【简译】罗马宗教中的灶神——维斯塔（Vesta）

2022-09-25 10:40 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

Vesta was the goddess of the hearth, the home, and domestic life in the Roman religion (idenitified with the Greek goddess Hestia). She was the first-born of the titans Kronos and Rhea and, like the others, was swallowed by her father. When her brother Jupiter (the Greek Zeus), who managed to escape their father's appetite, freed his siblings, Vesta was the last to be released (because she was the first swallowed) and so is regarded as both the oldest and the youngest of the gods. She was very beautiful and attracted the attention of both Apollo and Neptune who fought for her hand. Vesta rejected them both, however, and begged Jupiter to allow her to remain forever a virgin. When he consented to this, Vesta was pleased and took care of his home and hearth; thus identifying her with domestic life but, more importantly, with domestic tranquility.

灶神（Vesta）是罗马宗教中的壁炉、家庭生活的女神（与希腊女神赫斯提亚同名，赫斯提亚等同于罗马神话中的维斯塔）。她是泰坦巨人克洛诺斯和雷亚的第一个孩子，和其他孩子一样，维斯塔被她的父亲吞噬了。当她的哥哥朱庇特（希腊神话中的宙斯），设法逃脱了他们父亲的胃，释放了他的兄弟姐妹，维斯塔是最后一个被释放的（因为她是第一个被吞的），所以维斯塔被认为是最年长和最年轻的神。她非常美丽，使得阿波罗和涅普顿（罗马宗教中的淡水和海洋之神）为此大打出手。然而，维斯塔拒绝了他们两个，并恳求朱庇特允许她永远保持处女之身。当朱庇特同意后，维斯塔很高兴，并照顾朱庇特的家和炉灶；因此，她逐渐与家庭生活相联系，但更重要的是与家庭和睦相联系。

The hearth fire in the home of the ancient Romans was not only essential for cooking food and heating water, but also served as the gathering place for the family and, in time, became associated with the spirit of that particular family gathered around that particular hearth. The Latin word for `hearth' is focus which, of course, is used in English to designate a center or activity of interest. The hearth in Rome was most certainly such a center of activity and the fire which burned there was most important. Sacrifices to the gods of the home were made by the fire and thrown into the flames. When one left home on a business trip, or even on vacation, one carried some of the hearth fire along in order to keep one's home close even when away. Further, the difficulty of making or transporting fire made the constantly-burning hearth a vital element in the home as well as state buildings. Vesta, therefore, along with the house spirits of the Penates, Panes and Lares, was a goddess revered in every strata of Roman society as she was thought to literally "keep the home fires burning" from the most modest apartment to the grandest villa.

古罗马人家中的炉灶不仅是烹饪食物和加热水所必需的设施，而且也是家庭聚会的场所，久而久之，就与聚集在该特定炉灶周围的特定家庭的精神联系在一起。炉灶的拉丁语是focus，当然，在英语中被用来指代一个中心或感兴趣的活动。罗马的壁炉无疑是这样的一个活动中心，在那里燃烧的火是最重要的。向家里的神灵献上的祭品被放在火边，并被扔进火焰里。当人们离开家去出差，甚至度假时，人们会带着一些炉火，以便在离开时也能携带着自己的“家”。此外，由于生火或搬运火很麻烦，使得不断燃烧的炉灶成为家庭和宫廷建筑中的重要元素。因此，维斯塔与Penates（罗马人和其他拉丁民族的家庭神）、Panes（山区和高地牧场的乡村神）和拉雷斯（古罗马宗教中的守护神，是英雄的祖先，是壁炉、田野、边界或果实的守护者）一样，是一位被罗马社会各个阶层所敬仰的女神，因为维斯塔真正地“保持家庭火焰的燃烧”——从最普通的公寓到最宏伟的别墅。

In the shrine of Vesta in the Roman Forum a fire perpetually burned and was tended to by the Vestal Virgins (Latin: Vestales). The fire was renewed annually on March 1 (which was originally the Roman new year) and the sanctuary was not open to the public save during Vesta's feast days (June 7-15, known as the Vestalia) when matrons were allowed to visit barefoot and in humility. When the Vestalia ended there was a ceremonial sweeping of the sanctuary and it was considered a time of bad luck and unfriendly omens until the sweepings were disposed of in the Tiber River or in a certain spot agreed upon in the city. Vestal Virgins were expected to remain chaste throughout their tenure as servants of Vesta and the punishment for failing to do so was to be buried alive or, in one notable case, to have molten lead poured down the throat.

在罗马广场上的维斯塔神庙里，有一团火永远燃烧着，并由维斯塔贞女（拉丁文：Vestales）照看着。每年的3月1日（最初是罗马的新年），圣殿不对公众开放，只有在维斯塔的节日（6月7日至15日，称为Vestalia）期间，才允许女仆们赤脚和谦卑地参观。当纪念维斯塔的节日结束时，会有一个清扫圣殿的仪式，这被认为是一个不吉利和不友好的预兆，直到清扫物被处理到台伯河或城市中某个约定的地方。维斯塔贞女在作为维斯塔的仆人的期间都要保持贞洁，如果不这样做，惩罚是被活埋；在一个值得注意的案例中，失贞的维斯塔贞女的喉咙被灌入熔化的铅。

Vesta is always depicted as a fully-clothed woman accompanied by her favorite animal, the ass. Since Vesta was goddess of the hearth she was also the patron goddess of the bakers of the city and, as the ass turned the millstone to grind the wheat for the bread, the animal became closely associated with the goddess. She is also frequently depicted holding a kettle (a symbol of the hearth) and also cut flowers (symbolizing domesticity). Like the goddess Bastet in Egyptian belief, Vesta was of special service to women but was popular with both sexes. She was the proctectress of Rome in that she cared for and maintained the homes of each of its citizens. Of all the Roman deities, only Vesta was accorded the honor of full time clergy devoted solely to her rites.

灶神总是被描绘成一个衣冠楚楚的女人，旁边还有她最喜欢的动物——驴子。维斯塔是壁炉之神，她也是城市面包师的守护神，由于驴子转动磨刀石来磨制面包的小麦，这只动物就与维斯塔紧密相连。她还经常被描绘成拿着水壶（炉灶的象征）和切花（象征着家庭生活）。就像埃及信仰中的巴斯泰特女神一样，维斯塔特别为妇女服务，但也受到男女两性的欢迎。她就像是罗马的女检察官，因为她关心和维护每个公民的家庭。在所有的罗马神祗中，只有灶神被赋予了全职神职人员的荣誉，专门有人负责其仪式。

The Vestal Virgins kept the sacred fire burning in her temple and tended to her hearth in gratitude for her charity and care of the people. They were disbanded in 394 CE by the Christian emperor Theodosius I who also prohibited the worship of Vesta along with the other gods of the pagans and closed the schools and temples. After almost one thousand years of observance in Rome, the sacred fire of Vesta was extinguished and the new Christian faith instituted their own rituals.

维斯塔贞女在神庙中维持着圣火的燃烧，并照料维斯塔的炉灶，以感谢她的慈善和对人民的关怀。维斯塔教在公元394年被基督教皇帝狄奥多西一世解散，他还禁止对维斯塔和其他异教徒的神灵进行崇拜，并关闭了学校和寺庙。维斯塔信仰在罗马持续了近一千年后，其圣火被熄灭了，新的基督教信仰制定了他们自己的仪式。