书城外语英语PARTY——神话圣地·希腊
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第13章 宜人风景Natural Scenery(5)

On the island you will enjoy romantic walk in the narrows, graphical graphical adj.绘成图画似的, 绘画的, paved alleys. Generally, Hydra is famous for the calm life is offers to the visitors in the day, but also for the intense, cosmopolitan life, in the night. Bar, pub, disco, with foreignGreek music and revery till the morning.

Idra is undoubtedly an island that is difficult to let go once you get to know it. Trying to forget it is even harder. That,s why for the past 50 years this gorgeous gorgeous adj.华丽的, 灿烂的 island has become quite a cosmopolitan spot. With its varying seductive landscape, Idra has managed to acquire a very fanatical following and has become an attraction for the international jet set. The town of Idra is well sheltered deep in its naturally formed harbor and is spread amphitheatrically over two hills. Its magnificent harbor is one of the most picturesque in the whole of the Mediterranean Sea. It captures everyone at first sight. Visitors should definitely take the time to wander its narrow streets and get a taste of history and tradition, that have left their eternal mark on this island. Due to its nocar policy, transport on the island is conducted with boats or donkeys donkey n.驴子, 笨蛋, 顽固者, (=donkey engine)轻便发动机, (=donkey pump)辅助泵.

The oldest settlement to have been found on the island is Mycenaean. At a later period Hydra was seized by Hermione, which subsequently sold it to Samos. We know of no major historical events here down to the 17th century A.D., when the island began gradually to acquire a powerful merchant fleet merchant fleet 商船队, which was later at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, to monopolise monopolise vt.(=monopolize)垄断,获得…….的专卖权 sea transport throughout the Mediterranean.

Then the uprising against the Turks broke out in 1821, Hydra had a population of 30,000 and 150 vessels. The island,s wealthy wealthy adj.富有的, 丰裕的, 充分的 n.富人, 有钱人 seacaptains fitted out their vessels as warships and spent whole fortunes in order to help in the Struggle. Their feats and the heroism of their crews became a byword throughout Europe. Besides their vessels, the island seamen made use of fireships - small boats loaded with explosives which they brought by night alongside the Turkish vessels and then blew them up. The superiority superiority n.优越, 高傲 of the Hydriots and their companions in arms at sea was one of the determining factors in the success of the Greek Revolution.

Today, Hydra is one of the most cosmopolitan points in the Mediterranean. The fact that Hydra has a unique beauty in its architecture and its landscape, taken together with its proximity proximity n.接近, 亲近 to Athens and its important historical interest, have gradually raised the island to the level of an international tourist centre. Undoubtedly, Hydra is one of the most beautiful islands in Greece with a unique atmosphere. Here you can enjoy an unforgettable unforgettable adj.忘不了的, 令人难忘的 vacation.

Mount Olympus奥林匹斯山

奥林匹斯山(Mount Olympus),古希腊人尊奉为神山的高山,希腊神话中的诸神寓居之所。它坐落在希腊北部,近萨洛尼卡湾,为塞萨利区与马其顿区间的分水岭。其主峰米蒂卡斯峰,高2917米,为希腊最高峰。为了与南面相邻的下奥林匹斯山相区别,奥林匹斯山又称“上奥林匹斯山”。

古希腊人认为奥林匹斯山位于希腊的中心,而希腊又是地球的中心,所以,那些主宰人类、统治世界的诸神就住在这座山上。

在云缭雾绕的山顶,有一座时光女神把守的云门。当天神到来时,云门就自动打开,欢迎诸神。平时天神们居住在按等级高低划分的各自领地内,当听到“众神之王”宙斯召唤时,就从海里、陆地、地下、天空纷纷赶到宙斯的神殿。神殿里有许多金碧辉煌的高大圆柱,四壁画满了神奇美丽的图画,还摆放着许多金银制成的宝座。众神边喝酒,边议论天上和人间的大事。太阳神阿波罗弹起竖琴,为大家助兴,青春女神赫柏为诸神斟酒,9位文艺女神缪斯在舞池内翩翩起舞,唱着清脆悦耳的歌儿。酒足饭饱之后,众神纷纷离去,又回到各自的领地。众神就这样无忧无虑地生活在奥林匹斯山上。传说居住奥林匹斯山的诸神包括主神宙斯(罗马神话中称朱庇特,下同),天后赫拉(朱诺),海神波塞冬(尼普顿),智慧女神雅典娜(米涅瓦),太阳神阿波罗,月亮与狩猎女神阿尔泰弥斯(狄安娜),谷物女神德梅泰尔(切雷斯),火神埃法斯图斯(伏尔甘),战神阿雷斯(马尔斯),众神使者与亡灵接引神赫尔梅斯(梅丘利),灶神或家室女神赫斯提(维斯塔),有时也包括酒神狄俄尼索斯(巴克库斯)与英雄赫拉克里斯(海克里斯)。古希腊人认为希腊南部的赫拉孔山的缪斯女神(9位文艺与科学女神的通称)在奥林匹斯山也拥有住所。主神宙斯,法力无边,能随意投掷雷电、呼风唤雨、降祸赐福,是诸神与人类的主宰。他的御座雄踞在陡峭的弧形山峰斯泰法尼峰之巅。

奥林匹斯山上终年云雾缭绕,一年中约有2/3的时间被积雪所覆盖,山坡上橡树、梧桐、栗树、山毛榉和松林郁郁苍苍;巍峨的山顶,在云雾和星河之间,鲜花盛开,绿树成荫,四季常青,景色十分优美。古希腊人把奥林匹斯山作为众神的居住地,这大概也是一个重要的原因吧。

现在,希腊人发现奥林匹斯山虽然云雾环绕,银装素裹,但并不是诸神的居所。他们根据航海经验,知道了世界的中心并不是希腊,更不是奥林匹斯山,所以诸神也不可能住在奥林匹斯山上。希腊人开始想像奥林匹斯山应远在天边,诸神应该住在一个可望而不可即的地方,这才更具有神圣的魅力。

但在希腊人的心目中,奥林匹斯山仍是一座神秘而美丽的“神山”。

Traditionally regarded as the heavenly abode abode n.住所, 住处 of the Greek gods and the site of the throne of Zeus, Olympos seems to have originally existed as an idealized mountain that only later came to be associated with a specific peak. The early epics, the Illiad and the Odyssey (composed by Homer around 700B.C.) offer little information regarding the geographic location of the heavenly mountain and there are several peaks in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus that bear the name Olympos. The most favored mythological mythological adj.神话学的, 神话的, 虚构的 choice is the tallest mountain range in Greece, the Olympos massif, 100 kilometers southwest of the city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. The highest peak - shown in the photograph - is Mytikas at 2,918 meters (9,570 feet).

The deities believed to have dwelled upon the mythic mythic adj.神话的, 虚构的 mount were Zeus, the king of the gods; his wife Hera; his brothers Poseidon and Hades; his sisters Demeter and Hestia; and his children, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes and Hephaestus. It is interesting to note that these Olympian gods and goddesses were understood in ancient times as archetypes representing idealized aspects of the multifaceted human psyche psyche n. 心智;灵魂;精神. Worship of the deities was a method of invoking and amplifying those aspects in the behavior and personality of the human worshipper. Zeus was the god of mind and the intellect, and a protector of strangers and the sanctity of oaths; Hera was a goddess of fertility, the stages of a woman,s life and marriage; Apollo represented law and order, and the principles of moderation moderation n.适度 in moral, social and intellectual matters; Aphrodite was a goddess of love and the overwhelming passions that drove humans to irrational behavior; Hermes was the god of travelers, of sleep and dreams and prophecy prophecy n.预言, 预言能力; Athena was spiritual wisdom incarnate; Hephaestus was the god of the arts and fire; and Ares represented the dark, bloodthirsty bloodthirsty adj.嗜杀的, 残忍的 aspect of human nature.