1、希腊神话连载1The Olympin GodsBetween Macedon and Thessaly of eastern Greece there stood a high mountainIts cloudy top rushed into the very heavensOn the top of the mountain, the home of the gods was bathed in brightness At Olympus Zeus ruled as the father of gods and men Zeus was not a crude ruler by any
2、standardsAll the gods listened to his final words,it was trueBut Zeus made them all sit on a committee of twelve members,including six gods and six goddesses The first in the Olympian crowd sat Zeus himself He was the overlord of gods and men and the operator of the thunderbolt Next to him was Hera,
3、his proud and greeneyed queenPoseidon was ruler of the sea,And Hades,king of the lower world,had no seat in the committeeApollo was the god of the sun,music and poetry,while his twinsister Artemis was the goddess of the moon and the chase Athena was the goddess of wisdom and patroness of house holda
4、rtsHestin,the goddess of the family,represented home life and family happinessThe frightening Ares was the god of war,and the charming Aphrodite the goddess of love and beautyThe god of fire,Hephaestus,was the forger of the thunderbolts of ZeusThe wing footed messenger Hermes was the god of inventio
5、n and commerce;and the goddess of grains and harvests,Demeter,looked after agriculture and stood for mother ofcivilizationAll the chief gods mentioned above took human forms of incomparable beauty and grace Often moved by human feelings and desires,they frequently gave way to anger and jealousyThey
6、became involved in ceaseless battles with the world of man Among themselves at Olympus they plotted and struggled for powerIn the human world they experienced competitions and difficultiesThey enjoyed earthly friendships and lovesAcrowd of everlasting gods looked and acted in a perfectly human fashi
7、on that is what all gods at Olympus actually were奥林波斯山神在马其顿和希腊东部的色萨利之间矗立着一座高山。大雾弥漫的山顶直插云霄。山顶上,众神们的家园沐浴在阳光之中。宙斯作为山神和人类之父主宰着那里的一切。总的说来,宙斯并不是一个独裁统治者。但毫无疑问,凡事山神们都要听从他的命令。宙斯将男女山神12人组成一个委员会,宙斯本人则坐第一把交椅,是众神与人类的太上皇,也是雷电的操纵者。他旁边是他那傲慢且嫉妒的皇后赫拉。波塞冬是大海的统治者。哈得斯是主宰阴间的冥王,他在委员会中没有席位。阿波罗是太阳神、音乐和诗神。他的孪生姐妹阿耳特弥斯是月亮和狩猎女神
8、。雅典娜是智慧女神和家居艺术品的守护女神。赫提斯是家室之神,象征着家庭中的生命与幸福。气势汹汹的阿瑞斯是战神。媚人的阿芙罗狄蒂是爱与美神。火神赫菲斯托斯是宙斯雷电的创造者。以翅代步的信使海尔墨斯掌管商业与发明事务。谷物与丰收女神得墨特尔负责管理农业,她是文明之母。以上所提到的主要天神们都假装成凡人的样子,他们的美丽与魅力无可匹敌。因常受到凡人情感与愿望的感染,他们不时地勃然大怒,妒嫉别人。他们卷入与人类世界无休止的争斗中。在奥林波斯,他们之间也充满了阴谋与权力之争。在凡人的世界里,他们经历了敌对与挫折。他们珍惜人间的爱与友善。这群长生不老的天神们的外表与行为完全符合人间的方式。这就是奥林波斯山
9、神们的本来面目。Pandora After the stealing of fire,Zeus became increasingly unkind to menOne day he ordered his son Hephaestus tobuild an image of a beautiful maiden out of clayHe then asked the gods and goddesses to award her with different kinds of giftsAmong others,Athena clothed her in an attractive coa
10、t and Hermes gave her the power of telling liesA charming young lady,she was the first woman that ever livedZeus called her PandoraBecause she had received from each of the gods and goddesses a giftThe gift was harmful to men Zeus decided to send her down to men as a presentSo Hermes them essenger b
11、rought her to Epimetheus,brother of PrometheusThe greatness of her beauty touched the hearts of all who looked upon her,and Epimetheus happily received her into his houseHe had quite forgotten Pometheus warning:never to accept anything from ZeusThe couple lived a happy life for some timeThen trouble
12、 came on to the human world When he was busy with teaching men the art of living,Prometheus had left a bigcask in the care of EpimetheusHe had warned his brother not to open the lidPandora was a curious womanShe had been feeling very disappointed that her husband did not allow her to take a look at
13、the contents of the caskOne day,when Epimetheus was out,she lifted the lid and out itcame unrest and war,Plague and sickness,theft and violence,grief sorrow,and all the other evilsThe human world was hence to experience these evilsOnly hope stayed within the mouth of the jar and never flew outSo men
14、 always have hope within their hearts 潘多拉 偷窃天火之后,宙斯对人类的敌意与日俱增。一天,他令儿子赫菲斯托斯用泥塑一美女像,并请众神赠予她不同的礼物。其中,雅典娜饰之以华丽的衣裳,赫耳墨斯赠之以说谎的能力。世上的第一个女人是位迷人女郎,因为她从每位神灵那里得到了一样对男人有害的礼物,因此宙斯称她为潘多拉(pander:意为煽动)。 宙斯决定把她作为礼物送给世间的男子。于是信使赫耳墨斯将她带给普罗米修斯的弟弟厄庇墨透斯。她姿容绝美,见者无不为之倾心。厄庇墨透斯兴高采烈地把她迎入屋内。普罗米修斯警告过他不得接受宙斯的任何馈赠,而他已将之忘于脑后。这一对夫妻有
15、过一段幸福的生活,但不久灾难却降临人间。 当普罗米修斯忙于教授人们生存之道的时候,他把一个桶托付给厄庇墨透斯。他警告过他的弟弟不要打开桶盖。潘多拉好奇心强。她的丈夫不允许她看桶中之物,这使她感到十分懊恼。一天乘厄庇墨透斯出门在外,她打开桶盖,从桶里跑出的是不和与战争,瘟疫与疾病,偷窃与暴力,悲哀与忧虑,以及其他一些人类从此要遭受的不幸。只有希望被关在桶口,永远飞不出来,因此人们常常把希望藏于心中。 Apollo Among the crowd of Olympian gods the one most widely admired was ApolloHe was the son of Zeu
16、s and Let toAccording to Greek mythology,Leto was driven by Hera from land to land at last Poseidon took Pity on her and brought the island of Delos out of water for her to live onThere she gave birth to the twins ,Apollo and Artemis Apollo was me sun-godHe wore a purple robeHe usually sat in his br
17、ight eastern palace early in the morning and madeready to start his daily journey across the skyDuring the day hed rove his carriage of gold and ivory , and brought light, life and love to the great world below Iate in the afternoon he came to the end of his journey in the far western sea and got on
18、 his golden boat to return to his eastern home Apollo was the god of music and poetryHe could stir up all feelingsThese feelings are expressed in lofty songsWith his lyre of gold and the sweet accents of his godlike voice heled the choir of the Muses at OlympusThe pleasant music from his lyre was so
19、 exciting that stones marched into their places in rhythmic time and of their own will when he helped Poseidonbuild up the walls of TroyOn one occasion,invited to a contest by the human musician Marsyas,he won and then flayed him to death for his prideOn another occasion,he lost out toPan at a music
20、al contest and turned the ears of the judge,King Midas,into those of an ass His son,Orpheus,took over such skill from the father that his lyre moved man and animals alike Apollo stood for youthful and manly beautyHis goldenhair,stately manner and air all combined to make him the admiration of the wo
21、rldA beautiful girl,by the name of Clytle,was so fond of his beauty and glory that from dawn to dusk she knelt on the ground,her hands outstretched towards the sungod,and her eyes looked at his golden wheeled carriage racing across the blue skyThough her love was not returned,she had never changed h
22、er mind about ApolloThe gods were moved at the sad sight,and changed her into a sunflower 阿波罗 在众多的奥林波斯山神中,主神宙斯和雷托之子阿波罗最受推崇。据希腊神话记载,雷托被天后赫拉驱赶得四处流浪。最终是海神波塞冬怜悯她并从海中捞起提落岛让她居住。在岛上,她生了孪生儿子阿波罗和阿尔特弥斯。 阿波罗是太阳神。清晨他身着紫色袍,坐在那明亮的东方宫殿,准备开始每日穿越天空的旅行。白天,他驾着用金子和象牙制成的战车,给广阔无垠的大地带来光明、生命和仁爱。黄昏时分,他在遥远的西海结束了旅行,然后就乘上金船返回东
23、方的家中。 阿波罗是音乐神和诗神。他可唤起人们倾注于圣歌中的各种情感。在奥林波斯山上,他手拿金质里拉,用悦耳的音调指挥缪斯的合唱。当他帮助波塞冬建造特洛伊城墙时,里拉奏出的音乐如此动听,以致石头有节奏地、自动地各就其位。有一次他接受凡人音乐家马斯亚斯的挑战参加一次竞赛。战胜对方后,他将对手剥皮致死以惩罚他的狂妄自大。在另外一次音乐比赛中,因输给了潘神,他就将裁判迈尔斯国王的耳朵变成了驴耳朵。 阿波罗的儿子俄耳甫斯继承了父亲这方面的才能。他的竖琴使人与动物皆受感动。 阿波罗象征着青春和男子汉的美。金色的头发、庄重的举止、容光焕发的神态,这些足以使他受到世人的青睐。一位名叫克里提的美丽少女迷恋于他
24、的英俊潇洒,跪在地上,从黎明到黄昏,双手伸向太阳神。她凝视着那辆金质马车在蔚蓝的天空驰骋。虽然她的爱并未得到回报,但她对阿波罗的痴情却从未改变。目睹这悲哀的场面,众神深受感动,将她变成了一株向日葵。 希腊神话连载2PrometheusPrometheus was a Titan In the war between Zeus the giants he had stood on the side of the new OlympiangodsOut of the clay he made the first man,to whom Athena gave soul and holy breat
25、hPrometheus spent a lot of time and energy in creating the gift of fireAnd fire raised man above all animals Later,there held a joint meeting of gods and menThe meeting was to decide what part of burnt animals should begiven to gods and what to menPrometheus cut up an ox and divided it into two part
26、s:under the skin he placed the fresh,and under the fat he put the bones,for he knew the selfish Zeus loved fat Zeus saw through the trick and felt displeased at the Prometheus favor towards menSo in a masterful wayhe took away the gift of fire from mankindHowever,Prometheus managed to steal fire fro
27、m heaven and secretly brought it down tomenFlying into an anger atthis unjustified act of rebellion,Zeus let the other gods chain Prometheus to a rockon Mountain Caucasus,where a hungry eagle ever tore at his liver which ever grew againHis period of pain was to be thirty-thousand yearsPrometheus fac
28、ed his bitter fate firmly and never lost courage before ZeusAt last Heracles made Prometheus and Zeus restore to friend ship,when Heracles came over in search of the golden apple and killed the eagle and set the friend of mankind free普罗米修斯是泰坦巨人之一。在宙斯与巨人的战争中,他站在新的奥林波斯山神一边。他用粘土造出了第一个男人。雅典娜赋予了这个男人灵魂和神圣
29、的生命。普罗米修斯还花费了很多时间和精力创造了火,并将之赠予人类。火使人成为万物之灵。在这之后,举行了第一次神与人的联席会议。这个会议将决定烧烤过的动物的哪一部分该分给神,哪一部分该给人类。普罗米修斯切开一头牛,把它分成两部分:他把肉放在皮下,将骨头放在肥肉下。因为他知道自私的宙斯爱吃肥肉。宙斯看穿了他的把戏。普罗米修斯偏袒人类,这使宙斯感到不快。因此,他专横地把火从人类手中夺走。然而,普罗米修斯设法窃走了天火,偷偷地把它带给人类。宙斯对他这种肆无忌惮的违抗行为大发雷霆。他令其他的山神把普罗米修斯用锁链缚在高加索山脉的一块岩石上。一只饥饿的老鹰天天来啄食他的肝脏,而他的肝脏又总是重新长出来。他
30、的痛苦要持续三万年。而他坚定地面对苦难,从来不在宙斯面前丧失勇气。最后,海格立斯使普罗米修斯与宙斯恢复了他们的友谊,找到了金苹果,杀死了老鹰,因而解救了人类的老朋友。Nereus and Proteus Of all the small sea divinities Nereus and Proteus stood out as Peculiar sea-godsNereus,known as“the Old Man of the sea”,represented the pleasant aspect of ocean watersHe lived beneath the sea with
31、his fifty lovely daughters,of whom the most famous were Amphritrite,Thetis,Galate a and PanopeIt was Nereus who advised Heracles to seek Prometheus in the heros search of the golden apples Proteus was Poseidons herdsman. He was well known for two qualities:the gift of prophecy and the power to take
32、various formsAt one time he was a lion with a curly wavy hairs;at another he appeared in the shape of a wild boar;and still another he stood a stately tree covered with rich leavesWhen,after all these and many other changes,he failed to get rid of his questioner, the god offered detailed answers 在所有
33、的小海神中,纳鲁斯和普鲁吐斯异常独特。纳鲁斯是人们熟知的“海中的老人”。他代表了海水友善的一面。他和50个可爱的女儿一起生活在海中。她们当中最著名的有;安菲瑞垂托、塞提丝、盖拉蒂和潘诺珀。在勇敢地寻觅金苹果的时候,纳鲁斯建议赫格立斯寻找普罗米修斯。 普鲁吐斯是波塞冬的牧羊人。他有两种非凡的能力:他能预言,他还能够变成不同的动物。有时他是一头狮子,有着波浪般的卷发。有时他是一头凶猛的野猪。而有时他又是一棵枝叶繁茂、外表威严的大树。经过这些变化之后,当他无法摆脱询问者时,神就替他作出详尽的回答。Eros(Cupid) Eros was the god of love,better known by
34、 hislatin name CupidSon of Aphrodite by Ares ,he took his place amongthe small gods of OlympusHe was represented asa little naked boy,with sparkling wings,and he carried his bowand arrows wherever he wanderedShooting his thrilling arrowsin evils,he inspired the passion of love and provided all natur
35、e with life and power of reproductionThe lovely,naughty god had two kinds of arrows:the gold tipped arrows used to quicken the pulse of love and the lead tipped ones to palsy it Besides,he had a torch to light hearts with Though sometimes he was blindfolded ,no man nor god,Zeus himself included,was
36、safe from his evilsAt one time the little naughty god was wounded by his own arrows and suchburning love was awakened in him for the human maiden Psyche that he disregarded the constant interference of his mother and plucked up his courage to beg Zeus for justiceAnother famousstory where Eros played
37、 an important part was the Argonautic expeditionMedea,daughter of king Aeetes,was wounded by Eros arrows,took Jasons part in recoveringthe golden fleece and eventually became the heros wife 厄洛斯是爱神,它的拉丁名称丘比特更为人熟知。他是阿瑞斯和阿芙罗狄蒂的儿子,是一位小奥林波斯山神。他的形象是一个裸体的小男孩,有一对闪闪发光的翅膀。他带着弓箭漫游。他恶作剧地射出令人震颤的神箭,唤起爱的激情。给自然界带来生
38、机,授予万物繁衍的能力。这位可爱而又淘气的小精灵有两种神箭:加快爱情产生的金头神箭和中止爱情的铅头神箭。另外,他还有一束照亮心灵的火炬。 尽管有时他被蒙着眼睛,但没有任何人或神,包括宙斯在内,能逃避他的恶作剧。有一次这位淘气的精灵被自己的箭射中。对人间少女普赛克炽热的爱在他心中复苏,以致于他不顾他母亲的干预,鼓起勇气让宙斯给予公正评判。厄洛斯起了重大作用的另一个著名的故事是亚尔古英雄的远征。美狄亚,国王埃厄忒斯的女儿,被厄洛斯的神箭射中,和伊阿宋一起寻觅金羊毛,最后成为这位英雄的妻子。希腊神话连载3AresSon of Zeus and Hera,Ares was appointed god
39、of warHewas terrible and majestic ,and his march shook the worldOf all the major gods at Olympus,he was the most hateful,loving struggle and war and ever thirsty for blood On the other hand he signified courage and victory in battle,and was devoutly worshipped by soldiers going to warPrayers were ad
40、dressed to him before the war and spoils presented at his altar after itHe was the one god who ever had to submit to the power ofhis inferiors At one time lack of tact and good udge ment led to his shameHe was fighting with two giants,and finding himself no match for the two monstrous creatures,laid
41、 down hisarms and was imprisoned in chains He was set free in the end by the artfulHermes,but not before he had suffered all the humiliations .He was as thoughtless as he was unkind A son of Poseidons,attempting to kidnap his daughter,made the war-god unhappy,so that he killed the youth Without he s
42、itation.In retaliation ,Poseidon dragged him before a group of Athenian judges for trialThe court was held on a hill outside AthensAres presented his case and was declared innocent . The hill was ever after called Areopagus,“the hill of Ares”,and the judges receivedthe names of Areopagitae阿瑞斯,宙斯和赫拉之
43、子,被委任为战神。他威严而可怕。他一走动,整个世界都会摇晃。在奥林波斯山上的所有主神中,他是最可恨的、最喜欢争斗和战争的神,并且永远对血腥有一种渴望。另一方面,他代表勇气和胜利,被即将上战场的战士们疯狂地崇拜。这些崇拜者战前都要向他祈祷,战后将战利品供奉在他的祭坛前。他是惟一一位曾经不得不屈于部下威力的神。有一次,由于缺乏机智与正确判断使他蒙受羞辱。他和两个巨人决斗,发现自己不能抵挡。他自动放下武器,被铐上铁链关了起来,最后他被老练的赫尔墨斯救出来,但在此之前,他已饱尝了受侮辱的滋味。他做事不加思考,就像他的残暴一样典型。波塞冬的一个儿子企图诱拐他的女儿,弄得战神非常不悦。于是,他毫不留情地把
44、他干掉了。为了替儿子报仇,波塞冬拉着阿瑞斯到雅典法官面前要求审判战神。审判是在城外的一座小山上开庭的,阿瑞斯叙述了案情,最后被判无罪。从那以后,这座山就称作雅典的最高法院,即“阿瑞斯之山”;而出审的法官们被称作雅典最高法院的法官。Dionysus Dionysus was the god of wineHe was the son of Zeus by Semele When his mother was burnt to death in the glory of Zeus He was still a helpless infantHis father trusted his upbrin
45、ging to some mountain fairy maidens They tookthe greatest care of him Under the tutorship of Silennus,the Satyr, he was introduced to all the secrets of nature and the culture of the wine He travelled far and wide in his carriage drawn by wild beasts He was said to have been to India and Ethiopia Wh
46、erever he went, there was music and song and revellingHisattendants,known asthe Bacchantes,werenotedfor their noiseanddisorderA most wild,noisy crow,they drank,danced andsang in a careless wayThe women Bacchantes were infamous for their excessive immodesty and disgraceful excitement In their madness
47、 and intoxication they committed cruel violence. They toreOrpheus,the gifted musician,limb from limbKing Pentheus of Thebes,for frowning on the worship of Bacchus in his kingdom, suffered the same treatment at the hands of a band of these fanatical women,of whom his own mother was the leader 狄俄尼索斯是酒
48、神,他是宙斯和塞梅莱的儿子。当他的妈妈被宙斯的璀璨之焰烧死时,他还只是个孤弱的婴儿。他的父亲将他寄托在山中仙子们那里,他们精心地哺育他长大。在森林之神西莱娜斯的辅导下,他掌握了有关自然的所有秘密以及酒的历史。他乘坐着他那辆由野兽驾驶的四轮马车到处游荡。据说他曾到过印度和埃塞俄比亚。他走到哪儿,乐声、歌声、狂饮就跟到哪儿。他的侍从们,被称为酒神的信徒,也因他们的吵闹无序而出名。他们肆无忌惮地狂笑,漫不经心地喝酒、跳舞和唱歌。侍从中的妇女也因极端粗野、得意起来有失体面而臭名昭著。当她们疯狂或是极度兴奋时,她们使用残忍的暴力。她们曾把俄尔浦斯这位才华横溢的音乐家的手足撕裂。就连底比斯国王,仅因为在本国崇拜巴克斯(狄俄尼索斯的别名)问题上皱了皱眉头,也遭受了同样的惩罚。而带领这群狂热的女人胡作非为的就是狄俄尼索斯的母亲。Philomela King Pandion of Athens had two daughters,Procne and PhilomelaWhen Athens was threatened by the wild men,King Tereus of Thrace came to its helpOut of gratitudeK