Tiresias was a blind，dark seeing prophet of Thebes．He was struck with blindness in his youth，because he had spied unwittingly on the goddess Athena．He was wandering in the woods one day when quite unexpectedly he saw a naked maiden bathing in a placid lake ．Little did he know that he had offended the virgin goddess．Taken unaware and scarlet with wrath，the goddess exclaimed that whoever had the boldness to steal a glance at her naked body was doomed to perpetual blindness．But when she learned later that the offence was unintentional ，it was too late for her to take back what she had said．Taking pity on the poor youth for the loss of his sight，she obtained from Zeus an exceptional long life for him，and from Apollo a divine power of prophecy．Besides，she provided him with a marvellous sharpness of ear，so that he could under stand the voices of all birds．And she filled his mind with mystic knowledge of things past and of things to come．In short she gave him quite an amount of her own wisdom．He was the first to recognize and welcome Dionysus，god of feast and wine，on the The ban land．When the infant Heracles caught Hera's two serpents in its hands，it was Tiresias who cast the child's fortune and revealed the divine origin and destiny of the boy ．When Oedipus abused Tiresias as having had a hand in the murder of Laius，Tiresias had the fearless courage to tell the truth that Oedipus was the murderer．Even in the lower world he continued to prophesy．There he helped Odysseus when the hero came to him for advice．Alive，he was highly respected by all；dead，he enjoyed the generous air and rosy light in the land of the Blest． 1.perpetual: Lasting for eternity. 2.serpent: 大毒蛇, 阴险的人 3.blest: 神圣的, 成功的, 幸福的
37 Phaeton
Phaeton was the son of Apollo by Clymene．The mother had filled the lad's head with so many stories of his father's glory that the youth was quite proud．Wherever he went he told those stories again and again until everybody was tired of him．On one occasion，when one of his playmates asked him to show his skill of coming down from sky，he felt quite hard to do it．He came back to his mother and told the unhappy event in tears．Unable to do anything for him，she sent her son eastwards to pray to Apollo for help．
The sun god graciously received his son and heard the story with interest．Then he took an oath by the Styx ，ready to give help according to the boy's request．But he was surprised to hear that the boy's hope was to drive his fiery carriage．He told his son of the dangers on the way，but failed to stop him from the try．As the god had sworn by the Styx there was no going back on his word．In his desperate effort to avoid disaster，Apollo warned his son to keep to the middle course and stop the horses in time．
Phaeton joyfully jumped on the carriage and set off．Very soon he lost his way．he grew pale at the great height and the vast sky in front of him and behind．The horses ran wild．Unable to hold them，Phaeton dropped them in fear．Straight down to the earth the carriage dashed．Rivers were dried up．Crops hung down and withered ．Men's cries of suffering rose up from the burnt earth．The enraged Zeus soon found the cause of the trouble，and without hesitation gave one of his most powerful thunderbolts at the proud and careless boy．Phaeton dropped straight down into a river．Both parents were sad over the loss of their son．And his sisters，who were so unhappy with his untimely death，were changed into poplars and their tears ambers ．
1.untimely：Occurring too soon; premature:
38 The Apple of Discord
The wedding of Peleus and the sea-goddess Thetis were held and all gods were invited．But the absence of one goddess was clearly noticeable．It was Erls，the goddess of discord．As she planted seeds of discord wherever she went，it was natural that her presence at the ceremony was not desirable．She had good reason to feel angry．So she decided to make fun of the group at the party．Eris slipped into the hall after the couple left and rolled on the floor a golden apple ，having the words，“For the fairest”．It caused a violent quarrel among the three goddesses，Hera，Athena and Aphrodite．Zeus found it advisable to send them before a shepherd boy on Mt Ida，Paris by name，for judgment．Hermes，the messenger，took the apple in his hand and led the goddesses away．
Paris was son of Priam，king of Troy．As his mother dreamed at his birth that she was bearing a piece of burning wood，the babe was regarded as representing the destruction of the city itself．To save the kingdom from possible disaster，the parents had the helpless infant left on top of Mt Ida to die．However，he survived his ill fate ．Brought up by the herdsmen，he became a strong，handsome lad．He was secretly united with Oenone，a fair and faithful mountain fairy maiden．On this particular day，as he was taking care of his sheep on the mountainside，the youth was surprised to see four human beings standing before him．Hermes told him about his mission and left．The three holy beauties then competed with each other，showing themselves up before the shepherd．Hera promised to make him king of Asia．Athena undertook to help him get imperishable fame in war；whereas Aphrodite offered to secure for him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world．The primitive instinct of the boy thus moved，Aphrodite won the prize，and the other two goddesses left in anger and became deadly enemies of Troy． 1.Oenone: [希神]俄诺涅(特洛伊王子Paris初娶的山林水泽中女神)
39 Callisto
In the charming followers of Artemis there was a beautiful fairy maiden called Callis to．Zeus loved her passionately and often sought her company．Before the year was out she bore him a son，Arcas by name．He later became the ancestor of the Archadians．Zeus' frequent absences from Mt Olympus caused Hera's suspicions ．In time the vengeful queen discovered the truth and drew up an effective plan of paying back．One day Callisto suddenly found herself changed into a bear，with monstrous jaws and bloodshot eyes ．Still she remained human in heart．She immediately left her son and went into hiding in the forest． Years passed．Little Arcas had grown into a young man．He was hunting merrily in the woods one day when a large grey bear suddenly appeared before him．Both were amazed，he terrified at the sight of the frightening bear．The bear recognized that the young hunter was her own son．The young hunter aimed his spear at the slowly approaching bear and was about to pounce upon it．Just at that moment Zeus stepped in and stopped the foolish act．For he had not been able to find the whereabouts of his lovely mistress until quite recently．He had been secretly protecting her from all danger and harm．Now he turned his son into a little bear，and sent both mother and son into the high heavens．In there they have remained to this day，known as the Great and Little Bear ．
1.whereabouts: Approximate location:
40 Baucis and Philemon
As was the common practice with the gods of Olympus，Zeus and Hermes were visiting the world in disguise．One day they came to a village．At a thousand houses they knocked，and a thousand times they were refused rest and food and drink．At last they arrived at a humble cottage，where the old couple Baucis and her husband Philemon lived．Poor but at peace with world，they made the best of what life could offer them ，and felt truly grateful to the gods above．When the two travellers entered the hut，the old couple were glad with lively happiness．They offered their guests their best seat，and immediately set about preparing dinner for them．With no small difficulty they made fire，brought in a fresh cabbage，cut a fat piece of their long kept meat and put them over the fire to cook．The one single goose they were ready to kill for the visitors，but it was saved at the last minute by the guests．The dining bench was a makeshift ，poor and patched but the best they had．The table was supported by a brick．The feast was quite modest，eggs and wine and cottage cheese，and a variety of newly picked fruit．The old couple humbly waited on the visiting guests with sincere looks and eager goodwill．Moved at the hospitality of the house，the gods told their true identity．“We are gods”，said Zeus．“While the neighbour hood pays the penalty for its wickedness you shall be free from misfortune．Coming along with us”．When they were near the top of the hill，Bancis and Philemon looked back and saw all the village below covered by a marsh ，and that among the general ruin and destruction their old cottage alone survived，changed into a grand temple．At their request they were made the guardians of the sacred place of Zeus．When their span of worldly life came to an end they were turned into an ash and linden（菩提树），standing side by side in front of the temple． 1.marsh: 湿地, 沼泽, 沼泽地
41 Poseidon（Neptune）
Poseidon was son of Kronus and Rhea，and brother of Zeus．After the war with the Titans，he became the mighty and majestic god of the sea，ruling all the waters around the earth．He was considered to have the greatest power next to Zeus ．Poseidon ruled his kingdom with cold shaking．He could call up all the big winds and stir up or calm down the stormy oceans． with a trident in his hand ，he flew across the waves in a carriage drawn by horses with bronze hoofs and golden hairs．Although he had a seat on Olympus，he lived，most of the time，in his shining golden palace in the deeps of the oceans．
majestic: Having or showing lofty dignity or nobility; stately.
Poseidon was ambitious and aggressive ．Unhappy with the part of power given to him，he planned to throw down Zeus from his high position．The plan did not come off，and he was sent away to serve a human being on earth． with the help of Apollo he built the famous walls of Troy for king Laomedon．On one occasion he argued with Athena over the naming of the new city Athens and was forced to give in to the goddess of wisdom．On another he entered into a bitter dispute with Apollo over the king of Corinth and won the case in the end．
Poseidon's loves produced strange children．His wife bore him the children who were half man and half-fish in form．When Demeter did not like his attention and changed herself into a horse，shameless Poseidon turned himself into a horse to continue his seeking．Out of their love a wonderful horse，Arion byname，was born．This horse had the power of speech and was sure to
win all the carriage races in Greece．Poseidon robbed Theophane，a beautiful maiden，and taking her to an island，changed her into a sheep and himself into a ram(公羊)．As a result the golden-fleeced ram came into being． 1.fleeced: [纺](针织物)布面起绒的
42 Aphrodite(Venus)
Aphrodite was the goddess of extreme beauty．Her birth was a mysterious one．On one of those days when the
Olympians had begun to enjoy power in the universe，the floating bubbles of the sea glowed with holy brightness．Out of the wave rose a fair and lovely maiden，shining forth warmth and charm．She was then taken by the ocean fairy maiden to Cyprus which became her sacred island．Her beauty was beyond description，and she was rightly called the Beautiful．Over her deathless head was a golden crown，her eyes were deep and soft，and her brows warm．Her long hair flowed over her delicate neck and white bosom ．Her slender fingers and rosy-white feet all added to her attractive grace and elegance ．Her slim lily form of a figure caused both the enthusiastic admiration of the gods and the burning jealousy of the goddess when she first took her place on Olympus．
She was appointed goddess of Love and Marriage．Sitting in her carriage drawn by sparrows，doves or swans，she traveled far and wide to inspire love in the hearts of all nature and move man and beast and animal and plant to reproduction． with the help of her little son，Eros，the god of love，she made many a tale of happiness and sadness in the life of gods and men．Being less serious，she introduced the idea of free love into married life． She was never faithful to her husband Hephaestus． Her husband on one occasion caught her in a net as she was lying with Mars． Then he held them both up to fun in front of the gods．She was kind and responsible and was ever ready to help young lovers in trouble．She loved Adonis， breathed life into the statue of Galatea and lent a helping hand to young Hippomennes in his race．
43 Thisbe
Thisbe was a Babylonian maid．From her childhood she loved Pyramus who lived in the nearby house．But as the two families were not on good terms they were not al
lowed to meet one another．All they could do was to stand on each side of the wall and hear one another's loving voice． Moved by the young lovers， Aphrodite decided to give them help． One day to the joyful surprise of the pair， there appeared in the party wall a tiny crack through which they could speak to each other in a low voice and even exchange sweet kisses．As love's flame burnt ever hotter the lovers agreed to meet each other under a white mulberry(桑椹树) tree in the woods outside the city．Night came．Thisbe stole out and arrived first at the meeting-place．She was just looking around for her lover when a lioness appeared．The sight of the bloody jaws of the beast was enough to send the screaming girl running ， leaving her veil behind． The lioness did not care to chase， but cut the veil and made it dirt with its jaws and claws．Hearing the wild roaring and a sharp cry， Pyramus rushed on to the meeting place，sword in hand， only to find that both lioness and the girl had gone. His eyes fell on the dirty veil and he instantly guessed what had happened to his beloved．In despair he kissed the veil，drew his sword and plunged it into his
breast . The pouring blood turned the white mulberry tree into a dark purple．When This be returned to join her boy-friend，she found him rolling in his death pain．She showered tears and kisses on his cold pale face， hoping to get him back to life．He opened his eyes and tried to speak， but Death had come to lead him away． with a cry of anger，This be fell on Pyramus' sword and went to keep him company in the lower world．
44 Echo
Echo was a nymph who talked too much．She was very fond of having the last words．One day she spoke rudely to the great Hera，who said that for this offence Echo should never use her voice again，unless to repeat what she had just heard，but since she was very fond of last words，she might repeat the last words of others．This was almost as bad as if Hera had changed her into a parrot．Echo was very much ashamed，and hid herself in the forest．
Narcissus，a young man who had hair as yellow as gold and eyes as blue as the sky，——a very rare thing in Greece，where most people were very dark，——used to hunt in the forest where Echo was hiding．As she was looking out shyly from some cave or from behind a great tree，Echo often saw Narcissus，and she admired him very much．
One say Narcissus became separated from his friends，and hearing something rustle among the leaves，he called out，“Who's here？” “Here，” answered Echo．
“Here I am．Come！”said Narcissus.
“I am come，” said Echo；and，as she spoke，she came out from among the trees．
When Narcissus saw a stranger， instead of one of his friends as he had expected，he looked surprised and walked quickly away.
After this， Echo never came out and allowed herself to be seen again ，and in time she disappeared till she became only a voice．
This voice was heard for many，many years in forests and among mountains，particularly in caves．In their lonely walks，hunters often heard it．Sometimes it repeated the barking of their dogs；sometimes it repeated their own last words．It always had a strange and sad sound，and seemed to make lonely places more lonely still．
45 Hyacinthus
Hyacinthus was a beautiful Greek boy who was greatly loved by Apollo，Apollo often laid aside his golden lyre and his arrows，and came down from Mount Olympus to Join Hyacinthus in his boyish games．The two were often busy all day long，following the hunting dogs over the mountains or setting fish nets in the river or playing at various games．
Their favourite exercise was the throwing of the discus ．The discus was a heavy metal plate about a foot across， which was thrown somewhat as the round ring is thrown．One day Apollo threw the discus first，and sent it whirling high up among the clouds for the god had great strength．It came down in a fine，strong curve，and Hyacinthus ran to pick it up．Then as it fell on the hard earth，the discus bounded up again and struck the boy a cruel blow on his white forehead． Apollo turned as pale as Hyacinthus，but he could not undo what had been done．He could only hold his friend in his arms，and see his head bend down like a lily on a broken stem ，while the purple blood from his wound was dropping down to the earth．
英文版经典古希腊神话
