Novels Inspired by Greek Myths灵感源自希腊神话的书

When we think of Greek myths we think of vengeful gods， legendary heroes， sweeping love affairs and dastardly deeds. They are transformative tales which explore the full range of human experience so it is hardly surprising that writers continually turn to them for inspiration.

当我们想到希腊神话时，就会想到复仇的神祇、传奇的英雄、跌宕起伏的情爱和卑鄙的行为。这些故事涵盖人类经历的全部，富于变革性，作家不断从它们那里获得灵感也就不足为奇了。

Poets such as Dante and Petrarch were enthralled by Greek myths， so too were Chaucer and Milton. Mary Shelley famously incorporated the theme of Prometheus into Frankenstein， and C.S. Lewis drew on Ovid’s Metamorphoses in his 1956 novel Till We Have Faces. In recent years mythical retellings have been booming， especially those that bring the role of women to the fore—Circe by Madeline Miller was released in 2018 while 2021 saw debuts such as Claire Heywood’s Daughters of Sparta and Rosie Hewlett’s Medusa hit the shelves， and Jennifer Saint’s much-anticipated Elektra is due out later.

但丁和彼特拉克等诗人都对希腊神话着迷，乔叟和弥尔顿也是如此。众所周知，玛丽·雪莱曾将普罗米修斯主题融入她的小说《弗兰肯斯坦》，C.S.刘易斯也在其1956年的小说《裸颜》中借鉴了奥维德的《变形记》。神话重述近年来方兴未艾，尤其是那些突显女性角色的作品——2018年，玛德琳·米勒的小说《女巫瑟西》出版；2021年，克莱尔·海伍德的《斯巴达的女儿》和罗西·休利特的《美杜莎》等处女作问世；詹妮弗·桑特备受期待的《艾莉卡》也将于晚些时候发行。

But retellings come in many forms and guises. In my debut novel Pandora I wanted to explore female agency and the complexities of human nature， all through the richness of a Georgian lens using the myth of Pandora’s box as an anchor. All the works I’ve chosen have interpreted the Greek myths in different ways， but they are all testament to how these ancient stories have got under our skin.

然而神话重述也有许多不同形式和花样。在我第一部小说《潘多拉》中，我想以潘多拉魔盒神话为基础，以乔治王时代的丰富视角探索女性的能动性和人性的复杂性。下面选取的所有作品虽然诠释希腊神话的方式各不相同，但都能证明这些古老的故事如何深入人心。

1. House of Names by Colm Tóibín

1. 科尔姆·托宾的《名门》

This intricately plotted novel draws on a number of Greek myths， chief among them those found in Aeschylus’s Oresteia. It is the story of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra， beginning with the brutal sacrifice of their 16-year-old daughter， Iphigenia. A deeply human tale of a warring family， the story is steeped in violence and cruelty but Tóibín brings empathy and depth to the characters， offering a nuanced understanding of their anger， fear， hatred and guilt.

这部小说情节复杂，借鉴了以埃斯库罗斯的《俄瑞斯忒亚》为主的诸多希腊神话。故事是关于阿伽门农与其妻克吕泰涅斯特拉的，以他们16岁的女儿伊菲革涅亚的残酷牺牲作为开端。这是一个家庭成员彼此战争的故事，富于人性，充满了暴力和残酷。但托宾使角色变得具有同理心和深度，对人物的愤怒、恐惧、仇恨和内疚表现出细致入微的理解。

2. Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson

2. 安妮·卡森的《红色自传》

An arresting novel in verse which brings the Greek monster Geryon （who features in the 10th Labour of Heracles） into a modern-day setting. Drawing on surviving fragments of the lyric poet Stesichorus’s work Geryoneis， this is a moving coming-of-age tale about love and yearning which is whimsical， sad， and a fascinating take on a character overlooked in favour of the larger-than-life man who slayed him.

这是一部引人入胜的诗体小说，它将希腊怪物革律翁（出现在英雄赫拉克勒斯的第十项任务里）带入现代场景。小说借鉴了抒情诗人斯特西克鲁斯的作品《革律翁之歌》的残篇，是一个关于爱情与欲望的动人的成长故事，富于奇思妙想，却又暗藏悲伤；小说对这个被忽视的人物进行了耐人寻味的解读，以此烘托那个杀死他的传奇神话人物。

3. Ulysses by James Joyce

3. 詹姆斯·乔伊斯的《尤利西斯》

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey is reimagined in 1900s Dublin， chronicling in minute detail a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom， his friend Stephen Dedalus and his long-suffering wife Molly. An epic work in its own right， the novel is divided into episodes that roughly correspond to those in the original poem. It is both brilliant and infuriating in its sheer scale and narrative styling， and one of the greatest literary achievements of the 20th century.

乔伊斯的《尤利西斯》在20世纪的都柏林重新构想了荷马史诗《奥德赛》，巨细靡遗地记录了主角利奥波德·布鲁姆、他的朋友斯蒂芬·迪达勒斯和他长期忍受痛苦的妻子莫莉生活中的一天。这部小说本身就是一部史诗作品，它分为若干个章节，与原诗大致对应。其叙事规模宏大，风格迥异，让人感觉精彩绝伦而激愤难平，是20世纪最伟大的文学成就之一。

4. Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

4. 阿里·史密斯的《女孩遇见男孩》

The myth of Iphis and Ianthe is one of those rare Greek myths that end happily. The story is told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses， where a girl is raised as a boy to avoid her father’s wrath and falls in love with another girl. Later， her gender is changed by the goddess Isis， allowing them to marry. Smith takes this story into modern-day Inverness in the guise of Anthea and Robin， and deals with gender， transformation and acceptance of self. It’s a small book at only 176 pages but it is vibrant， joyful， funny and poetic.

伊菲斯和扬莎的神话是希腊神话中极少结局圆满的故事之一。这个故事来源于奥维德的《变形记》，讲述了一个女孩为避免父亲的怒火而被当作男孩养大，并爱上了另一个女孩。后来，她的性别被女神伊西斯改变，这对恋人得以结婚。史密斯借助安西娅和罗宾两个人物将这个故事带入现代的因弗内斯。该书主题是性别、变革和自我接纳，虽是一本只有176页的小书，但却充满活力、欢乐、趣味和诗意。

5. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

5. 派特·巴克的《少女的沉默》

This critically acclaimed novel is a retelling of Homer’s Iliad， told from the perspective of Briseis， a Trojan queen who is captured and forced to become the concubine of Achilles. It is a brave， powerful story about survival and resilience， which in no way shies away from the horrors of war and the cruelty women suffered at the hands of their enslavers. There are harrowing scenes including child murder， gang rape and suicide making it a ruthless story， but one that should not be ignored.

这部广受好评的小说从布里塞伊斯的视角重述荷马的《伊利亚特》。布里塞伊斯是特洛伊女王，她被俘并被迫成为阿喀琉斯的女奴。这是一个关于生存和坚韧的勇敢而有力的故事，它毫不避讳战争的恐怖以及妇女在她们的奴役者手中遭受的残酷对待。其中有一些令人痛心的场面，包括杀害儿童、轮奸和自杀，使故事变得残忍无情，同时也应不容忽视。

6. An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma

6. 奇戈齐·奥比奥玛的《卑微者之歌》

Another reinterpretation of The Odyssey. Obioma tackles the myth by lifting it out of Ancient Greece and into Umuahia， Nigeria. When young poultry farmer Chinonso sees a woman about to jump off a bridge his whole life is set off course， and the aftermath of this event takes him further and further away from his dreams. Told from the perspective of Chinonso’s “chi” （a guardian spirit of Igbo cosmology）， this novel is unlike any other. It is a thought-provoking and challenging tale exploring themes of love and sacrifice， vulnerability and misfortune， and the unyielding power of fate.