希腊与中国古代星辰神话的文化比较

古代希腊和中国天文学对星空世界都有“星座”或“星官”的命名 ,希腊“星座”命名完全取材于神话中的人物、动物 ,中国“星官”命名却全来源于人间万物和社会组织。希腊每一个“星座”背后都包含一段美丽曲折的神话故事 ,中国“星官”背后反映的多是帝王将相的历史 ,神话色彩极为淡薄。这种差异反映了两个民族神话起源早晚的差别和文化主流意识之异趣。

A Comparative Study of Cultural Difference between Greek and Chinese Star Myths

Astronomers in Greece and China all named the star world as constellation. The definition of the former drew materials from the characters and animals in the myths; while the definition of the latter derived from all things in the world and social organizations. Every Greek constellation contains a piece of romantic story, while behind every Chinese constellation, there is a story about the history of the monarchs or ministers and generals with little relation with myth. Those differences reflect that the myths of two cultures originated in different times and there exists peculiar taste in two different cultural mainstreams.