口头与书写:从文化记忆视角重探荷马史诗

Oral and Writing:Revisiting Homer's Epic from the Perspective of Cultural Memory

荷马史诗在古希腊世界构建了全民共享的文化记忆。荷马史诗的文化记忆传统建基于口头传统和简易字母表。在口头文化时代,荷马史诗以诗性思维的形象,诠释和传承古希腊文明观念。进入书面文化时代之后,荷马史诗文本的文化权威亦是源自于口头传统。荷马史诗研究传统中的“语文学”派,忽视荷马史诗在无文字社会中所承载的文化记忆与传承功能;而“演述派”则无视书写记忆相比口头记忆所具有的技术优势。从口头吟唱到文本阅读,荷马史诗是以一种艺术自由而非宗教和政治宰制的形式,实现文明传统的延存与激活。这是古希腊文明异于世界其它古老文明的独特之处。

Homer's epic constructed a cultural memory shared by all people in the ancient Greek world.The cultural memory traditions of Homer's epic are based on oral traditions and simple alphabets.In the era of oral culture,Homer's epic used the image of poetic thinking to interpret and inherit the concepts of ancient Greek civilization.After entering the era of writing,the cultural authority of Homer's epic texts also originated from oral tradition.The"Philological Approach"in Homer's epic research tradition ignores the cultural memory and inheritance function of Homer's epic in a non-literal society while the"Performance Approach"ignores the technical advantages of written memory over oral memory.From oral singing to text reading,Homer's epic is a form of artistic freedom rather than religious and political domination,realizing the survival and activation of civilized traditions.This is what distinguishes ancient Greek civilization from other ancient civilizations in the world.