Name: 《奧德賽》中的科學根據！(The science behind the myth: Homer's "Odyssey" - Matt Kaplan)
Uploaded: 2016-01-04T07:00:00.000Z
Duration: 4 min 32 s

Homer's Odyssey, one of the oldest works of Western literature, recounts the adventures  of the Greek hero Odysseus during his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War.

荷馬的《奧德賽》，西方文學中最古老的文學作品之一，敘述了希臘英雄奧德修斯從特洛伊戰爭後， 歸國途中為期十年的冒險歷程

進階被動語態

Though some parts  may be based on real events,

雖然故事中某些部分可能來自真實事件

the encounters with strange monsters, terrifying giants and powerful magicians

但奇珍異獸、可怕巨人和強大魔法師的奇遇記

But might there be more to these myths than meets the eye?

但是這些神話真的只有表面上看到的如此嗎？

Let's look at one famous episode from the poem.

我們來看看史詩中一篇著名的章節

In the midst of their long voyage, Odysseus and his crew find themselves on the mysterious island of Aeaea.

在他們漫長的航行中，奧德修斯和他的部下抵達神秘的艾尤島

Starving and exhausted, some of the men stumble upon a palatial home

飽受飢寒疲憊之苦，有人偶然發現了一間像宮廷般的房子

where a stunning woman welcomes them inside for a sumptuous feast.

一位漂亮婦女歡迎他們入內，並以盛宴熱情款待

Of course, this all turns out to be  too good to be true.

The woman, in fact,  is the nefarious sorceress Circe,

其實這位婦女是邪惡的女巫瑟茜

and as soon as the soldiers have eaten their fill at her table,

當士兵們吃完桌上食物的一剎那

she turns them all into animals with a wave of her wand.

finds Odysseus  and tells him of the crew's plight.

找到奧德修斯告訴他部屬們的慘狀

然而，奧德修斯在趕去救人的途中

who advises him to first consume a magical herb.

and when he finally encounters Circe, her spells have no effect on him,

當他終於面對瑟茜時 她的魔咒居然對他無效

allowing him to defeat her and rescue his crew.

奧德修斯得以乘機打敗她，救了他的部下

Naturally, this story of witchcraft and animal transformations

不意外這充滿妖術和變身術的故事

was dismissed as nothing more  than imagination for centuries.

But in recent years, the many mentions of herbs and drugs throughout the passage have piqued the interest of scientists, leading some to suggest the myths might have been fictional expressions of real experiences.

但近年來，故事當中多次提到的草藥和藥物引起了科學家的興趣，以致於有些科學家認為這些神話有可能是真實經驗的神化之說

say that Circe mixed baneful drugs into the food

提到瑟茜把有毒的草藥混入食物中

such that the crew might utterly forget their native land.

As it happens, one of the plants growing in the Mediterranean region

很巧的是，在地中海區域有一種植物

is an innocent sounding herb known as Jimson weed,

叫曼陀羅，乍聽之下似乎是無害的藥草

whose effects include pronounced amnesia.

The plant is also loaded with compounds that disrupt the vital neurotransmitter

曼陀羅也富含一種成分，可以阻斷重要神經傳導物質

Such disruption can cause  vivid hallucinations,

and general difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality,

which might make people believe  they've been turned into animals,

會讓人相信 他們真的被變成禽獸的東西

which also suggests that Circe was no sorceress,

這也暗示瑟茜根本就不是什麼女巫

but in fact a chemist who knew how to use local plants to great effect.

而是擅長使用當地植物的化學家

但曼陀羅也只能解釋部分真相而已

不同於《奧德賽》書中所提到的多種藥草

the text about the herb that Hermes gives to Odysseus is unusually specific.

文中有關荷米斯交給奧德修斯的神藥記載異常詳細

it's described as being found in a forest glen,

據說是在一座森林的峽谷中發現的

black at the root  and with a flower as white as milk.

moly was dismissed as fictional invention for centuries.

默里數世紀以來也被認為是虛構之物

But in 1951, Russian pharmacologist Mikhail Mashkovsky

但在1951年，俄國藥理學家米海爾·馬士霍斯基

discovered that villagers  in the Ural Mountains

used a plant with a milk-white flower and a black root

利用一種奶白色花、烏黑色根的植物

to stave off paralysis in children suffering from polio.

turned out to contain a compound called galantamine

證實含有一種叫做 Galantamine 的化合物

that prevented the disruption of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine,

能夠防止神經傳導物乙醯膽鹼被阻斷

making it effective in treating not only polio

對於其他疾病，如阿茲海默症也有效

在第 12 屆世界神經醫學討論會中

Doctors Andreas Plaitakis and Roger Duvoisin

Andreas Plaitakis 醫師和  Roger Duvoisin 醫師

first proposed that snowdrop was, in fact, the plant Hermes gave to Odysseus.

首次提出雪花蓮其實就是荷米斯交給奧德修斯的草藥

Although there is not much direct evidence that people in Homer's day

雖然沒有直接證據證明在荷馬年代的人

would have known about  its anti-hallucinatory effects,

we do have a passage from 4th century Greek writer Theophrastus

但是四世紀時有名希臘作者提奧弗拉斯特

stating that moly  is used as an antidote against poisons.

that Odysseus, Circe, and other characters in the Odyssey were real?

奧德修斯、瑟茜和《奧德賽》中 其他的角色皆為真實的人物？

But it does suggest that ancient stories may have more elements of truth to them

但這確實暗示古老的故事蘊含著

我們先前從未意識到的真實成分

And as we learn more about the world around us,

而且當我們瞭解周遭的世界更多時

we may uncover some of the same knowledge

hidden within the myths and legends of ages passed.

其實已經蘊藏在古老的神話和傳奇中