1.lily: 百合, 百合花, 洁白的东西, 纯洁的人
There was still one way by which Apollo could make Hyacinthus live，and this was to change him into a flower．So，quickly，before it was too late，he whispered over him certain words the gods knew，and Hyacinthus became a purple flower，a flower of the colour of the blood that had flowed from his forehead．As the flower unfolded，it showed a strange mark on its petals ，which looked like the Greek words meaning woe！woe！
Apollo never forgot his boy friend；but sang about him to the accompaniment of his wonderful lyre till the name of Hyacinthus was known and loved all over Greece．
46 Pan
Pan's Parentage was a problem Of long argument. But most writers of Greek mythology agree that he was the son of Hermes by the lovely fairy maiden Penelope．He was a cold，hairy country monster， with the upper part of a man and the body and legs of a goat．Wandering about in the mountains and woods with other wood gods and cheerful fairy maidens. Pan led a perfectly carefree life．He was admired as the god of woods and pastures ， with prophetic powers．He represented nature and country Iife．In old times he was honoured as a god who was good，just and holy．
Pan had a strong desire for women．At one time he loved a charming maiden，Syrinx，but to his disappointment his love was not returned．One day Syrinx left Pan with a fearful step ，which lighted Pan's love all the more．He ran after her and was almost overtaking her when she was turned，at her own request，into a clump of reeds by Mother Earth ．Pan wept bitterly at the change．Sadly he picked some pieces of the reeds and fashioned a pipe ．He played so sweetly on it that Apollo was helpless before him． 1.reed: n.芦苇, 芦笛, 簧片, 管乐器
At the time of the battle of Marathon Pan met the Athenian messenger to Sparta ．He asked the man to say to the Athenians that，although they did not like him，he still felt kindly towards them and would aid them in their difficulties．When fighting against enemies went on near Marathon，the Athenians were surprised to see that the Persian soldiers were suddenly seized with a mysterious fear and ran away from the field in disorder．The great Pan had struck into the hearts of the Persians a kind of fear．The fear has been ever since known as panic ．After the war the Athenians gratefully dedicated a temple to Pan ．The sacrifices and games were held in his honour．
47 Tithonus
Every day，when Helios drove his wonderful horses and his fiery carriage across the sky，it was Aurora who opened the gates of pearl and drew back the dark curtains of the night；for Aurora was the goddess of the dawn .She was so beautiful that the whole sky became pink with pleasure when she appeared in the east．
On the earth lived a man called Tithonus，who loved Aurora so well that he never failed to leave his bed while it was still dark，to watch for her coming．Aurora loved Tithonus too，and one day she flew to the king of the gods，and begged of him that Tithonus might be given a cup of magic liquid ，and so become living forever．
Zeus allowed this request， and Aurora took Tithonus up to Mount Olympus to live in her golden
house.
The goddess had forgotten to ask that Tithonus might never grow old．Therefore，the time came when gray hairs could be seen among his golden curls . Aurora was kind to him in spite of this，and continued to give him beautiful clothes，and to feed him on the food of the gods．Still， Tithonus grew older and older，and in time，after several hundred years，he was so old that he could not move at all．Little was left of him but his voice ，and even that had grown high and thin． Then he was so weak that he had to be shut up in a room，for safekeeping．Aurora felt so sorry to see him become weaker and weaker in this way that she changed him into a little insect，and sent him down to the earth again，where men called him the grasshopper．
Very glad to be free and active once more，Tithonus jumped about in the fields all day，chirping happily to Aurora.
48 Athena
On one occasion Zeus suffered a bad headache．All the gods，including Apollo，the god of medicine ，had tried uselessly to offer an effective treatment ．Then the father of gods and men asked Hephaestus to open his head．This the god of the fire did．To the wonder of all the Olympians，a goddess，well-grown and full-armed，came out of Zeus' head．The goddess was giving off light and splendor. She was Athena，goddess of wisdom and knowledge and patroness of Athens ．
The story of Athena becoming patron goddess of Athens concerns the struggle between the goddess and Poseidon．When the city of Athens was first built by a Phoenician ，both Poseidon and Athena competed for the honour of naming it．It was then agreed that whoever offered the most useful object for men would become the patron of the city．Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and produced a horse，whereas Athena had an olive tree to present，a symbol of peace and plenty．As the horse was regarded as struggle and sorrow， Athens was named after the goddess，who soon took the city under her protection．
Athena was the goddess of arts and crafts and woman' s hand work．She was so skilled with her hands that she tolerated no challenge to her skill in this respect ． A Lydian maid，Arachne by name，did not seem to think much of Athena's skill，for she frequently talked big that she could beat the goddess if she had the chance to do so．The goddess was quite angry．
Dressed up as an old woman，she went to advise Arachne to be modest．But the ignorant crafts woman bravely asked the goddess herself to come down and compete with her．At this the goddess took off her disguise and accepted the competition. The two women immediately set about making different designs．
While the goddess worked on the story of her rivalry with Poseidon，Arachne began to make a delicate web．When both pieces were finished，Arachne saw，to her surprise，that she had been beaten，for the goddess' design was infinitely better．She felt so shamed that she tied a piece of silk to hang herself．But Just before she breathed her last breath the goddess changed her into a spider and let her weave forever．
49 Marpessa
Marpessa was the only daughter of King Evenus．She was noble and graceful．From her childhood
she was trained by her father like a young hero and was not allowed to have any thought of love and marriage．To deal with the crowd of men who now rushed into his palace，the king proposed that a man have to beat him in a carriage race to win his daughter. Death would be the penalty for the loser ． The king was sure of his victory，for his horses came from Ares' stables ． Many young princes lost their lives．
Last came Idas，prince of Messenia. He was not discouraged by the fate of those men，because he had Poseidon on his side．Granting his prayers，the sea god had given him two fleet horses and advised him to take his reward as soon as he won the race and flee from the king's attack . He did as he had been told，and King Evenus，lost his own daughter，his only hope in life，drowned himself in a river．
Idas and Marpessa presently arrived at a riverside，where ldas put down his beloved to enjoy a bit of rest and food and drink．They spent the night in a temple nearby．When morning came，Idas found that Marpessa had been stolen by Apollo．He ran after the immortal god—Apollo，feeling quite ready to fight and die for his love．Apollo held his unescapable arrows ．Idaswent forward with his sword．The duel was about to start when suddenly they heard a thunderbolt round about，and Zeus himself arrived to stop the unequal contest．He gave the maiden the choice between immorality and eternal glory on one side and on the other a mortal life of faithful love mixed with endless cares and grieves ．Fearing infidelity on part of a god ，Marpessa turned down the sweet promises of Apollo and chose for her companion in life one capable of a like fate．Apollo left in bad spirits; Idas felt on top of the world ．
50 Niobe
Niobe，the queen of Thebes，had indeed good reason to be proud of her herself ．Both her father and mother were gods．Her husband was a capable and outstanding musician．And she was both wealthy and powerful．But what made her the happiest lady in the world was her fourteen children，seven manly sons and seven beautiful daughters．They were all so strong and fair that the whole world looked upon them with admiration．
It happened at the time that every spring the Theban women gathered at the temple of Leto to offer flowers at the altars of the great mother．She had given birth to two grand children，Apollo and Artemis．Her women showed a great deal of loyalty and respect to her．This made Niobe jealous and angry．When the nuns of Leto called the women again to the sacred place of the mistress of Zeus one spring，Niobe decided to put an end to the foolish act forever．In her pretty flowing robe she came to the women and blamed the crowd for their mad faith in a goddess．They had never seen this goddess．Niobe declared herself nobler and greater，and demanded to be admired in place of Leto，who，she said，was no more than a poor mother of two children．The frightened women were loyal to the queen，and left the sacred place in silence．Leto was neglected．
Standing on top of a hill overlooking Thebes ，Leto saw all this and was ready to pay back．She found out Apollo and Artemis and told them the story．Before long，the impatient Apollo arrived outside Thebes in hidden clouds．The seven sons of Niobe were playing on the ground，two riding horses and two wrestling while the other princes happily stood by．Appllo held out his bow．One by one the princes fell under his accurate shooting．Even the youngest，who prayed for mercy，was not spared．
Niobe was greatly changed．She was all sorrow and grief，but her rude spirit was not put
down．She came to the dead bodies of her sons with her daughters and let out a torrent of impolite words at Leto and her children．This time it was Artemls' turn to draw her bowstring ．Almost in a twinkling of an eye all the seven lively daughters fell，turning in their blood，and soon stopped to breathe．Nio be became numb of feeling ．She sat among the fourteen dead bodies，motionless，her eyes blank，her tears rolling down her cold face．Her bitter anger had turned her into a stone！Later，a gust of wind swept her to her homeland in Asia，where she could still be seen sitting on top of a hill，tears of bitterness streaming out of her strong eyes．
51 Helen
Helen was the most beautiful woman of the world．She was an infamous lady．She lighted the flames of the Trojan war and brought extreme destruction on the city of Troy．Helen was the daughter of Zeus．Helen's matchless beauty and charms drew towards her many heroes from all parts of Greece.
When still small she was carried off by Theseus，who wished to have a divine wife ．But she was rescued later by her brother Castor，and brought back to her native land．Her stepfather married her to Menelaus，king of Sparta．
Nothing of importance had happened to her married life until Paris came to visit Sparta．Helen was attracted by Paris' lovely face．They stole one another's love in the absence of Menelaus and then eloped on board a ship to Troy．Helen left her young daughter behind．To get Helen back，the Greek army sailed across and laid a long siege to the city of Troy ．
Helen was quietly weaving her story into a web of golden carpet one day when she was called up the city walls of Troy to look at the fighting between Menelaus and Paris．Menelaus was determined to kill Paris in the battle．Sitting by the side of King Priam，she told the chiefs of the Greek side to him．Tears of love filled up her eyes when she saw her first husband down below．After Paris fled the field she had the feelings of love and scorn．She encouraged Hector and Paris to take the field again and sincerely mourned the death of the true hero Hector. But when Odysseus and Diomedes came in disguise to steal the Palladium，she helped them to do so as much as she could．After Paris died in battle she became the wife of another son of Priam．
In the meantime Menelaus was anxiously searching for Helen in the ruined palaces of Troy．Aphrodite had made Helen more beautiful，so that，when he finally found her trembling in a corner，Menelaus was most unwilling to bring his sword down on her charming face．Menelaus felt secretly overjoyed to have his wife back again．Following Menelaus through the ruins of the city，Helen felt ashamed of her impure behaviour．And she was truly scared at the terrible fate she was to have in the Greek Camp．
Once more her beauty saved her．No one could bring him self to thrust his sword into such a charming and graceful lady．In the tent of Menelaus she threw herself at the feet of the Spartan king，asking for forgiveness ．Moved by the scene，Menelaus helped her up and let her forget the past．He held her in his arms while she had tears of grief and happiness．The pair loved each other like before and vanished in the far west．
51 海 伦
海伦是世上最美丽的女人。她也是一位臭名昭著的女人。她点燃了特洛伊的战火，并给特洛伊城造成了巨大的破坏。海伦是宙斯的女儿。她无可匹敌的美丽和魅力使希腊各地的英雄们都迷恋于她。她小的时候被提修斯掠走。提修斯想有一个神性的妻子。但后来海伦被其兄卡
斯特救出，带回到了故土。海伦的继父将她嫁给了斯巴达的国王墨涅劳斯。
在帕利斯来访斯巴达之前，海伦的婚姻生活比较平静。海伦被帕利斯可爱的面容迷住。当墨涅劳斯国王不在时，他们就相互偷情，之后一起乘船私奔到了特洛伊城。海伦将幼小的女儿留在了斯巴达。为了夺回海伦，希腊军队越过海峡，将特洛伊城紧紧包围。
一天正当海伦静静地将自己的经历编织成一块金色的 毯时，有人叫她在特洛伊城上观看墨涅劳斯和帕利斯的决斗。墨涅劳斯决心杀死帕利斯。坐在皮安姆国王旁边，她将希腊一方的首领告诉了国王。当她看到城墙下前夫的身影时，爱的热泪流满了眼帘。帕利斯战败逃离战场后，她的感觉是既爱又卑视。她鼓励海格特和帕利斯再次走上战场，并真诚地为真正的英雄海格特的死而哀痛。但当奥德修斯和狄俄墨德斯化装后来偷窃雅典娜神像时，她竭尽全力帮助了她们。帕利斯战死后，她成了皮安姆国王另一个儿子的妻子。 与此同时墨涅劳斯焦急地在毁坏的特洛伊宫中寻找海伦。爱神阿芙罗狄蒂使海伦变得更美丽了。结果当墨涅劳斯终于发现躲在角落中发抖的海伦时，极不情愿将利剑刺向她那迷人的面孔。而他内心正为夺回海伦暗自高兴，海伦跟随墨涅劳斯穿过特洛伊城的废墟，她深为自己的不洁行为感到耻辱。一想到自己将在希腊军营中遭受的命运，她就心惊胆颤。
她的美丽再次拯救了她。没有人能忍心将剑刺向令人销魂，妩媚动人的女子之身。在墨涅劳斯的帐篷中，海伦跪在斯巴达国王的脚下，乞求饶恕。看到眼前的情形，墨涅劳斯深受感动，他扶起海伦，让她忘掉过去的一切。墨涅劳斯将她抱起来时，海伦的两眼流出幸福与悲伤的泪水。他们俩像以前那样相爱，一同消失在遥远的西方。
英文版经典古希腊神话
