The Truths Behind Myths of Ancient Amazons古亞馬孫人傳說(shuō)背后的真相

Hippolyta， Antiope and Penthesilea. These are the names of Amazonian women warriors made famous in folklore， thanks in large part to male Greek storytellers like Homer and Herodotus.

希波呂忒、安提俄珀、彭忒西勒亞，這些都是民間傳說(shuō)中著名亞馬孫女武士的名字。她們之所以出名，在很大程度上要?dú)w功于荷馬及希羅多德等古希臘男性作家。

They were huntresses， founders of cities， rivals and lovers of adventurous men. They battled the Greek hero Heracles and fought alongside the Trojans in the final hours of Troy. And yet， they are widely held to be little more than figments1 of Greco-Roman imagination.

她們是女獵手，是城市的創(chuàng)建者，是愛冒險(xiǎn)的男人的對(duì)手與戀人。她們?cè)c古希臘英雄赫拉克勒斯交手，也曾在特洛伊城即將陷落之際與特洛伊人并肩作戰(zhàn)。然而，人們普遍認(rèn)為她們是古希臘-羅馬人想象出來(lái)的。

But warrior women actually existed， according to Stanford’s Adrienne Mayor， a research scholar in the Department of Classics. In her new book， “The Amazons2： Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World，” Mayor explains the real-world underpinnings3 and history behind the Amazonian folklore.

但斯坦福大學(xué)古典學(xué)系的研究學(xué)者阿德里安娜·梅厄卻認(rèn)為，女武士是真實(shí)存在的。有關(guān)亞馬孫人的民間傳說(shuō)源于現(xiàn)實(shí)，有其真實(shí)的歷史背景，梅厄在她的新書《古代世界亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的生活與傳說(shuō)》中對(duì)此作了闡述。

In Hellenic legends， as Mayor learned， Amazons often faced defeat and death at the hands of male Greek heroes. Yet the storytellers also described these female foreigners as exceptionally heroic， civilized and worthy counterparts to the Greek champions.

正如梅厄所了解到的，在古希臘傳說(shuō)中，亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士常被希臘男性英雄擊敗，甚至被殺，但講故事的人卻又把這些異邦女子描繪得極有英雄氣概又文明開化，還說(shuō)她們是與希臘斗士旗鼓相當(dāng)?shù)呐泻澜?，是值得尊敬的?/p>

“Amazons were modeled on stories of self-confident women of steppe4 cultures who fought for glory and survival and enjoyed male companionship，” but， as Mayor puts it， “on terms that seemed extraordinary to the ancient Greeks.”

“亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的原型是自信的游牧民族女子，有關(guān)她們的故事是大草原文化的一部分，她們?yōu)榱藰s譽(yù)和生存而戰(zhàn)，喜歡與男子為伴?！钡缑范蛩f(shuō)，“在古希臘人看來(lái)，她們與伴侶的關(guān)系似乎有點(diǎn)奇特”。

The hereditary stories left quite a mark on the Greeks. “The popularity of Amazon stories and images suggests that Greek women and men enjoyed imagining heroes and heroines interacting as equals and seeking adventure and glory in hunting and battle，” Mayor said.

這些故事世代流傳，極大地影響了希臘人。梅厄說(shuō)：“亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的故事膾炙人口，她們的形象深入人心，這些都說(shuō)明希臘的男男女女都喜歡想象男女英雄人物平等交流，一起在狩獵和戰(zhàn)斗中尋求冒險(xiǎn)與榮耀。”

Real women warriors

真正的女武士

Mayor began her investigation by amassing all the surviving ancient Greek and Latin accounts she could find that told of encounters with Amazons as well as “warlike， barbarian” women who behaved like Amazons of myth. The texts described them as members of nomadic tribes roving the territories that the Greeks collectively called “Scythia”—a vast expanse between the Black Sea and Mongolia—from the seventh century B.C. until the fifth century A.D.

現(xiàn)存的古希臘語(yǔ)和拉丁語(yǔ)文獻(xiàn)記錄下了遭遇亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的情形，以及遭遇“野蠻好戰(zhàn)”女子的事件，后者舉止行為猶如神話中的亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士。梅厄把她能找到的所有這些文獻(xiàn)都匯集到一起 ，開始調(diào)查研究。從文獻(xiàn)上看，她們都是游牧部落的成員，從公元前7世紀(jì)到公元5世紀(jì)，這些部落在黑海和蒙古之間的廣闊土地上漂泊生存，希臘人將那片地域統(tǒng)稱為“斯基泰”。

She proceeded to research the Scythians—Eurasian steppe peoples who cultivated a mastery of horseback riding and archery for thousands of years. Mayor consulted early European travelers’ reports and ethnographical materials as well as contemporary descriptions of steppe life， comparing the latter to ancient Greek knowledge and speculation concerning the identity of the Amazons.

接下來(lái)，她研究了歐亞草原上的游牧民族斯基泰人，數(shù)千年間，他們磨練出了精湛的騎射技藝。梅厄翻閱了古代歐洲旅行者的見聞錄及人種志，也查看了當(dāng)代人對(duì)游牧生活的描述。古希臘人對(duì)亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的特征是有所認(rèn)識(shí)的，也做過推測(cè)，梅厄?qū)⒋伺c當(dāng)代人對(duì)游牧生活的描述作了比較。

Mayor also analyzed physical evidence—including “actual battle-scarred skeletons of women buried with their weapons and horses”—and she corresponded with the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg to learn how researchers there used infrared cameras to reveal invisible tattoos on frozen female Scythian mummies from more than two millennia ago.

梅厄還分析了實(shí)物證據(jù)——包括“一些女性的尸骨，骨頭上留有戰(zhàn)斗創(chuàng)痕，陪葬品是她們自己的武器及戰(zhàn)馬”——她還與圣彼得堡艾爾米塔什博物館取得了聯(lián)系。那里有一些凍住的斯基泰女性干尸，這些尸體都有2000多年的歷史，身上有些肉眼難辨的紋身。她想知道博物館的研究人員是如何用紅外線照相機(jī)把那些紋身拍出來(lái)的。

“Their tattoos of deer and geometric designs resemble the tattoos and patterns on Amazons depicted in ancient Greek vase paintings，” Mayor said.

梅厄說(shuō)道：“她們身上有野鹿和幾何圖形的紋身，這些紋樣與古希臘花瓶上所繪的亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士身上的紋身和圖樣相似?！?/p>

Furthermore， Mayor was able to collect and verify lesser-known tales and reports （such as a newly translated Egyptian papyrus5 in Vienna） that showed warrior women were the subject of much fascination in cultures beyond Greece—Persia， Egypt， Caucasia， Armenia， Central Asia， China and among the steppe peoples themselves.

此外，梅厄還收集并核實(shí)了一些不大為人所知的傳說(shuō)（如最近在維也納完成的一個(gè)古埃及紙莎草紙文獻(xiàn)的譯本）。資料顯示，除了希臘文化，在波斯、埃及、高加索、亞美尼亞、中亞和中國(guó)文化中以及草原民族自身當(dāng)中，女戰(zhàn)士都是令人著迷的主題。

Examining the corroborating evidence， Mayor found that “real women warriors lived at the time that the Greeks were describing Amazons and warlike women of exotic eastern lands.” She even determined that there was even more respect and exaltation for women warriors in the non-Greek traditions that stretched from the Black Sea to China.

梅厄仔細(xì)研究了這些確鑿的證據(jù)，她發(fā)現(xiàn)“在古希臘人用神話描寫亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士及東方異邦的好戰(zhàn)女子的時(shí)期，正是現(xiàn)實(shí)中女武士所生活的年代”。她甚至推斷，在有些非希臘民族的傳統(tǒng)中，人們對(duì)女武士有著更多尊重與贊賞，這樣的傳統(tǒng)扎根于從黑海到中國(guó)的廣大地區(qū)。

In these non-Greek stories， she said that male and female enemies were so equally matched that neither could win： “Instead of ending in doom for the woman， the former foes declare their mutual admiration and decide to become companions in love and war.”

她表示，在這些非希臘民族的神話故事里，男女?dāng)硨?duì)雙方勢(shì)均力敵，誰(shuí)也打不過誰(shuí)：“結(jié)局并非女方必?cái)。沁^去的仇敵互道欽佩之情，雙方?jīng)Q意結(jié)成伴侶和戰(zhàn)友?！?/p>

Gender dynamics

性別狀況

While Greek heroes usually defeat Amazon women in their mythic narratives， the triumphs are depicted as hard-won from worthy rivals. As Quintus of Smyrna described the tragically slain Queen Penthesilea in The Fall of Troy， “All the Greeks on the battlefield crowded around and marveled， wishing with all their hearts that their wives at home could be just like her.”

盡管在以古希臘英雄為中心的神話中，英雄們通常都能打敗亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士，但根據(jù)神話的描述，后者并不是好對(duì)付的，英雄的勝利來(lái)之不易。士麥那的昆圖斯在《特洛伊的陷落》中描繪了彭忒西勒亞女王戰(zhàn)死的悲壯場(chǎng)面：“戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上所有的希臘人都蜂擁到女王身邊，無(wú)不贊嘆，他們多希望家中的妻子能像她一樣?！?/p>

“After Heracles， Amazons were the single most popular subjects in vase paintings of myths，” Mayor wrote. Artistic Greek objects of all sorts， crafted for men， women， boys and girls， underscored that admiration for the Amazons transcended gender and age groups.

梅厄?qū)懙溃骸肮畔ＥD人很喜歡將亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的故事作為花瓶圖案的神話主題，這種題材的受青睞程度僅次于赫拉克勒斯的故事?！惫畔ＥD工藝品種類繁多，可供男女老少各色人等使用，這說(shuō)明古希臘人，不分性別、不論年齡，都對(duì)亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士敬佩有加。

Mayor’s exploration of the subtler gender dynamics within the Scythian culture is reflected in her linguistic analysis of the Greek name for this people， Amazones antianeirai. Homer’s Iliad offers the earliest reference to the Amazons in the eighth century B.C.， using the full designation Amazones antianeirai.

古希臘人稱這一部族為Amazones antianeirai，梅厄?qū)@一稱呼所做的語(yǔ)言分析反映出，她對(duì)斯基泰文化中不易為人察覺的性別狀況是有所研究的。亞馬孫女戰(zhàn)士的形象最早出現(xiàn)在公元前8世紀(jì)荷馬的《伊利亞特》里，荷馬當(dāng)時(shí)用了全稱Amazones antianeirai。

Mayor counters the popular modern translations of antianeirai as “opposites of men” or “against men，” pointing out that in ancient Greek epic diction， the word would more ordinarily translate to “equals of men.”

如今，人們往往將antianeirai譯成“男人的對(duì)立面”或“對(duì)抗男性”，這種解釋廣受認(rèn)可，但梅厄?qū)Υ顺址磳?duì)意見，她指出，從古希臘史詩(shī)的措辭來(lái)看，這個(gè)詞通常意指“與男子不相上下的女人”。

Scythian culture， she explained， was not a purely female-dominated society. Instead it afforded a greater range of roles to women and promoted parity between genders. Scythian women often dressed in the same clothes as their male brethren and often joined them in battle—helping them thwart forces such as those of Cyrus the Great and Darius of Persia.

她解釋道，在斯基泰文化中，社會(huì)并不純粹以女性為主導(dǎo)，只是給予女性的職責(zé)較多，并提倡男女平等。斯基泰女人的穿著往往與部落中的男人無(wú)異，她們常常和男人們并肩作戰(zhàn)，協(xié)助他們阻擋敵軍，比如波斯居魯士大帝和大流士的軍隊(duì)。

For example， the “Nart” sagas， Scythian oral traditions of the Caucasus passed down to their descendants， hold great praise for their women warriors， as led by the valorous Queen Amezan： “The women of that time could cut out an enemy’s heart … yet they also comforted their men and harbored great love in their hearts.”

例如，叫作“納爾特”的敘事詩(shī)本是高加索地區(qū)的斯基泰人按照傳統(tǒng)世代口耳相傳的故事，它謳歌了以英勇的亞美森王后為首的女武士。故事里說(shuō)：“那時(shí)的女人不但能挖敵人的心……還能安慰自己的丈夫，心中對(duì)丈夫滿懷愛意?！?/p>

The sagas point to the possibility of a Caucasian etymology for the Greeks’ nomenclature6 of “Amazon.” Mayor’s work also clears up confusion over whether the word signifies women who sacrificed a breast to become better archers.

從故事中可知，“亞馬孫”這一希臘語(yǔ)命名可能源自高加索人的語(yǔ)言。該詞是否意指那些為提高射箭技藝而舍棄一只乳房的女人，關(guān)于這一點(diǎn)人們?cè)幸苫?，梅厄在其著作中?duì)此也作了澄清。

1 figment憑空想象的事物，臆造的東西。" 2 Amazon（古希臘神話中的）亞馬孫族女戰(zhàn)士。亞馬孫是個(gè)十分古老的游牧民族，生活在歐亞大陸的交界處，大概位置在當(dāng)代土耳其北部的特爾莫冬河附近。該部族由清一色的女子組成，她們買賣男子進(jìn)行傳宗接代，把生下的女孩留下，并養(yǎng)育成人。亞馬孫部族尚武好戰(zhàn)，她們?cè)诠糯膫髡f(shuō)中總是以勇猛無(wú)畏的女戰(zhàn)士形象出現(xiàn)。

3 underpinning基礎(chǔ)，根基。" 4 steppe（尤指東南歐、俄羅斯和亞洲北部無(wú)樹的）干草原，大草原。

5 papyrus（尤指古埃及人制造的）紙莎草紙。

6 nomenclature（尤指某一科學(xué)領(lǐng)域的）命名法。