从史料出发谈谈艳后的真实历史形象【埃及艳后观后感】

　　最近，黑人艳后纪录片成为网友们的关注的焦点，对艳后真实历史形象有疑问的朋友不妨看看我的这篇文章，了解艳后的真实历史形象。由于艳后的母亲和祖母身份不明，所以简单断定艳后没有外族血统是不严谨的，当然支持纪录片中的黑人艳后也很离谱。在托勒密五世和塞琉古帝国的克里奥帕特拉一世联姻后，托勒密王室就带有一定的亚洲粟特血统（塞琉古一世娶了粟特贵族阿帕玛）。当然，无论艳后有没有埃及本地血统，他都不可能有黑人（努比亚人）血统。至于艳后到底漂不漂亮，从史料出发答案无疑是肯定的。

　　一、前言

　　法国17世纪的思想家帕斯卡感叹“倘若克利奥帕特拉（即俗称的“埃及艳后”）的鼻子稍短一些，整个世界的面貌也许会是另外一个样子”。事实上，虽然艳后的真正历史形象仍然是模糊不清的，但是绝不至于像一些营销号宣传的那样糟糕（例如又矮又丑这种）。因此，笔者将在本文以原始史料为出发点展现几种不同的艳后形象，同时也谈谈这些形象背后所传达的含义，聊一聊今人对它们的解读。

　　许多着名的古典作家给出了克里奥帕特拉的历史记载，最着名的莫过于普鲁塔克和卡西乌斯.迪奥。笔者在这里会选取两人对艳后的描述，做出一些分析。在分析这些记录的同时，我们要记住他们距离克里奥帕特拉生活的时代已经存在一定的跨度，因此这些记录难免包含了他们个人的看法和观点；同时，由于屋大维和安东尼内战时期铺天盖地的宣传战，罗马人语境中的艳后多为负面形象，后世的古典史家也难免受到此影响。

　　（席代岳先生的中文翻译意译成分过大、当然也有一些误导性）

　　普鲁塔克在其着名的《平行传记》（the Parallel Lives，中译《希腊罗马名人传》）中认为克里奥帕特拉是对罗马的重大威胁（仅次于帕提亚国王）。但他在考虑克里奥帕特拉的魅力时，也不忘指出她的积极品质（当然整部名人传都有道德说教的意味，类似“太史公曰”），这也是我们对克里奥帕特拉的外貌最接近的详细描述：

　　For indeed her own beauty, as they say, was not, in and of itself, completely incomparable, nor was it the sort that would astound those who saw her; but interaction with her was captivating, and her appearance, along with her persuasiveness in discussion and her character that accompanied every interchange, was stimulating. Pleasure also came with the tone of her voice; and her tongue was like a many-stringed instrument: she could turn it easily to whichever language she wished and she conversed with few barbarians entirely through an interpreter, and she gave her decisions herself to most of them, including Ethiopians, Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, and Parthians. 4 She is said to have learned the languages of many others also, although the kings before her did not undertake to learn the Egyptian language, even though some of them had abandoned the Macedonian dialect.

　　据说克丽奥佩特拉并没有沉鱼落雁的容貌，更谈不上倾国倾城的体态，然而她有一种无可抗拒的魅力，与她相处像是如沐春风，俏丽的仪容配合动人的谈吐，流露于言语和行为之间一种特有的气质，的确是能够颠倒众生。单单听她那甜美的声音，就令人感到是何等的赏心乐事， 她的口齿宛如最精巧的弦乐器，可以随时转换不同的语言。她在接见来 自各地的蛮族人士之际，很少使用通事，大半都是用对方的语言直接交谈，不论对方是埃塞俄比亚人（Aethiopians）、特罗格洛迪特人 （Troglodytes）、希伯莱人、阿拉伯人、叙利亚人、米底人还是帕提亚人，除了那些民族之外，还会讲许多其他的方言 ，这种卓越的本领的确让人感到惊奇，因为在她以前的国王连埃及语都不肯学习，其中有几位连本身的马其顿语都不够流利。

　　很多人对这段描述产生了误读："艳后的相貌不是无与伦比 "在他们的描述中变成了 "不漂亮"，甚至更糟，成为了"丑陋"。学者Goldsworthy评论“常有人错误地将普鲁塔克的话理解为克利奥帕特拉七世不美。普鲁塔克并没有否认她的美艳，而是说她之所以给男人们留下深刻印象，除了美貌之外还有其他原因（地位、个性、嗓音、仪态等等）。”事实上，普鲁塔克在安东尼传中也承认其被克里奥帕特拉的美貌所吸引：

　　She had some faith in the words of Dellius, but more in her own attractions, which, having formerly recommended her to Caesar and the young Cnaeus Pompey, she did not doubt might prove yet more successful with Antony. Their acquaintance was with her when a girl, young, and ignorant of the world, but she was to meet Antony in the time of life when women’s beauty is most splendid, and their intellects are in full maturity. She made great preparation for her journey, of money, gifts, and ornaments of value, such as so wealthy a kingdom might afford, but she brought with her her surest hopes in her own magic arts and charms.