.

The Apples of the Hesperides • Heracles’ next task was to bring back the apples of Hesperides, guarded by a ferocious hundred-headed serpent named Ladon.

Cerberus • At his twelfth labor Heracles was ordered to descend to the underworld and bring back its many-headed guard dog, Cerberus. He traveled to the entrance to Hades. As he came down from the upper world, the ghosts fled before him. He seized one of Hades’ cows and sacrificed it to Lord Death. He appeared before the King and Queen of the dead and requested permission to take Cerberus.. Hades agreed, so long as Heracles did not use any weapons. Protected by his lion’s skin, he seized the hell-hound by the throat,… Heracles passed a chain around the beast and dragged it, … to Eurystheus, then released it to the world below.

Some Observations • Gilgamesh overcame a great bull, as did Heracles… Heracles began his heroic career as an animal-slayer,… As Gilgamesh crossed faraway waters to consult with Utnapishtim, the man who never died, and Perseus went to the edge of the world to defeat a demon whose glance would become death, so did Heracles descend to the underworld and bring back its guardian.

After the twelve labors, Heracles was released from his servitude to Eurystheus and settled in Tiryns. He wanted to marry again and heard that Eurytus, king of Oechalia, who had been Heracles’s own archery mentor, had offered his beautiful daughter Iole as a prize in an archery contest. However, it was rumored that Eurytus loved his daughter himself and did not want anyone else to have her. Heracles traveled to Oechalia and defeated his former mentor. But Eurytus would not give up Iole, fearing, he said, that she and her children might share Megara’s fate (being murdered by Heracles when he became mad). Heracles left angrily.

Then Eurytus discovered that twelve fine mares were missing. He thought Heracles had taken them, but his son, who admired Heracles, insisted that so great a hero could never do such a thing. He left for Tiryns to see Heracles. … Heracles welcomed him and invited him to the top of the stone ramparts, then for his noisiness pushed him to his death. For a second time Heracles had violated a sacred social code, this time xenia, “guest-friendship,” whereby a host never for any reason harmed his guest….

Apollo agreed to purify Heracles on these conditions: He must serve a woman for three years as her slave, and he must give everything he earned to Eurytus as blood-money. Hermes led Heracles to the slave market. Omphale, queen of Lydia, liked Heracles’s physique and bought him on the spot, thinking he would make a fine lover. • (After his three years of servitude were completed, Heracles left Lydia).

The Death of Heracles: • Gilgamesh died peacefully in Uruk. Heracles, by contrast, died horribly at the hands of a woman scorned in love. Heracles first head of Deianira (“man-killer”) when he was in underworld. The ghost had suggested to Heracles that he marry Deianira should he escape from Death’s realm. Now Heracles set off to Calydon, capital of Aetolia where she lived. The river god Achelous, also wanted Deianira. Heracles wrestled and broke off one of his horns. ….. Taking Deianira as his bride, Heracles headed for Trachis, whose king had offered him hospitality. On the way he had to cross the river Evenus, where the Centaur Nessus ferried travelers for a small fee. Deianira got on the Centaur’s back while Heracles easily swam to the other side [of the river], but in the middle of the river Nessus assaulted Deiarina.

When Heracles saw, he shot the Centaur with a poisoned arrow. Nessus staggered ashore and with dying words instructed Deianira to collect his [poisoned] blood and semen, a powerful love potion, should she ever needed it. …. Still resenting his treatment at the hands of Eurytus of Oechalia, who had cheated him of Iole, Heracles organized a military campaign. He sacked the town, killed Eurytus, took the girl, and retired to a cape. … Deianira, learning about Iole, remembered the love potion.

She made a shirt with the poisoned blood of Nessus [through their eldest son] for Heracles. Years before, Zeus warned Heracles that no living man could kill him, but that he would die by hands of the dead: the poisoned blood of the dead Nessus killed him. Nevertheless, a cloud gathered around, thunder cracked, and Heracles was raised into heaven --- that was the process of being made a god. When the ashes cooled, only his armor was found, no trace of bone. His spirit was led in the high procession to the halls of Zeus on Olympus, where he became a god and married Hebe (“youth”).

Observations: • Heracles does everything too much. He commits terrible crimes, which are followed by humiliating expiation. He violates the most sacred human obligations, killing his children and guest-friend Iphitus, after which he must live in degrading bondage first to the cowardly Eurystheus, then to a woman as her sexual plaything and slave. … Here is Heracles, the hero’s essence: reckless, fearless, sometimes tricky, getting away with things other cannot… Of course, other heroes challenge Death --- Gilgamesh inquires of Utnapishtim, Perseus slays the Gorgon, Odysseus and Aeneas descend to the underworld --- but none so often or explicitly as Heracles, and on other is rewarded at the end with immortality, Heracles’ reward for completing the Twelve Labors. After becoming immortal, Heracles married Hebe, “youth,” on Mount Olympus: Heracles never got old.

Heracles was “the averter of evils,” summoned as a god to turn away disease, human and animal attack, and every kind of harm. He embodied the ancient Greeks’ naïve eagerness to try anything without fear of the result, which too often proved disastrous. He destroyed evil, sinned greatly, loved unwisely, fathered a whole race, and died shamefully at a woman’s hand, yet he received his triumphant reward: immortality,

古希臘及中國神話的怪獸與猛獸 (monsters) ( 張學明編 )