拜占庭文学初创时期的风情展示与艺术成就——《埃塞俄比亚传奇》漫论

Cultural Representations and Artistic Accomplishments in Early Byzantine Literature: Random Comments on The Aethiopica

赫利奥多罗斯创作的小说《埃塞俄比亚传奇》,是拜占庭早期罗曼司代表性作品。它深刻地体现了古希腊文化和东地中海地域文化以及初起时期基督教文化相融合的特征;表现了贞洁高于婚姻的新道德观,歌颂了在危难中人的智慧的巨大作用,张扬了对神和命运的主动抗争精神以及渴望仁爱和平的思想。在艺术上,它继承了《奥德修纪》的结构模式,开创了男女主人公爱的激情与离奇冒险行为相结合的罗曼司小说的新样态,并通过对主人公活动的描写多方面展示了4世纪前后的时代性和地方性知识。

The Aethiopica by Heliodorus in the 4 th century is a representative work of romance in early Byzantine period.It deeply epitomizes the features of the immersion between the ancient Greek culture,Eastern Mediterranean culture,and early Christian culture,representing a new moral concept that puts chastity above marriage,celebrating the tremendous significance of human wisdom in times of crisis,and advocating both a proactive rebellious spirit against God and fate and a yearning for benevolence and peace.Artistically,this romance inherits the narrative structure of The Odyssey and creates a new mode of romance,in which the passionate love between the hero and heroine is mingled with fantastic adventures.Moreover,its description of the interactions between the protagonists provides a multi-faceted view of the age and knowledge of the place around the 4 th century.