西洋文學概論Week3

 

The content of the course

1. Achilles’ heel

In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby, it was foretold

that he would die young. To prevent his death, his mother Thetis

took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers

of invulnerability, and dipped his body into the water. But as Thetis

held Achilles by the heel, his heel was not washed over by the water

of the magical river. Achilles grew up to be a man of war who survived

many great battles. But one day, a poisonous arrow shot at him was

lodged in his heel, killing him shortly after.                                                                                     〈Reference From Wikipedia〉

 

 

延伸:

Marriage to Peleus and the Trojan War

註:  fairest (fair :美麗的 公平的)

 

2.goddess of Greek mythology

《天后 》希拉Hera

 

《美神》阿芙蘿戴蒂Aphrodite

 

 

《智慧女神》雅典娜Athena

 

 

 

 

 

Nymph :

 

A nymph in Greek mythology and in Latin mythology is

a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular

location or landform.

 

Persephone:

 

In Greek mythology, Persephone is the daughter of

Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter, and is the queen of the

underworld.

 

3. Story’s conflicts : exposition → climax → resolution

 

4.名字對照

希臘名字	羅馬名字
Jupiter(朱比特)	Zeus (宙斯)
Hades(黑帝斯)	Plūtō(普魯托)
Dēmētēr狄蜜特	Ceres(刻瑞斯)

 

※南歐名字尾音要念

For example:  Daphne /ˈdæfni/   Aphrodite /æfrəˈdaɪti/

 

5.不勞而獲是最貴的東西 quoted by Sara.