to start looking at pantheons.

今天我們要來討論「眾神」。

Pantheons are families of gods, and those families are complicated.

「眾神」指的是神的家族。 這些家族非常非常複雜。

Really complicated.

是真的很複雜。

A whole tangle of grandparents and parents and uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews

一整堆阿公阿嬷、老爸老媽、伯父叔叔、 阿姨嬸嬸、姪兒外甥...

and a couple of children of mortal women who were raped and a pretty staggering amount

還有強姦凡人女人所生的小孩...等等。

of violence and incest to just round everything off.

一打堆狗屁倒灶亂倫通姦...簡直罄竹難書。

They have amazing feasts, but honestly, can you imagine Thanksgiving with these people?

他們的宴席很豐富， 但你能想像跟他們吃年夜飯的場景嗎？

I mean Thoth, you had a mistress and a wife and you somehow gave birth to yourself.

好比說圖特，你是怎麼跟老婆小三劈腿 然後把自己給生出來的？

How is that not awkward?

會不會太尷尬了一點？

INTRO

〈速成班主題曲〉

The pantheons we are going to examine are

《神話速成班》

families of deities from cultures that are usually considered polytheistic, meaning that

我們要來討論的眾神， 都是從多神教的文化裡的神族。

they worshipped more than one god.

也就是說，他們不只崇拜獨一無二的神。

In most mythological traditions, the gods are seen as immortal, and according to David

大部分的神話傳說中， 神都有不死之身。

Leeming, “they are personified projections of the human mythmaker’s dreams of overcoming

根據大衛‧李明的說法： 「神話作者夢想著克服現實中

the inevitable effects of the physical laws that require death and disintegration.”

無法避免的死亡與物質崩解。 於是將他們的夢化生為人形，成了眾神。」

Yeah.

好吧...

We went dark pretty quick.

我們很快的就黑化了。

In creation stories and other myths, gods represent the creative force that brings and

在創世神話與其他神話中， 眾神代表著維持生命的創造之力。

sustains life.

許多神話中，眾神是 「諸多自然力與人性的化身。」

In many myths, gods are “personifications of aspects of nature and of human nature – the

指的是太陽、北風、焦急、愛情等。

sun, the winds, impatience, love.”

大衛‧李明認為眾神能幫助解釋世界 形成的來由與原因，

Pantheons, David Leeming argues, help us to explain how and why the world we know came

也能揭開許多文化的面紗。

into being, and can tell us a lot about a culture.

李明認為：「眾神的概念都有其存在的意義和目的性。

Leeming writes: “All pantheons are ontological and teleological;

他們是人類用來解答自身存在、 以及終極原因的寓言。

that is they are metaphors for the human attempt to make sense of existence itself and to assign

解讀『眾神』就是在解讀一個文化對於自身的認識， 以及其對宇宙現象的理解。」

ultimate cause.

但是「眾神」解釋的了裸鼴鼠的意義嗎？

To “read” a pantheon is to read a culture’s sense of itself and of the nature of the cosmos.”

讓我們繼續看下去。

But can pantheons explain the naked mole rat?

如果你以為我會從希臘眾神開始的話，哈哈...

Let’s find out together.

騙你的！

If you thought that I was going to start with the Greeks, ha!

圖特！來個 High Five！

Gotcha!

但是我們也不會從埃及眾神開始。

High five Thoth.

歹勢。

But we’re not starting with Egypt either.

我們會先從有文字紀錄以來 最古老的眾神：

Sorry.

美索不達米亞的 古蘇美神話眾神。

We’re going to start with one of the oldest pantheons we have records for, the family

蘇美眾神代表著對於古代美索不達米亞人 最重要的自然力量。

of Gods from ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia.

蘇美眾神的神真的很多， 所以打起精神仔細聽。

Sumer’s pantheon represents the most important natural forces in the lives of Ancient Mesopotamians,

盡量每位神的職責， 並且注意哪些自然力沒有神來代表。

and there are a lot of deities here, so strap in.

好了，放馬過來吧！

Try to pay attention to everyone’s responsibilities, and note what kinds of things don’t have

第一對「神仙眷屬」是 「大地女神」姬與「天神」安。

gods.

安與姬結為夫婦， 再加上「初始之水女神」娜姆。

All right.

安和娜姆的孩子有「機巧之神」恩奇、 和恩奇的姊妹，「蘆葦女神」寧奇古嘉。

Here we go.

安和姬的則生了「大氣女神」寧利爾 和「風神」恩利爾。

The first pair of deities are the earth goddess, Ki, and the sky god, called An.

寧利爾和恩利爾結婚生了「月神」南那。

An mates with Ki, AND Nammu, goddess of primal waters.

恩奇和寧奇古嘉結婚生了「月亮女神」寧嘉爾。

An and Nammu’s children are Enki, the trickster god, and his sister, Ningikuga the goddess

寧嘉爾和南那結婚生了三個孩子：

of the reeds.

「太陽神」烏圖、

An and Ki, the more significant duo, begat Ninlil, the air goddess, and Enlil the air

「天地大女神」伊南娜、

god.

和「幽冥女神」厄里斯奇格。

Ninlil and Enlil give birth to Nanna, the Moon God.

厄里斯奇格的「丈夫」是 「天牛」古嘉爾拉那。

Enki and his sister Ningikuga create Ningal, the Moon Goddess.

伊南娜嫁給了「牧神」杜穆茲。

Ningal and Nanna then have three children.

杜穆茲是「機巧之神」恩奇與 「羊神」西爾圖爾的兒子。

Utu, the sun god, Inanna, the “Great Goddess of Heaven and Earth”, and Ereshkigal, the

值得注意的是： 牧神是由羊神所生的。

Queen of the Underworld.

以上就是蘇美的基礎神系。 但這能告訴我們什麼呢？

Ereshkigal’s “husband” is Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven.

首先，這樣的神系告訴我們 美索不達米亞人的神話更注重於

And Inanna marries the Shepherd Dumuzi.

天地這樣的自然現象， 人類的行為和情緒（如：愛情）則在其次。

Dumuzi, it turns out, was the son of Enki, the trickster god, and his consort, the sheep

原始的美索不達米亞眾神中， 只有「機巧之神」恩奇

goddess Sirtur.

和伊南娜（同時也是愛神）兩位 才有人性方面的職權。

It may be worth nothing that yes: a sheep goddess DID give birth to a shepherd.

還有...羊？

So that is the basic pantheon of Sumer, but what does all this tell us about Mesopotamia?

平時我們提到「新月沃土」時，都會想到農業。 （譯按：新月沃土為兩河流域與尼羅河流域一帶。）

First it suggests that, at least in terms of their myths, natural phenomena--like the

但是蘇美眾神裡有羊神和牛神，而不是豐收之神， 可能表示蘇美人早期趨向於畜牧文化。

earth and sky--take precedence over human actions and emotions--like love.

或是說這裡的牛神是象徵性的。 不僅代表男性，也有可能象徵耕作。

I mean, only two of the original Mesopotamian gods, Enki the trickster and Inanna, also

這就是神話──尤其是眾神── 最有意思的地方。

the goddess of love, are described as ruling over aspects of human nature.

你可以從很多方面去解讀它。

And the sheep?

圖特，我不是在講聖書體。 （譯按：聖書體沒有書寫順序規則， 只要不影響意義，愛怎麼寫就怎麼寫。）

Well, we tend to think agriculture when we talk about the Fertile Crescent, but the fact

不過，我們可以藉此把鏡頭轉向 下一個很複雜的神系：埃及眾神。

that their pantheon features Sheep and a Bull rather than a harvest deity might recall an

事先聲明：比起一般的複雜神系，

earlier life as herders.

埃及的神系還要更加的錯綜複雜。

Or perhaps the Bull is symbolic not only of masculinity but also of farming.

毫不意外，一樣有很多的亂倫情形。

This is the fun part of pantheons specifically and mythology generally; you can read them

首先，埃及眾神沒有一個標準的版本。

in many ways.

埃及神話變化萬千，取決於是誰、

No, Thoth that’s not a joke about hieroglyphics.

在何地、

But, it does get us to our next, significantly more complex family of gods, the Egyptian

在何時所寫的。

pantheon.

舉例來說，伊西斯與歐西里斯的神話 最完整的版本甚至不是埃及人寫的。

Right off the bat I’m going to say that the Egyptian pantheon is even more confusing

這個版本是由希臘歷史學者普魯塔克 在公元一世紀至二世紀左右完成的。

than your average confusing pantheon.

此時的埃及早就成了希臘的領土， 又被羅馬帝國所佔領了。

But surprise, surprise, it’s also just as incestuous.

在普魯塔克版本的神話中， 他給埃及神祇都取了希臘名字。

First off: There is no standard version of the Egyptian pantheon.

舉例來說，圖特成了赫耳墨斯。

the myth changes depending upon who is writing it.

但他還是有說你發明了飛鏢。OK？

And where.

既使在埃及本土，你所在的城市也會 有各自不同版本的神系。

And when.

我們主要會專注於赫里奧波里斯城 所崇拜的神系。

For example, in the story of Isis and Osiris, our most complete source isn’t even Egyptian,

這個版本的神系 以亞圖姆或拉為主神。

it’s the Greek biographer Plutarch, who wrote in the first and second centuries CE,

不過在底比斯的版本中，主神是阿蒙。

well after Egypt had become Hellenized, and then Romanized.

我們也不能忘了阿肯那頓（古埃及第十八王朝法老） 曾經想把宗教改成一神教。

In his version of the Isis and Osiris myths, he gives Egyptian gods Greek names.

那是個經典的課題。

For example, he refers to Thoth as Hermes, he does still give you credit for inventing

麻煩還沒完，很多的埃及神話資料，

darts, though, so.

在數千年下來，失散的七零八落。

There are also different versions of the pantheon depending on where you are in Egypt.

所以，為了避繁就簡， 我們只討論埃及宗教核心的九柱神系。

For the most part we’ll be sticking with the group of gods worshipped at the city of

只可惜，這個神系就沒有包含圖特了。

Heliopolis and headed by Atum or Ra, but we’ll give a nod to the fact that in Thebes the

抱歉了，兄弟。

pantheon was led by Amun.

恩尼亞德(Ennead)，即九柱神，是公元前2700年 赫里奧波里斯城裡所崇拜的神系。

And we can’t forget the attempted monotheism of Akhenaton.

九柱神神話被記載在《金字塔之書》裡。 《金字塔之書》可能是現存最古老的宗教典籍。

That was classic.

在神系的最頂端是亞圖姆。

But just to make this even trickier, a lot of the Egyptian sources we have for myths

看你在埃及的那個城市， 祂又被稱為瑞、拉、凱布利、阿蒙、阿蒙‧拉...。

are fragmentary and spread out over thousands of years.

這就是為什麼我們要避繁就簡的原因。

So, for simplicity, we’re going to settle on the Nine-God pantheon that forms the core

亞圖姆是諸天之目，和創造之源。

of Egyptian religious belief, and it … doesn’t include Thoth.

他就是我們在埃及創世神話裡讀到的

Sorry, buddy.

吐出了「空氣之神」舒、 與「法則之神」泰芙努特

Anyway, the Ennead, or Nine Gods, was in place in Heliopolis by 2700 BCE and is the one found

這對孿生兄妹結婚之後， 生下了蓋布和努特。

in the Pyramid Texts, which might be the oldest surviving set of religious texts in the world.

蓋布是「生命之神」 而努特是埃及的「母神」。

At the top of this pantheon is Atum, aka Re aka Ra, aka Khepri aka Amun or sometimes Amun-Ra,

這兩位神被父親舒強行分開。蓋布成了「大地之神」， 而努特成了「蒼天與星辰女神」。

depending on where in Egypt you are.

這點正好與其他神話中「天父地母」相反。

This is why we’re simplifying!

上行下效，這對兄妹也成了 神系中其他神祇的父母。

Atum is the great eye of the heavens and of creation.

他們的孩子中，伊西斯與歐西里斯 可能是最著名的埃及神祇。

He was the spitter in our Egyptian creation story.

知名度僅次於鷹頭神拉。

So Atum’s creative cough creates Shu, the life spirit, and Tefnut, the world order or

歐西里斯是「冥神、農業豐饒之神」。 有點像是哈得斯和狄蜜特的合體。

cosmos.

可能是最受歡迎的埃及神祇。 誰不喜歡食物和死亡呢？

This brother and sister pair mate, and give birth to Geb and Nut.

他死後又復活。 復活這檔事在神話裡十分常見。

Geb is the spirit of life and Nut is an Egyptian Great Mother goddess.

這點應該不意外吧？

The two are separated by their father, Shu, and Geb becomes Earth while Nut becomes the

伊西斯是「大地和月亮女神」，嫁給了歐西里斯。

sky and the stars, which is a neat reversal of the whole earth mother sky father thing.

伊西斯的神秘教派甚至跨越古埃及，進入了羅馬時代。

Like their parents, brother and sister Geb and Nut become the mother and father of the

如果你不知道什麼是「神秘教派」的話， 這就是「神秘教派」的重點。

rest of the gods in this pantheon.

蓋布和努特的次子（第三個孩子）是賽特。

Their children, Osiris and Isis are probably the best known Egyptian gods, other than hawk-headed

賽特是「混亂與黑暗之神」， 他是伊西斯與歐西里斯的宿敵。

Ra.

他與妹妹奈芙蒂斯結婚。 奈芙蒂斯是很班配的「死者與昏暗女神」。

Osiris, god of the underworld and grain, kind of like a Demeter/Hades combo, was probably

如果你們要永遠在一起的話， 最好是有共同興趣。

the most popular of the Egyptian gods-because who doesn’t like food and death?

九柱神的最後一位是年輕的荷魯斯。

He dies and is revived, which happens more than you’d expect, in myth.

（不要跟〈戰鎚〉系列裡的荷魯斯搞混。）

Actually, maybe just as much as you’d expect in myth.

奇妙的是，歐西里斯死後，伊西斯才懷上荷魯斯。

Isis is a goddess of the earth and the moon, and is married to Osiris.

同時，荷魯斯也有一些太陽神的屬性。

The mystery cult of Isis was popular well beyond Egypt, into Roman times.

他是驅散賽特黑暗的那道光芒。

And if you’re not sure what a mystery cult, guess what, that’s the point.

最重要的事，荷魯斯的形象是一位隼頭人身的神祇。 （不是鷹頭人身，也不是䴉首人身）

The second son and third child from the Geb-Nut pairing is Seth.

他也是法老王的守護神。

Seth is a god of evil and darkness and is the nemesis of Isis and Osiris.

我知道你可能想問阿努比斯、芭絲特、塞赫麥特 跑到哪去了？

He is married to his sister, Nephthys, a goddess of death and dusk, because you know, if you’re

但記得，我們要避繁就簡， 所以只專注在九柱神神系上。

going to be married for all eternity, it’s nice to share interests.

拿我們可以從這個基礎神系上學到什麼呢？

And the final piece of this puzzle is young Horus, not to be confused with old Horus,

這裡有許多位太陽神： 拉代表著太陽與創造，

or the guy from WarHammer.

荷魯斯代表太陽和王權。

He was conceived miraculously by Isis and Osiris after the latter’s death, and he

所以我們可以推定： 太陽對於埃及人很重要。

has aspects of a sun god.

可能和太陽的不斷的毀滅與重生的輪迴、

He’s a light that defeats Seth’s darkness.

以及提供光和熱有關。

Most important though, Horus, who is often depicted with the head of a falcon (not a

許多人認為古埃及文化著重在死亡。 這一點並沒有錯。

hawk, not an ibis) is the spiritual force behind the pharaohs.

但是埃及人並不像現代社會一樣懼怕死亡。

I know you’re wondering when we’re going to talk about Anubis, Bastet, and Sekhmet,

我覺得從金字塔、木乃伊、乃至於裝著器官的瓶子裡

but remember, for the sake of comparative simplicity, we’re sticking by this nine-god

這種以死亡為中心的思想，可見一斑。

pantheon.

除此之外，還有本週的焦點神話： 伊西斯與歐西里斯的神話故事。

So what conclusions can we draw from the basic pantheon?

我們把鏡頭交給〈思緒泡泡〉。

There are multiple versions of sun gods and with Ra representing both the sun and creation,

歐西里斯很受埃及人民的愛戴， 他教導他們種植五穀、

and Horus representing both the sun and kingship, we can infer that the sun was important to

頒佈法令、教導他們榮耀眾神。

the Egyptians, probably as much for its eternal cycle of death and rebirth as for its providing

賽特非常嫉妒哥哥的成就。 當歐西里斯四處傳播學問時，

life-giving energy.

他按兵不動。

Ancient Egyptian culture is commonly said to focus on death, and that’s not wrong,

當歐西里斯回來時，賽特與72個共犯就開始籌謀。

although death to the Egyptians probably didn’t hold the same terror that it does for many

籌謀著做...家具。

in the modern world.

他們偷偷地量了歐西里斯的身高、體型。 做了一個完全符合他的華麗櫃子。

I think the most distinct example of this necro-centric ideal is the pyramids, and the

在歐西里斯的洗塵宴上，賽特提議

mummified corpses and jars full of organs found within them, but also this week’s

誰能鑽進櫃子裡，櫃子就送給誰做禮物。

featured myth, the story of Isis and Osiris.

歐西里斯鑽進櫃子裡時，他們就用鉛把櫃子封死。

Take it away, Thoughtbubble.

他們把櫃子丟進河裡，漂浮入海。

Osiris was much beloved by the people of Egypt; he showed them how to cultivate grain, gave

歐西里斯的妻子伊西斯千里尋夫，

them laws, and taught them to honor the gods.

最後在比布魯斯附近的找到了棺材。 一棵巨木長在旁邊，將棺木包裹了起來。

His brother, Seth, was envious, but wouldn’t try anything while Osiris was away teaching

她把巨木砍掉，抱著棺材痛哭。

civilization to the world.

她的哭聲震天，甚至嚇死了國王的小兒子。

But when Osiris returned, Seth and seventy-two accomplices had a plan.

伊西斯去找荷魯斯時， 打獵的賽特也找到了棺材。

A plan involving...furniture.

他把歐西里斯的屍體切成14塊， 四散各地。

They had secretly measured Osiris’s body and built a beautiful chest to his exact dimensions.

伊西斯知道了賽特的所作所為之後， 又四處去尋找丈夫的屍塊。

At a party celebrating Osiris’s return, Seth suggested that whoever fit in the chest

她找到了13塊，但是卻找不到伊耶那岐身上 「多出來的那一塊」（譯按：請看第五集）。

would receive it as a gift.

她每找到一塊，就把屍塊埋在那裡。

Osiris gave it a shot, and when he lay down in the box, the conspirators nailed it shut

這就是為什麼埃及四處都有歐西里斯的墳墓。

and sealed it with lead.

如此賽特就找不到歐西里斯真正的墳墓，

They threw it in the river and, it floated out to sea.

而歐西里斯又可以受全埃及人民的祭拜。

Isis, Osiris’s wife, went looking for her husband, and found the chest near the

這樣就能雙贏...

land of Byblos, where a great tree had grown up around it, encasing the coffin in its trunk.

只是歐西里斯死了...

She cut away the wood around the coffin and lay upon it, wailing with such grief and power

嗎？

that the king’s younger sons died of fear.

謝謝〈思緒泡泡〉。

Isis soon left the chest to visit Horus, and Seth found the coffin while boar hunting.

這只是其中一種版本。 另一個說法是在找到了屍體之後，

He cut up Osiris’s body into 14 pieces, and scattered them far and wide.

伊西斯和妹妹奈芙蒂斯哭聲震天， 感動了天上的太陽神拉。

Isis, discovering what Seth had done, set out to search for the pieces.

拉派了胡狼頭神阿努比斯來幫助兩姊妹。

She found thirteen of them, but not what Izanami might have described as “his excess.”

兩姊妹加上阿努比斯、圖特、荷魯斯 把歐西里斯的屍體拼湊起來完整。

She buried the pieces where she found them, which is why there are so many graves for

再用亞麻布產繞屍體，並舉行喪禮。

Osiris in Egypt.

伊西斯扇了扇她的翅膀， 歐西里斯就復活了。

Seth couldn’t find the true grave of Osiris, and Osiris would be worshipped throughout

從此他成了亡者之王，統領冥界。

Egypt.

這則神話描述了埃及文化的中心思想。

Win/Win.

其中一個就是歐西里斯同時是神，也是國王。 與法老王一樣。

Except for, the fact that he was dead.

另一點，埃及的木乃伊，在埃及人的生命...應該說死亡... 不對...生死中扮演重要的角色。

Or WAS HE?

歐西里斯的木乃伊與復活是 對埃及人死後復活的應許。

Thanks, Thoughtbubble.

根據大衛‧李明，埃及人 「相信人在冥界中能永生，

This is one version of the story, but in another version, upon finding the body of Osiris,

但是亡者的親友必須將他的屍體 按照處理歐西里斯屍體的方法一樣去處理。

Isis and her sister Nephthys wept such a loud lamentation that Ra the sun god took pity

而既然歐西里斯死後又復活了， 其他的人也冀望能復活。」

on them and sent down Jackal-headed Anubis to help Isis and Nephthys.

這則神話同時也展現埃及眾神的職權 是可以變化、或兼任的。

The two sisters, with the help of Anubis, Thoth and Horus pieced Osiris back together

歐西里斯從文明之父成了冥界之王。

and wrapped him in linen bandages and performed the funeral rites.

而冥界之王的位置， 到了晚期埃及神話中又成了阿努比斯在坐。

Isis flapped her wings over the body and Osiris revived.

而賽特──邪惡與混亂之源── 是嫉妒兄長的弟弟，

From then on he became the king of the dead, ruling in the underworld.

也常常會試著──甚至成功 取代他哥哥的位置。

So this myth illustrates some central facets

我們討論眾神時， 常會將眾神用來解釋各種自然現象，

of Egyptian culture.

從而一個蘿蔔一個坑的將每尊神 與日昇日落等等現象做連結。

One is the idea of Osiris as king and god, much like the pharaohs.

但有時候，這些神會抵抗這種角色限制。

Another is the role of mummification in Egyptian life., Or death., or well, actually: both.

伊西斯與歐西里斯的神話故事就像這樣 人們比較著重在哪些故事會影響自身，

The binding of Osiris and his revival is a promise to Egyptians of eternal life.

而不是哪尊神或女神有什麼樣的職務。

According to David Leeming, Egyptians, “believed that every man would live eternal in the other

問問薩迦，北歐的故事女神。 我們很快就能見到她了。

world if only his surviving friends did for his body what the gods had done for the body

但再此之前，謝謝收看。 我們下週見。

of Osiris; … as Osiris died and rose again from the dead, so all men hoped to rise like

him…”

This myth also suggests that in Egypt, the pantheon is somewhat fluid, with gods performing

numerous roles.

Osiris goes from being the father of civilization to the ruler of the underworld, a role that

in later Egyptian mythology will be taken over by Anubis, while Seth is the source of

evil and trouble, the jealous younger brother always trying -- and sometimes succeeding

– to take the place of his older brother.

We have a tendency to view pantheons as explanations of natural phenomena that correspond between