《英文版经典古希腊神话》
1 The Olympian Gods Between Macedon（马其顿王国） and Thessaly of eastern Greece there stood a high mountain．Its cloudy top rushed into the very heavens．On 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 standards．All the gods listened to his final words，it was true．But 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，his proud and green-eyed queen．Poseidon was ruler of the sea，And Hades，king of the lower world，had no seat in the committee．Apollo 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 holdarts．Hestia，the goddess of the family，represented home life and family happiness．The frightening Ares was the god of war，and the charming Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty．The god of fire，Hephaestus，was the forger(铁匠) of the thunderbolts of Zeus．The wing footed messenger Hermes was the god of invention and commerce；and the goddess of grains and harvests，Demeter，looked after agriculture and stood for mother of civilization．
All 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 jealousy．They became involved in ceaseless battles with the world of man． Among themselves at Olympus they plotted and struggled for power．In the human world they experienced competitions and difficulties．They enjoyed earthly friendships and loves．A crowd of everlasting gods looked and acted in a perfectly human fashion that is what all gods at Olympus actually were．
1.Macedon: [史]马其顿王国(古代巴尔干半岛中部一奴隶制国家)
2.Thassaly: A region of east-central Greece between the Pindus Mountains and the Aegean Sea. Settled before 1000 b.c., it reached the height of its power in the sixth century b.c. but soon declined because of internal conflicts.塞萨利希腊中东部一地区，位于屏达思山和爱琴海之间。建于 公元前1000年之前，于 公元前6世纪势力达到鼎盛但很快就因内乱而衰败 3.overlord: A lord having power or supremacy over other lords. 4.forger: 铁匠
2 Pandora
After the stealing of fire，Zeus became increasingly unkind to men．One day he ordered his son Hephaestus to build an image of a beautiful maiden out of clay．He then asked the gods and goddesses to award her with different kinds of gifts．Among others，Athena clothed her in an attractive coat and Hermes gave her the power of telling lies．A charming young lady，she was the first woman that ever lived．Zeus called her Pandora．Because she had received from each of the gods and goddesses a gift．The gift was harmful to men．
Zeus decided to send her down to men as a present．So Hermes the messenger brought her to Epimetheus，brother of Prometheus．The greatness of her beauty touched the hearts of all who looked upon her，and Epimetheus happily received her into his house．He had quite forgotten Prometheus' warning：never to accept anything from Zeus．The couple lived a happy life for some
time．Then trouble came on to the human world． When he was busy with teaching men the art of living，Prometheus had left a big cask(木桶) in the care of Epimetheus．He had warned his brother not to open the lid．Pandora was a curious woman．She had been feeling very disappointed that her husband did not allow her to take a look at the contents of the cask．One day，when Epimetheus was out，she lifted the lid and out it came unrest and war，Plague and sickness，theft and violence， grief sorrow，and all the other evils．The human world was hence to experience these evils．Only hope stayed within the mouth of the jar and never flew out．So men always have hope within their hearts．
3 Apollo
Among the crowd of Olympian gods the one most widely admired was Apollo．He was the son of Zeus and Leto．According 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 on．There she gave birth to the twins ，Apollo and Artemis．
Apollo was me sun-god．He wore a purple robe(长袍)．He usually sat in his bright eastern palace early in the morning and made ready to start his daily journey across the sky．During the day he roved his carriage of gold and ivory ， and brought light， life and love to the great world below． late in the afternoon he came to the end of his journey in the far western sea and got on his golden boat to return to his eastern home．
Apollo was the god of music and poetry．He could stir up all feelings．These feelings are expressed in lofty songs．With his lyre(七弦琴) of gold and the sweet accents of his godlike voice heled the choir of the Muses at Olympus．The pleasant music from his lyre was so exciting that stones marched into their places in rhythmic time and of their own will when he helped Poseidon build up the walls of Troy．On one occasion，invited to a contest by the human musician Marsyas，he won and then flayed him to death for his pride．On another occasion，he lost out to Pan at a musical contest and turned the ears of the judge，King Midas，into those of an ass． 1.lofty: Affecting grandness; pompous. 壮丽的给人以深刻印象的宏大气势；壮丽的 2.hele: vt. （与in连用）把…栽入土中
3.flay: To strip off the skin or outer covering of. 剥皮剥去皮或表部表层 His son，Orpheus，took over such skill from the father that his lyre moved man and animals alike． Apollo stood for youthful and manly beauty．His golden hair，stately manner and air all combined to make him the admiration of the world．A 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 sky．Though her love was not returned，she had never changed her mind about Apollo．The gods were moved at the sad sight，and changed her into a sunflower．
4.state: Dignified and impressive, as in size or proportions.庄严的在规模或比例方面庄严尊贵的
4 Prometheus
Prometheus was a Titan ．In the war between Zeus the giants he had stood on the side of the new Olympian gods．Out of the clay he made the first man，to whom Athena gave soul and holy breath．Prometheus spent a lot of time and energy in creating the gift of fire．And fire raised man above all animals ．Later，there held a joint meeting of gods and men．The meeting was to decide
what part of burnt animals should be given to gods and what to men．Prometheus cut up an ox and divided it into two parts：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 men．So in a masterful way he took away the gift of fire from mankind．However，Prometheus managed to steal fire from heaven and secretly brought it down to men．Flying into an anger at this unjustified act of rebellion，Zeus let the other gods chain Prometheus to a rock on Mountain Caucasus，where a hungry eagle ever tore at his liver which ever grew again．His period of pain was to be thirty-thousand years．Prometheus faced his bitter fate firmly and never lost courage before Zeus．At last Heracles made Prometheus and Zeus restore to friendship，when Heracles came over in search of the golden apple and killed the eagle and set the friend of mankind free．
5 Nereus and Proteus
Of all the small sea divinities Nereus and Proteus stood out as Peculiar sea-gods．Nereus，known as“the Old Man of the sea”，represented the pleasant aspect of ocean waters．He lived beneath the sea with his fifty lovely daughters，of whom the most famous were Amphritrite，Thetis，Galate a and Panope．It was Nereus who advised Heracles to seek Prometheus in the hero's search of the golden apples．
Proteus was Poseidon's herdsman. He was well known for two qualities：the gift of prophecy and the power to take various forms．At 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 leaves．When，after all these and many other changes，he failed to get rid of his questioner， the god offered detailed answers．
6 Eros（Cupid）
Eros was the god of love，better known by his Latin name Cupid．Son of Aphrodite by Ares ，he took his place among the small gods of Olympus．He was represented as a little naked boy，with sparkling wings，and he carried his bow and arrows wherever he wandered．Shooting his thrilling arrows in evils，he inspired the passion of love and provided all nature with life and power of reproduction．The 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 safe from his evils．At one time the little naughty god was wounded by his own arrows and such burning 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 justice．Another famous story where Eros played an important part was the Argonautic expedition．Medea，daughter of King Aeetes，was wounded by Eros' arrows，took Jason's part in recovering the golden fleece and eventually became the hero's wife．
1.blindfold: To cover the eyes of with or as if with a bandage.（如用或似用绷带等）蒙住眼睛 2.Argonaut【希神】亚尔古英雄(随同贾森乘亚尔古舟, 去海外寻找金羊毛的英雄)
7 Ares
Son of Zeus and Hera，Ares was appointed god of war．He was terrible and majestic ，and his
march shook the world．Of 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 war．Prayers were addressed to him before the war and spoils presented at his altar after it．
1.majestic: adj. Having or showing lofty dignity or nobility; stately. 具有或显示出庄重的或高贵气质的；威严
He was the one god who ever had to submit to the power of his inferiors ．At one time lack of tact and good judgment led to his shame．He was fighting with two giants，and finding himself no match for the two monstrous creatures，laid down his arms and was imprisoned in chains． He was set free in the end by the artful Hermes，but not before he had suffered all the humiliations . He was as thoughtless as he was unkind ．A son of Poseidon's，attempting to kidnap his daughter，made the war-god unhappy，so that he killed the youth without he hesitation. In retaliation ，Poseidon dragged him before a group of Athenian judges for trial．The court was held on a hill outside Athens．Ares presented his case and was declared innocent. The hill was ever after called Areopagus，“the hill of Ares”，and the judges received the names of Areopagitae．
8 Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of wine．He was the son of Zeus by Semele． When his mother was burnt to death in the glory of Zeus ．He was still a helpless infant．His father trusted his upbringing to some mountain fairy maidens ．They took the 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 ．Wherever he went， there was music and song and revelling．His attendants，known as the Bacchantes， were noted for their noise and disorder．A most wild，noisy crow，they drank，danced and sang in a careless way．The women Bacchantes were infamous for their excessive immodesty and disgraceful excitement ．In their madness and intoxication they committed cruel violence. They tore Orpheus，the gifted musician，limb from limb．King 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． 1.revel: To engage in uproarious festivities; make merry.参加喧嚣的庆典；作乐
9 Philomela
King Pandion of Athens had two daughters，Procne and Philomela．When Athens was threatened by the wild men，King Tereus of Thrace came to its help．Out of gratitude King Pandion offered Tereus either of his daughters in marriage and the Thracian king chose Procne as wife． For years they lived in Thrace and had one son，Itylus by name．Then Procne became homesick and longed to see her dear sister Philomela．At her repeated requests Tereus sailed to Athens to fetch Philomela．On the way back his evil heart took flame at the sight of Philomela who was then in her beauty of maidenhood．He seized and carried her away by force，cut out her tongue and imprisoned her in a lonely hut in the woods．To Procne he lied，saying that Philomela was dead．Philomela stayed in prison for a year，where she had woven her painful story into the web of a robe ．Then she managed to send the robe to her sister． As soon as she received the web Procne came over to the woods and to rescue her sister away from the keepers．
Back at the palace, the two women，hot for paying back ，killed little Itylus and served him up to his father ． When Tereus learned of the terrible truth he grasped his sword and chased the sisters into the woods． There the gods turned Procne into a swallow，Philomela a nightingale and Tereus a hoopoe(戴胜鸟) ．
10 Palladium
When Ilus had first built his new seat，the city of Troy， he prayed Zeus to show some sign of blessing for it． His prayer was heard，and a wooden image of Pallas- Athena fell from heaven to within the walls of the city． Known as the Palladium， the statue afforded the city safety and protection． At religious meetings of the goddess it was carried through the city streets amid joys and songs of praise．
After the flames of war had spread for ten years before the walls of Troy， a prophet foretold that Troy could never be expected to fall as long as the Palladium was treasured by its people ．In order to steal it out，Odysseus and Diomedes slipped into the capital one night in disguise ，known to none but Hellen．The bad woman took out them to He Cuba， the queen of Troy， at whose feet Odysseus immediately bowed down and asked for mercy．The queen granted their request，and with the help of Helen，they successfully brought the image back to the Greek camp at dawn． Later it was said that Aeneas got hold of it and carried it with him to his new land，where it was Preserved together with the goddess' fire．
11 The Flood
Towards the end of the Age of Bronze the human world became very cruel．
Men grew hungry，impolite and ungodly．Neither right or law was respected any longer，and the rule of hospitality was forgotten．Dressed up in human form，Zeus visited Arcadia and Thessaly，and disliked the deadly wrongs of men ．He decided to clear the earth of them all．Without hesitation he released the rainy south wind and called upon the heartless Poseidon to help．Soon the whole world sank in a vast ocean， and the entire human race disappeared in the unheard of flood，all but two poor Thessalonians((古希腊)帖撒罗尼迦人) ． These were an old childless couple，kind and faithful and contented with life．The man was called Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha．Son of Prometheus，Deucalion had been warned beforehand by his father of the coming flood and made himself a huge chest．When the roaring flood came the couple hid themselves init and floated for nine days until it touched land again on Mt Parnassus． The once active world presented a frightening sight．It was all death and ruin．Feeling lonely and unsafe，the old couple prayed to the gods for help．A sage instructed them to cast the bones of their mother about ．The son of the wise Titan， having guessed the true meaning of the mysterious command， started throwing stones behind him． A miracle occurred． The stones that the man cast became men；the stones that the woman threw turned into women．Since then，people appeared on the land again．The Heroic Age had begun．
12 Ajax（the Great）
Ajax was a man of giant stature，daring but slow．When the Trojan War was about to break out he led his forces from Salamis to join the Greek army at Aulis．As one of the trustiest champions of the Greek cause，he was given the job of guarding one end of the Greek camp near Troy．He was noted in the battlefield for his bravery and courage．After Achilles' death he became one of the two
英文版经典古希腊神话
