Greek Mythology
希腊神话
希腊神话是原始氏族社会的精神产物，是欧洲最早的文学形式。大约产生于公元前8世纪以前，它在希腊原始居民长期口头相传的基础上形成基本规模，后来在“荷马史诗”和赫西俄德的《神普》及古希腊的诗歌、戏剧、历史、哲学等著作中记录下来，后人将它们整理成现在的古希腊神话故事，包括神的故事和英雄传说两部。
Realize the Greek Mythology
认识希腊神话
1希腊神话起源
Most Greek myths or legends are from ancient Greek literature， including Iliad and Odyssey in Homeric Epic， Hesiod’s Work and Days， Austria Vader’s The Metamorphosis and other classics， as well as the opera of Aeschylus， Sophocles and Euripides。 Myths are about the origin of the gods and the world， competition for the highest position and the God Zeus’ final victory of the struggle， as well as the love and quarrel， impaction of Gods’ adventure and power on the normal world， including storms or other natural phenomena and the relationship between places of worship and ritual。
The most famous Greek myths are the Trojan War and Odysseus’s travels， Jason find the Golden Fleece， Hercules’ achievements， Theseus’ adventure and Edipusri’s tragedy。
Most Greek myths or legends are from the ancient Greek civilization， like China’s Shang and Zhou civilization。 They are the ancestors of Western civilization， with excellent nature and extraordinary imagination。 In that primitive era， they felt mysterious and obscure of natural phenomena， human life and death。 So they kept dreaming， kept meditating。 In their imagination， all things have life in the world。 However， after the Dorians invaded the Aegean civilization， because Greek peninsula is overpopulational， they had to expand living space。 In that time they worship heroes， thus creating many national hero stories。 The people， the God， the story material created， quenched by the time， are called as “Greek Mythology” according to the historians。
The Greeks were polytheistic in their religious beliefs。 Polytheistic means they believed in and worshiped many different gods。 In Greek mythology， the gods often represented different forms of nature。 Their religion had no formal structure with the exception of various festivals held in honor of the gods。 There was no sacred book or code of conduct to live by。 The most powerful Greek gods were known as the Olympians。 The Greeks believed the Olympians lived on the highest mountain in Greece， Mount Olympus。 The Olympian gods included： Zeus， Hera， Apollo， Aphrodite， Ares， Artemis， Athena， Demeter， Hades， Hermes， Hephaestus， Poseidon and Hestia or later she was replaced in some lists by Dionysus。
2希腊神话里主要的神
宙斯Zeus－King of the Gods
赫拉Hera－Queen of Zeus
阿芙洛狄忒Aphrodite－goddess of love and beauty阿波罗Apollo－god of light， truth， healing， archery，music， poetry
阿瑞斯Ares－god of war
阿尔忒弥斯Artemis－goddess of hunt， moon， children andgood citizenship
德墨忒尔Demeter－goddess of grain， agriculture， fertility狄俄尼索斯Dionysus－god of wine， vegetation， and theater哈迪斯Hades－god of the underworld
赫淮斯托斯Hephaestus－god of forge and fire赫斯提亚Hestia－goddess of the hearth and home波塞冬Poseidon－god of the sea， earthquakes， and horses希腊神话寄托了人们的很多愿望，当人从现实生活中得不到时，就会希望神的帮助来实现梦想。它是古代劳动人民的信仰。随着时间的推移，一些神话被流传下来，无论那个神话可信还是不可信，重要的是我们都能找到自己所寄予的那一段就行了。
Key words ＆ Sentences
关键词句全知道
Greek mythology is a group of traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks about the deeds of gods， heroes and their relations with human beings。
希腊神话讲了很多古希腊的故事，有神、英雄的故事以及他们和普通人之间的关系。
The Greek mythology is an important part of the ancient culture which has vast and deep influence on the whole western culture。
希腊神话是古文化重要的一部分，与整个西方文化有着广泛而又紧密的联系。
Its great influence upon the English language and literature is beyond description。 A great number of words and idioms in the English language come from the Greek mythology。
它在英语和文学作品方面的巨大影响力是无法形容的。英语中的很多单词和语言表达方式都是来自希腊神话。
In the beginning， the universe is a cosmos evolving from Chaos。 Chaos and Gaea （the earth） generate everything that exists， including seas， mountains， gods and monsters。 Then Gaea’s mating with her son Uranus （the sky）， which produces 12 Titans with Gronus as their leader。
宇宙之初，只有卡俄斯（即“混沌”）。卡俄斯和盖亚（大地）创造了大海、大山、神还有妖怪，并赋予它们生命。后来盖亚与她的儿子乌拉诺斯（天空）结婚，由此产生了以克罗诺斯为首的12泰坦。
Advised and helped by his mother， Grouns beats his father Uranus， and severs the link between sky and earth。 Then he becomes the new king of the cosmos。 Gronus copulates with his sister， Rhea to bring about Zeus and siblings， the future of older Olympians。
克罗诺斯在他母亲的建议和帮助下打败了他的父亲乌拉诺斯，分开了天地间的连接，成为了宇宙的新首领。克罗诺斯与他的姐姐瑞亚结婚，诞生了宙斯以及他的兄弟姐妹，翻开了古奥林匹亚崭新的一页。
In Greek mythology， Prometheus brought fire to mankind and as a result enraged the king of the gods。
在希腊神话中，普罗米修斯给人类带来了火，结果激怒了众神之王。
In Greek mythology， the gods often represented different forms of nature。
在希腊神话中，神往往代表了不同的人性。
The most powerful Greek gods were known as the Olympians。
最强大的希腊众神被称为奥运匹亚神。
Myths exist in almost every ancient culture。 You can find myths not only from Ancient Greece and Rome， but from Africa， Native American， Egypt， Japan， China and many more cultures。
每一个古老的文化都会有神话的存在。不仅有来自希腊和罗马的，也有来自非洲、印第安人、埃及、日本、中国的。
The Greeks used mythology to explain what they did not understand。
希腊人用神话来解释他们不明白的事物。
The 5th－century－BC Greek historian Herodotus remarked that Homer and Hesiod gave to the Olympian gods their familiar characteristics。
公元前第5世纪，希腊历史学家希罗多德表示，荷马和赫西奥德让他们了解了奥林匹亚众神的特点。
Famous events in epics， such as the Trojan War， were generally regarded as having really happened， and heroes and heroines were believed to have actually lived。
著名的史诗事件，如特洛伊战争，被普遍视为真的发生了，英雄和女英雄相信是真的存在。
Let’s Talk！
开始交流吧！
Lily： Long time no see， where are you going？
莉莉：好久不见，你要去哪啊？
Tom： I am going to the library to borrow some books now。
汤姆：我现在去图书馆借本书。
Lily： What books do you like to read？
莉莉：你喜欢看什么书啊？
Tom： I like a lot of books， ah， but my favorite books are about Greek mythology。
汤姆：我喜欢看的书很多啊，但我最喜欢看希腊神话方面的书籍了。
Lily： I also like to read those books。 I think that the things in the books are amazing。
莉莉：我也喜欢看啊。我觉得里面讲的事情都很神奇。
Tom： Yes， people inside have different spells， I feel myself as a man of spells while I am reading。
汤姆：是啊，里面的人都有不同的法术，我看着看着就把自己也想成有法术的人了。
Lily： It is interesting， indeed。 When I read these stories， I leave all things behind my head。
莉莉：它确实很吸引人，我一看这些故事，就把其他的都忘了。
Tom： Which is your favorite god in the book？
汤姆：你最喜欢里面的哪个神啊？