A Comet Gives Birth to an Empire一颗彗星催生一个帝国

萨拉·约曼斯

For as long as human beings have existed， surely no part of the nat-ural world has been more enigmatic or influential as the movement of observable celestial objects. Earths movement around the sun set the agricultural cycles by which the large majority of humanity lived until our own， very recently arrived， modern era， while the moons effect on the oceans tides profoundly influenced the day-to-day lives and economies of ancient seafaring nations. In the Greco-Roman world， there is ample evidence that celestial objects， their movements and occasional surprise appearances not only inspired awe and wonder， but in some cases directly influenced mythology， elections， wars and imperial propaganda. Eclipses， comets and meteorites were particularly mentioned by the ancient writers since their appearances were both startling and， for many， utterly unpredictable.

自人类诞生以来，想必自然界没有什么比可观测天体的运动更神秘莫测，或者影响更为深远。地球环绕太阳运行确定了农业生产的周期，人类历史上绝大多数时候都依此为生，直到我们所处的现今时代，而月亮对海洋潮汐产生的作用则深刻地影响了古代航海国家的日常生活和经济。在古希腊和古罗马的世界里有充分的证据表明，天体、天体运动，以及天体不定期的突然出现不仅令人敬畏、惊奇，还会在某些情况下直接影响神话、选举、战争和帝国的政治宣传。古代作家曾特别提到日食和月食、彗星和陨石，因为它们的出现令人震惊，而且对很多人来说完全无法预见。

Comets especially were associated with portents and omens. The superstitious Roman encyclopedist Pliny the Elder held the view that comets were “terrifying apparitions.” He went so far as to categorize them by appearance， location and tail direction， with each “type” corresponding to sometimes hilariously specific earthly circumstances， for example， noting that “a comet resembling a flute with its tail rays pointing toward the east would indicate a malefic influence on music in the eastern territories.” While we may never know of a specific comet appearance that caused musical mayhem in the eastern empire， we do have a varied range of accounts from ancient authors attesting to other cometary occurrences. One such event played an important role in the dying days of the Roman Republic and was to become part of the powerful blend of mythology and propaganda that helped establish Octavian， Caesars great-nephew and heir， as Romes first emperor， thus forever changing the political landscape of the Roman world.

彗星尤其使人聯想到怪事和预兆。迷信的罗马百科全书编纂家老普林尼认为，彗星是“吓人的幽灵”。他甚至按照彗星的外观、位置和慧尾朝向把它们分类，每个“类型”对应着尘世间令人捧腹的特定事件。例如，他指出：“一颗像笛子的彗星，若它的尾巴指向东方，就会对东部地区的音乐产生有害影响。”虽然我们可能永远不会知道具体是哪颗彗星的出现在东方帝国引发了音乐上的混乱，但我们确实有出自古代作家的各种描述，能证明其他彗星的出现。这其中的一个事件在罗马共和国即将灭亡的日子里发挥了重要作用，后来成为神话与政治宣传强大结合体的一部分，帮助确立屋大维（恺撒的甥孙和继承人）为罗马的首位皇帝，从而永远改变了罗马世界的政治格局。

Following the death of Julius Caesar， in 44 B.C.E.， his great-nephew Octavian （the future emperor Augustus） held a series of public games in honor of his great-uncle in July of that year. The move was a savvy one; Octavian was at this time by no means assured of his accession to the political power of his great-uncle. Mark Antony， a Roman consul and one of Caesars most esteemed generals， had also been positioning himself as Caesars political heir. By holding public games at his own familys expense in honor of the assassinated Caesar， Octavian was hoping to not only win over Caesars loyal military veterans， but also to raise his own image in the eyes of the Roman citizenry. It was， as the ancient writers tell us， a wild success， largely thanks to the unscheduled appearance of a celestial guest. The Roman historian Suetonius reports that during the course of the games， “a comet [stella crinita] shone throughout seven days in a row， rising at about the 11th hour1， and it was believed that it was the soul of Caesar who had been taken up into heaven.”

公元前44年朱利乌斯·恺撒去世后，他的甥孙屋大维（后来的奥古斯都大帝）在同年7月举行了一系列竞技运动会来纪念他的舅祖父。这是个精明的举措。此时，屋大维对继承舅祖父的政治权力没有一点把握。马克·安东尼也一直设法将自己确立为恺撒的政治继承人。他是罗马执政官，也是恺撒最尊敬的将军之一。屋大维自家出资举办竞技运动会，纪念遇刺的恺撒，他不仅希望把忠于恺撒的军中老将争取过来，还希望提高他自己在罗马公民心目中的形象。如古代作家讲述的那样，屋大维之所以能大获成功，主要归功于天外来客的意外出现。罗马史学家苏埃托尼乌斯报告说，运动会期间“一颗彗星在11时升起，连续闪耀7天，人们认为它是升上天国的恺撒的灵魂”。

The comet， which was evidently bright enough to be seen during the day， was an extremely fortuitous circumstance for both Octavian and for those who were trying to secure a decree from the Roman senate conferring divine status upon Julius Caesar. Though there was undoubtedly skepticism on the part of some of the more educated Romans （as well as Octavians political opponents）， popular opinion was that the sudden appearance of the comet was a celestial omen that signified the late dictators apotheosis. It was an opinion that suited Octavians aims perfectly; he seized upon the event with alacrity， immediately grasping the value that such an extraordinary event would have as a propaganda device. The political capital inherent in being the heir of a god was substantial， and Octavian lost no time in setting up a bronze statue of Julius Caesar in the Temple of Venus2 and adorning the head of the statue with a star. Indeed， the ancient writers tell us that he later added the symbol to his own helmet—a stratagem no doubt devised to associate himself with his great-uncles divinity.

这颗彗星非常耀眼，亮得在白天都可以看到。对屋大维，以及对想方设法从罗马元老院拿到授予朱利乌斯·恺撒神圣地位的诏书的人来说，这颗彗星的出现带来了极大的好运。虽然有一部分受教育程度更高的罗马人（以及屋大维的政治对手）肯定持怀疑态度，但民众认为彗星的突然出现是来自上天的征兆，说明这位过世独裁者已成神。这种民意完美契合了屋大维的目的，他敏锐地利用这个事件，一下就领会了这个非常事件作为政治宣传手段的重要性。成为神的继承人就自然能获得巨大的政治资本，于是屋大维不失时机地在维纳斯神庙竖起朱利乌斯·恺撒的青铜雕像，并在雕像的头上装饰了一颗星星。其实，据古代作家所述，他后来还将这个象征符号加在了自己的头盔上——他想出这个计谋无疑是要建立自己与舅祖父神性之间的联系。

Two years later， after the Roman senate had issued a decree proclaiming the deified status of Julius Caesar， Octavian began the construction of the Temple of the Divine Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum. The temple， which was built on the site of Caesars cremation， was also called the Temple of the Comet Star; it was the only temple dedicated to the cult of the comet. Coinage depicting the deified Julius Caesar with the star symbol appeared as early as 44 B.C.E.， and for the next two and a half decades following its appearance， the comets “star” symbol would appear on Augustan coinage. For Octavian， who was only 18 years of age at the time of the comets appearance， it was a powerful symbol indeed. For though it would be another 13 years of civil wars and an additional four years of ruthless political machinations， Caesars heir would become the first emperor of Rome in 27 B.C.E.， an event that proclaimed the death of the Republic—and the birth of an empire.

兩年后，罗马元老院发布诏书，宣告朱利乌斯·恺撒的神圣地位，于是屋大维着手在罗马广场修建神圣朱利乌斯·恺撒庙。这座庙建在恺撒火葬之地，亦称“彗星庙”，是唯一专门用于崇拜彗星的神庙。早在公元前44年，用星星符号神化朱利乌斯·恺撒的图案就出现在了硬币上，这之后的25年间，代表彗星的“星星”符号还出现在了奥古斯都时代的硬币上。对于当时年仅18岁的屋大维而言，彗星出现的象征意义的确强大无比。虽然后来又经历了13年内战，外加4年无情的政治阴谋，恺撒的继承人还是在公元前27年成为罗马的首位皇帝，从而宣布了共和国的灭亡——以及帝国的诞生。