古希臘奧運會如何處罰違規運動員?
Will performance-enhancing drugs mar this summer's Olympic Games in London? All of us hope not, but history isn't encouraging. Recent gold-medal stars like the sprinters Ben Johnson of Canada and Marion Jones of the U.S. were stripped of their Olympic glory after they were convicted of using illegal substances.
能夠提高運動員成績的藥物會玷污今年的倫敦夏季奧運會嗎？我們所有的人都不希望這樣，但是歷史並不能給我們以信心。近些年來，像加拿大的本•約翰遜（Ben Johnson）和美國的瑪麗安•瓊斯（Marion Jones）這些摘得奧運金牌的短跑名將都因後來被證實使用了違禁藥品而被取消了榮譽。
Indeed, since 1968, the International Olympic Committee has taken gold, silver or bronze medals from more than 40 athletes. Each has suffered a certain disgrace at the hands of the media, to be sure, but perhaps it is time to consider a more refined punishment for such offenders. Here we might learn something from our Greek forebears.
實際上，自從1968年以來，國際奧委會（International Olympic Committee）已經取消了40多名運動員的金、銀、銅牌。誠然，他們每一個人都因媒體曝光而名譽掃地，但是現在也許該考慮考慮能否採取更好的方式處罰違規者了──興許我們可以從希臘先輩們那裏學點經驗。
Just outside the entrance to the ancient stadium in Olympia - the site of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. - stand a series of crumbling stone bases known as the Zanes. Battered remains of bronze statues (the earliest are thought to date from 388 B.C.), they once stood as an Olympic walk of shame.
就在奧林匹亞的古運動場──公元前776年舉行第一次奧運會的地方──的入口外，有一系列人稱宙斯像羣（Zanes）的殘破基座。這些基座是當年那些青銅雕像的遺存（據信最早的青銅像可以追溯到公元前338年），那些青銅雕像所立之處是當年奧運會的恥辱之路。
If an athlete broke his Olympic oath - common violations included bribery, tardiness, cowardice, lying and fraud - he was fined and forced to purchase a statue of Zeus. The name of the athlete and, in some cases, his father's name plus his Greek city-state were inscribed on the base of the statue, which was then placed along the entranceway to the great stadium.
如果一名運動員違反了自己的奧運誓言──常見的行爲包括行賄、遲到、膽怯、說謊和欺詐──他就會被處以罰款並被迫買一尊宙斯（Zeus）的雕像，這名運動員的名字，有時候還有他父親的名字以及他所在的希臘城邦國家的名字，要刻在雕像的底座上，雕像隨後會沿大體育場的入口通道置放。
Why statues to Zeus? Greek myth held that Zeus had defeated Kronos in a wrestling match for possession of the earth, so Olympic competition, held close to the god's massive temple, was seen as a sacred act or privilege, available only to a select few. As athletes neared the field of play, herded by priests and whip-bearers, they were reminded of all who had offended Zeus and disgraced their home communities. They were made to understand that cheaters would be immortalized in stone.
爲何樹立的是宙斯的雕像？希臘神話裏說宙斯爲爭奪大地所有權在與克洛諾斯（Kronos）的一場摔跤比賽中將其擊敗，因此，在與宙斯大殿近在咫尺的地方舉行奧運會比賽被視爲神聖之舉，或者說只有精挑細選的少數人才能享有如此特權。當運動員們在祭司和執鞭者的驅使之下走向比賽場地時，他們就會受到提醒，想起那些觸怒了宙斯並讓家鄉父老顏面盡失的人。此舉是讓他們明白欺世盜名者將被永鐫於石，遺臭萬年。
What might it look like if we tried to re-establish this worthy ancient institution?
如果我們重建這種頗有價值的古代制度，情況會是怎樣？Certainly there is a need for it - and not just for the Olympics. The former All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens remains in court, attempting to clear his name in a scandal that has forever tarnished the game of baseball. In football, the New Orleans Saints will not soon recover from the penalties and suspensions imposed by the NFL for the team's outrageous system of bounties for disabling opposing players. And whole books have been written about the cheaters in international swimming and weightlifting, to say nothing of the Tour de France.
這樣做當然有必要──不光是對奧運會而言。前全明星投手羅傑•克萊門斯（Roger Clemens）還在等待法庭的裁決，希望能與一樁永遠玷污了棒球運動的醜聞擺脫干係。在橄欖球界，新奧爾良聖徒隊（New Orleans Saints）不會很快就從美國橄欖球聯盟（NFL）對其的處罰和禁賽中緩過勁來──該球隊制訂的獎勵傷害對方隊員行爲的制度簡直駭人聽聞。已經有專門的圖書出版，揭露國際游泳和舉重比賽中的欺詐行爲。至於環法自行車賽（Tour de France）那就更不用提了。
In fact, the Tour de France, which starts later this month, may be just the place to start with Zanes of our own. We could immortalize in marble and bronze such recent, but now repudiated, winners as Floyd Landis, Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich. And given the recent decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to strip 2010 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador of his title for alleged drug use, he could be included too. Imagine the effect if, in June, the riders competing in the 2012 Tour were forced to race down the Champs-Elysees, whizzing past statues of disgraced former winners?
實際上，本月末開賽的環法自行車賽也許正是開始樹立我們的宙斯像羣的地方。我們可以在大理石或青銅上永遠刻下那些近年來成績遭到否定的人的名字，比如弗洛伊德•蘭迪斯（Floyd Landis）、馬可•潘塔尼（Marco Pantani）和揚•烏爾裏希（Jan Ullrich）。考慮到國際體育仲裁法庭（the Court of Arbitration for Sport）最近以服用違禁藥物爲由，決定取消2010年環法自行車賽冠軍得主阿爾伯託•康塔多（Alberto Contador）的冠軍稱號，他也可以位列其中。想想如果六月份參加2012年環法自行車賽的選手必須經過香榭麗舍大街，從以前那些丟人現眼的獲勝者雕像前呼嘯而過，效果會是怎樣呢？
How would modern athletes respond if a Zanes-like protocol was established in modern temples of sports like Yankee Stadium or Pauley Pavilion at UCLA? What would happen if, as fans and athletes entered, they were obliged to acknowledge the crimes of their heroes and peers? If nothing else, it would finally give some bite to our endless rhetoric about players who 'bring the game into disrepute.'
如果一個類似宙斯像羣的規程在揚基體育場（Yankee Stadium）或加州大學洛杉磯分校（UCLA）的保利•帕維隆體育館（Pauley Pavilion）這些現代體育場館建立起來，現在的運動員會作出何種反應？當球迷和運動員進入比賽場館的時候，如果他們被迫回想自己心目中那些英雄和同行的不軌行爲，會有何種情形發生？即使沒有什麼別的作用，它最終至少會對我們談論那些“給某項運動帶來恥辱”的運動員時經常使用粉飾之辭這一點產生影響。
Or maybe we could update the ancient idea for the digital age. Would the behavior of athletes change if those convicted of crimes against their sport had to pay for the creation of a five-minute video for, say, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, showcasing their guilt? Their statistics might disappear from the official record books to be replaced by a notice about their transgressions (and perhaps the names of their parents). Their home-run titles or Cy Young awards would not be listed with asterisks; they would simply be wiped away.
抑或我們可以將古代的做法升級至數字時代的形式。如果一個被發現在比賽中有不法行爲的運動員必須支付一段五分鐘視頻的製作費用，視頻取名爲《國家棒球名人堂》（National Baseball Hall of Fame），用來昭示他的過錯，運動員的行爲會有所改觀嗎？對他們的統計數字會從官方的記錄中消失，取而代之的是關於他們不法行爲的通告（也許還要加上他們父母的名字）。他們的全壘打功績或賽揚獎（Cy Young）榮譽不再是被標記上星號，而是直接從記錄中抹去。
As the Olympics unfold this summer, it should not come as a surprise that some of the athletes competing will be 'dirty.' What's notable is that international Olympic officials and national Olympic committees have been unable to create more permanent representations of athletes who have failed to honor the code of fair completion. Maybe it's time to set such things in stone again.
今年夏季奧運會揭開帷幕後，某些參賽選手會幹“髒”事，這並不足爲奇。值得關注的是，國際奧林匹克官員和各國奧委會對不遵守公平競爭原則的運動員一直未能制訂出可以更長久記錄他們罪過的機制。也許現在又是該把那些事情銘刻在石頭上的時候了。
