世界小史 第55期:吟游歌手
Do you also remember the tale of the wily Odysseus?
你還記得足智多謀的奧德修斯的故事嗎？
How, returning from Troy, he experienced the strangest adventures,
他如何回到特洛伊，經(jīng)歷了最奇妙的冒險，
Till, at last, on miraculous1 ships, he returned to his homeland,
最終乘坐魔船回到他的家鄉(xiāng)，
To the wife who awaited her lord all the years of his absence.
找到這些年他不在卻一直等待他的忠貞的妻子
Verses like these were chanted at feasts by Greek minstrels as they played their lyres.
所有這些詩句都是宴會上希臘吟游歌手吟唱出來的。
Later, they were written down and people came to believe that one poet, called Homer, had composed them all.
后來，有人把這些歌記下來，人們相信是一位名叫荷馬的詩人寫了這些歌。
They are read to this day and you, too, can enjoy them,
這些歌人們今天還在讀，你也會喜歡他們的，
for they are as fresh and vivid as ever – full of beauty and wisdom.
因?yàn)樗麄儸F(xiàn)在仍這樣生動和有趣——充滿美與智慧。
Now wait a minute, you're going to say.
現(xiàn)在等一等，你會說。
These are stories, not history.
這些事故事，不是歷史。
What I want to know is, when and how did these events take place?
我想知道，這是什么時候、是如何發(fā)生的。
A German businessman called Schliemann asked himself that same question, more than 100 years ago.
100多年前一個名叫施利曼的德國商人恰恰正是懷著這樣的心情。
