A Comet Gives Birth to an Empire一顆彗星催生一個帝國

薩拉·約曼斯

For as long as human beings have existed， surely no part of the nat-ural world has been more enigmatic or influential as the movement of observable celestial objects. Earths movement around the sun set the agricultural cycles by which the large majority of humanity lived until our own， very recently arrived， modern era， while the moons effect on the oceans tides profoundly influenced the day-to-day lives and economies of ancient seafaring nations. In the Greco-Roman world， there is ample evidence that celestial objects， their movements and occasional surprise appearances not only inspired awe and wonder， but in some cases directly influenced mythology， elections， wars and imperial propaganda. Eclipses， comets and meteorites were particularly mentioned by the ancient writers since their appearances were both startling and， for many， utterly unpredictable.

自人類誕生以來，想必自然界沒有什么比可觀測天體的運動更神秘莫測，或者影響更為深遠。地球環(huán)繞太陽運行確定了農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)的周期，人類歷史上絕大多數(shù)時候都依此為生，直到我們所處的現(xiàn)今時代，而月亮對海洋潮汐產(chǎn)生的作用則深刻地影響了古代航海國家的日常生活和經(jīng)濟。在古希臘和古羅馬的世界里有充分的證據(jù)表明，天體、天體運動，以及天體不定期的突然出現(xiàn)不僅令人敬畏、驚奇，還會在某些情況下直接影響神話、選舉、戰(zhàn)爭和帝國的政治宣傳。古代作家曾特別提到日食和月食、彗星和隕石，因為它們的出現(xiàn)令人震驚，而且對很多人來說完全無法預見。

Comets especially were associated with portents and omens. The superstitious Roman encyclopedist Pliny the Elder held the view that comets were “terrifying apparitions.” He went so far as to categorize them by appearance， location and tail direction， with each “type” corresponding to sometimes hilariously specific earthly circumstances， for example， noting that “a comet resembling a flute with its tail rays pointing toward the east would indicate a malefic influence on music in the eastern territories.” While we may never know of a specific comet appearance that caused musical mayhem in the eastern empire， we do have a varied range of accounts from ancient authors attesting to other cometary occurrences. One such event played an important role in the dying days of the Roman Republic and was to become part of the powerful blend of mythology and propaganda that helped establish Octavian， Caesars great-nephew and heir， as Romes first emperor， thus forever changing the political landscape of the Roman world.

彗星尤其使人聯(lián)想到怪事和預兆。迷信的羅馬百科全書編纂家老普林尼認為，彗星是“嚇人的幽靈”。他甚至按照彗星的外觀、位置和慧尾朝向把它們分類，每個“類型”對應著塵世間令人捧腹的特定事件。例如，他指出：“一顆像笛子的彗星，若它的尾巴指向東方，就會對東部地區(qū)的音樂產(chǎn)生有害影響?！彪m然我們可能永遠不會知道具體是哪顆彗星的出現(xiàn)在東方帝國引發(fā)了音樂上的混亂，但我們確實有出自古代作家的各種描述，能證明其他彗星的出現(xiàn)。這其中的一個事件在羅馬共和國即將滅亡的日子里發(fā)揮了重要作用，后來成為神話與政治宣傳強大結(jié)合體的一部分，幫助確立屋大維（愷撒的甥孫和繼承人）為羅馬的首位皇帝，從而永遠改變了羅馬世界的政治格局。

Following the death of Julius Caesar， in 44 B.C.E.， his great-nephew Octavian （the future emperor Augustus） held a series of public games in honor of his great-uncle in July of that year. The move was a savvy one; Octavian was at this time by no means assured of his accession to the political power of his great-uncle. Mark Antony， a Roman consul and one of Caesars most esteemed generals， had also been positioning himself as Caesars political heir. By holding public games at his own familys expense in honor of the assassinated Caesar， Octavian was hoping to not only win over Caesars loyal military veterans， but also to raise his own image in the eyes of the Roman citizenry. It was， as the ancient writers tell us， a wild success， largely thanks to the unscheduled appearance of a celestial guest. The Roman historian Suetonius reports that during the course of the games， “a comet [stella crinita] shone throughout seven days in a row， rising at about the 11th hour1， and it was believed that it was the soul of Caesar who had been taken up into heaven.”

公元前44年朱利烏斯·愷撒去世后，他的甥孫屋大維（后來的奧古斯都大帝）在同年7月舉行了一系列競技運動會來紀念他的舅祖父。這是個精明的舉措。此時，屋大維對繼承舅祖父的政治權(quán)力沒有一點把握。馬克·安東尼也一直設法將自己確立為愷撒的政治繼承人。他是羅馬執(zhí)政官，也是愷撒最尊敬的將軍之一。屋大維自家出資舉辦競技運動會，紀念遇刺的愷撒，他不僅希望把忠于愷撒的軍中老將爭取過來，還希望提高他自己在羅馬公民心目中的形象。如古代作家講述的那樣，屋大維之所以能大獲成功，主要歸功于天外來客的意外出現(xiàn)。羅馬史學家蘇埃托尼烏斯報告說，運動會期間“一顆彗星在11時升起，連續(xù)閃耀7天，人們認為它是升上天國的愷撒的靈魂”。

The comet， which was evidently bright enough to be seen during the day， was an extremely fortuitous circumstance for both Octavian and for those who were trying to secure a decree from the Roman senate conferring divine status upon Julius Caesar. Though there was undoubtedly skepticism on the part of some of the more educated Romans （as well as Octavians political opponents）， popular opinion was that the sudden appearance of the comet was a celestial omen that signified the late dictators apotheosis. It was an opinion that suited Octavians aims perfectly; he seized upon the event with alacrity， immediately grasping the value that such an extraordinary event would have as a propaganda device. The political capital inherent in being the heir of a god was substantial， and Octavian lost no time in setting up a bronze statue of Julius Caesar in the Temple of Venus2 and adorning the head of the statue with a star. Indeed， the ancient writers tell us that he later added the symbol to his own helmet—a stratagem no doubt devised to associate himself with his great-uncles divinity.

這顆彗星非常耀眼，亮得在白天都可以看到。對屋大維，以及對想方設法從羅馬元老院拿到授予朱利烏斯·愷撒神圣地位的詔書的人來說，這顆彗星的出現(xiàn)帶來了極大的好運。雖然有一部分受教育程度更高的羅馬人（以及屋大維的政治對手）肯定持懷疑態(tài)度，但民眾認為彗星的突然出現(xiàn)是來自上天的征兆，說明這位過世獨裁者已成神。這種民意完美契合了屋大維的目的，他敏銳地利用這個事件，一下就領會了這個非常事件作為政治宣傳手段的重要性。成為神的繼承人就自然能獲得巨大的政治資本，于是屋大維不失時機地在維納斯神廟豎起朱利烏斯·愷撒的青銅雕像，并在雕像的頭上裝飾了一顆星星。其實，據(jù)古代作家所述，他后來還將這個象征符號加在了自己的頭盔上——他想出這個計謀無疑是要建立自己與舅祖父神性之間的聯(lián)系。

Two years later， after the Roman senate had issued a decree proclaiming the deified status of Julius Caesar， Octavian began the construction of the Temple of the Divine Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum. The temple， which was built on the site of Caesars cremation， was also called the Temple of the Comet Star; it was the only temple dedicated to the cult of the comet. Coinage depicting the deified Julius Caesar with the star symbol appeared as early as 44 B.C.E.， and for the next two and a half decades following its appearance， the comets “star” symbol would appear on Augustan coinage. For Octavian， who was only 18 years of age at the time of the comets appearance， it was a powerful symbol indeed. For though it would be another 13 years of civil wars and an additional four years of ruthless political machinations， Caesars heir would become the first emperor of Rome in 27 B.C.E.， an event that proclaimed the death of the Republic—and the birth of an empire.

兩年后，羅馬元老院發(fā)布詔書，宣告朱利烏斯·愷撒的神圣地位，于是屋大維著手在羅馬廣場修建神圣朱利烏斯·愷撒廟。這座廟建在愷撒火葬之地，亦稱“彗星廟”，是唯一專門用于崇拜彗星的神廟。早在公元前44年，用星星符號神化朱利烏斯·愷撒的圖案就出現(xiàn)在了硬幣上，這之后的25年間，代表彗星的“星星”符號還出現(xiàn)在了奧古斯都時代的硬幣上。對于當時年僅18歲的屋大維而言，彗星出現(xiàn)的象征意義的確強大無比。雖然后來又經(jīng)歷了13年內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，外加4年無情的政治陰謀，愷撒的繼承人還是在公元前27年成為羅馬的首位皇帝，從而宣布了共和國的滅亡——以及帝國的誕生。