古希腊“杀子”、“弃子”神话阐释

An Interpretation of Child Killing and Child Discarding in Ancient Greek Mythology

古希腊"杀子"和"弃子"的神话按杀子或弃子的动机可粗略分为捍卫权力型、害怕预言成真型、为平息神怒型、为民为国或遵守誓诺型、过失试探或报复型等几类。阐释这些各类型神话的内在意义可深入理解古希腊人的创世论及他们对早期世界和人类演变的观念、对神谕、命运和誓诺的态度;分析创作者的意识形态或立场对神话的叙事方式所起的决定作用。

According to the motives of action, the Greek myths of child killing and discarding can be divided intothe following types： To defend power; To avoid the coming-true of prophecies; To appease the wrath of gods; To serve the people, the nation and to observe the oath; To kill by mistake, for probing or in revenge. Some examples for each type are given and an interpretation of the related myths is made to have a deep insight into the ancient Greeks＇ idea on the creation and development of the early stages of the world, their attitudes towards prophecies, destiny and oaths. An analysis is made on the role that the ideology of the creators of the myths plays in deciding the narrative manner of the myths.