Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Asphodelus
Species: A. ramosus
《奧德賽》最後一卷，開場跳到地獄，Hermes喚醒那些追求者的亡魂:
Ἑρμῆς δὲ ψυχὰς Κυλλήνιος ἐξεκαλεῖτο
ἀνδρῶν μνηστήρων: ἔχε δὲ ῥάβδον μετὰ χερσὶν
καλὴν χρυσείην, τῇ τ᾽ ἀνδρῶν ὄμματα θέλγει
ὧν ἐθέλει, τοὺς δ᾽ αὖτε καὶ ὑπνώοντας ἐγείρει:
τῇ ῥ᾽ ἄγε κινήσας, ταὶ δὲ τρίζουσαι ἕποντο.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε νυκτερίδες μυχῷ ἄντρου θεσπεσίοιο
τρίζουσαι ποτέονται, ἐπεί κέ τις ἀποπέσῃσιν
ὁρμαθοῦ ἐκ πέτρης, ἀνά τ᾽ ἀλλήλῃσιν ἔχονται,
ὣς αἱ τετριγυῖαι ἅμ᾽ ἤϊσαν: ἦρχε δ᾽ ἄρα
σφιν
Ἑρμείας ἀκάκητα κατ᾽ εὐρώεντα κέλευθα.
πὰρ δ᾽ ἴσαν Ὠκεανοῦ τε ῥοὰς καὶ Λευκάδα
πέτρην,
ἠδὲ παρ᾽ Ἠελίοιο πύλας καὶ δῆμον ὀνείρων
ἤϊσαν: αἶψα δ᾽ ἵκοντο κατ᾽ ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα,
ἔνθα τε ναίουσι ψυχαί, εἴδωλα καμόντων.
εὗρον δὲ ψυχὴν Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
καὶ Πατροκλῆος καὶ ἀμύμονος Ἀντιλόχοιο
Αἴαντός θ᾽, ὃς ἄριστος ἔην εἶδός τε δέμας
τε
τῶν ἄλλων Δαναῶν μετ᾽ ἀμύμονα Πηλεΐδαο.
ῥάβδος rod, wand
圖片出處: http://www.greekmedicine.net/mythology/hermes.html
Meanwhile Hermes of Cyllene summoned up
the spirits of the suitors. In his hand he
held
the beautiful gold wand he uses to enchant
the eyes of anyone he wishes or to wake
some other man from sleep. With it he
roused and led
these spirits, who kept squeaking as they
followed him.
Just as inside the corners of a monstrous
cave
bats flit around and squeak when one of
them falls down
out of the cluster on the rock where they
cling
to one another, that how these spirits
squawked
as they moved on together. Hermes the
Deliverer
conducted them along the murky passageway.1
They went past the streams of Ocean, past
Leucas,
past the gates of the Sun and the land of
Dreams,
and very soon came to the field of
asphodel,
where spirits live, the shades of those
whose work is done.
Here they found Achilles’ shade, son of
Peleus,
and of Patroclus, too, noble Antilochus,
and Ajax, who had the finest form and shape
of all Danaans, after the son of
Peleus,
who had no peer.
喚醒這群追求者的鬼魂的是Hermes，他拿著他的神杖，引領他們走過地獄幽谷。帶著他們到了asphodel草地 (ἀσφόδελος
asphodel, Asphodelus ramosus)。asphodel可能是長青之意，但是也是Asphodelus
ramosus (如圖)，目前找到的中文翻譯是日光蘭。是克里特島特有的植物，在希臘神話中，這花遍佈地府的平原，也被視作是亡魂的食物，所以墓碑旁常植種此花。這花也是地府皇后Persephone的聖花。
圖片來源: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphodelus_ramosus
圖片來源: http://www.west-crete.com/flowers/asphodelus_ramosus.htm
A Handbook of Greek Mythology
作者：H. J. Rosep.78
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