Chapter 23: The Greek Gods / 第二十三章：希腊诸神

The Golden Apple / 金苹果

The ancient Greeks may have lived in very different ways, but they all spoke the same language—Greek. And they all worshipped the same gods.

古代希腊人可能生活方式非常不同，但他们都说同一种语言——希腊语。他们都崇拜相同的神灵。

The Greeks were polytheists. Remember: Polytheists believed in many gods. Monotheists, like the Jews, only believed in one god.

希腊人是多神教徒。记住：多神教徒相信许多神。一神教徒，比如犹太人，只相信一个神。

The Greeks believed in a whole family of gods. They thought that these gods lived up on the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. And they also thought that the gods were very interested in what men were doing.

希腊人相信一整个神的家族。他们认为这些神生活在奥林匹斯山顶上，这是希腊最高的山峰。他们还认为神对人类在做什么非常感兴趣。

Sometimes the Greek gods were kind and helpful to men. But at other times, they were cruel. As a matter of fact, the chief god of the Greeks, Zeus, started a horrible war down on earth:

有时希腊的神对人类很善良很有帮助。但有时，他们很残忍。事实上，希腊人的首领神宙斯，在地球上引发了一场可怕的战争：

Zeus sat on the top of Mount Olympus and looked down over Greece. All over the countryside, he could see men, swarming like ants. Men cutting down trees, men building houses all over the beautiful green fields, men pulling fish out of the sea.

宙斯坐在奥林匹斯山顶俯视希腊。在整个乡村，他能看到人们像蚂蚁一样群集。人们砍伐树木，人们在美丽的绿色田野上到处建造房屋，人们从海里捕捞鱼。

Men killing deer for food, shooting birds for fun, and blocking up streams for water. Zeus sighed. "There are too many people on the earth," he said gloomily. "I should get rid of some of them."

人们杀鹿作为食物，为了乐趣射杀鸟类，还堵塞小溪取水。宙斯叹了口气。"地球上的人们太多了，"他忧郁地说。"我应该除掉一些。"

He thought and thought. And finally he came up with a plan. He knew that the gods were all going to a big wedding, and that it would be the perfect time to start a fight. So he made a golden apple, so beautiful that it made the sun look dim, and wrote around the top, "For the Most Beautiful."

他想啊想啊。最终他想出了一个计划。他知道所有神都要去参加一个盛大的婚礼，这将是挑起争斗的完美时机。于是他制作了一个金色的苹果，美丽得让太阳都显得暗淡，并在上面写道："献给最美丽的人。"

Then he called Eris, the goddess of strife. "Here," he said, "take this apple to the wedding, and drop it on the floor in front of my wife Hera."

然后他叫来了厄里斯，争斗的女神。"拿着，"他说，"把这个苹果带到婚礼上，扔在我妻子赫拉面前的地板上。"

Eris liked to cause trouble. So she took the apple to the wedding, and waited until Hera and two other goddesses were standing next to each other, chatting. Then she rolled the apple over to Hera. It bumped against Hera's toes, and she picked it up.

厄里斯喜欢制造麻烦。于是她把苹果带到婚礼上，等到赫拉和另外两个女神站在一起聊天时。然后她把苹果滚向赫拉。苹果撞到了赫拉的脚趾，她捡了起来。

"For the Most Beautiful!" she read. "Why, thank you! That's obviously me!" But the two goddesses with her disagreed. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, twirled her shining golden hair around one hand and blinked her huge blue eyes.

"献给最美丽的人！"她读道。"哦，谢谢你！那显然是我！"但和她在一起的两个女神不同意。阿芙罗狄蒂，爱情女神，用一只手转动着她闪亮的金色头发，眨着她巨大的蓝色眼睛。

"Hera, my dear," she said sweetly, "I think the apple must be for me." "Oh, no," put in Athena, the goddess of war. She reached for the apple. "The apple is obviously for me." "No!" Hera snapped, clutching the apple. "It's mine!"

"赫拉，亲爱的，"她甜甜地说，"我觉得苹果一定是给我的。""哦，不，"战争女神雅典娜插话说。她伸手去拿苹果。"苹果显然是给我的。""不！"赫拉厉声说道，紧紧抓住苹果。"是我的！"

The wedding guests all started to argue about which of the goddesses was the most beautiful. But then Hera said, "I know. Let's ask my husband to judge which of us deserves the apple. After all, he is the chief of the gods."

婚礼的客人们都开始争论哪个女神最美丽。但后来赫拉说："我知道了。让我们请我的丈夫来判断我们中谁应得这个苹果。毕竟，他是众神之首。"

Zeus was standing innocently by the punch bowl. "What?" he said. "How can I judge my own wife? No, no. You must ask a mortal man to judge you. Ask Paris, the prince of Troy. He's the handsomest man on earth, so surely he can decide who is most beautiful among the goddesses."

宙斯无辜地站在饮料碗旁。"什么？"他说。"我怎么能判断我自己的妻子？不，不。你们必须请一个凡人男子来判断你们。问问帕里斯，特洛伊的王子。他是地球上最英俊的男人，所以他肯定能决定女神中谁最美丽。"

Paris was lying happily on a mountainside, staring at the sky without a care in the world, when the three goddesses suddenly appeared in front of him with the apple in hand. They demanded that he judge them. Which was the most beautiful?

帕里斯正快乐地躺在山坡上，凝视着天空，无忧无虑，这时三个女神突然出现在他面前，手里拿着苹果。她们要求他评判她们。哪一个最美丽？

"Hmm," Paris said, wondering whether one of them would strike him dead if he chose the wrong goddess. "Well, let me see…" "Pick me," whispered Hera, "and I'll make you the king of the whole world of men." "Really?" Paris said.

"嗯，"帕里斯说，心想如果他选错了女神，其中一个会不会把他打死。"好吧，让我看看……""选我，"赫拉低语道，"我会让你成为全人类世界的国王。""真的吗？"帕里斯说。

"No, no," hissed Athena. "Pick me, and I'll give you victory in every battle you ever fight!" "That would be wonderful!" Paris said. "Wait!" said Aphrodite. "Pick me, Paris, and I will give you the most beautiful woman on earth."

"不，不，"雅典娜嘶声说道。"选我，我会让你在每一场战斗中都获得胜利！""那太棒了！"帕里斯说。"等等！"阿芙罗狄蒂说。"选我，帕里斯，我会给你地球上最美丽的女人。"

Paris's eyes lit up. "That's what I want!" he said, and gave the apple to Aphrodite. Aphrodite went back to Mount Olympus, with Hera and Athena behind her, grumbling and complaining. There, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, fall in love with Paris.

帕里斯的眼睛亮了起来。"这就是我想要的！"他说，把苹果给了阿芙罗狄蒂。阿芙罗狄蒂回到奥林匹斯山，赫拉和雅典娜在她身后抱怨着。在那里，阿芙罗狄蒂让世界上最美丽的女人海伦爱上了帕里斯。

As soon as she saw him, she was his forever. And she ran away to live with him in Troy. Unfortunately, Helen was already married—to Menelaus, the king of the Greeks! Menelaus was furious. And he called on the gods to help him fight against Troy, defeat Paris, and get his wife back.

她一看到他，就永远属于他了。她逃跑去特洛伊和他一起生活。不幸的是，海伦已经结婚了——嫁给了希腊人的国王墨涅劳斯！墨涅劳斯愤怒极了。他呼唤神来帮助他对抗特洛伊，击败帕里斯，夺回他的妻子。

Hera was still angry with Paris, so she chose to fight against Troy. Aphrodite was on Troy's side. The sun god decided to be on Troy's side as well. Poseidon, the god of the sea, wanted to see Troy destroyed. And so it went; all of the gods lined up for or against Troy, as the Greeks sailed to attack it.

赫拉仍然对帕里斯愤怒，所以她选择对抗特洛伊。阿芙罗狄蒂站在特洛伊一边。太阳神也决定站在特洛伊一边。海神波塞冬希望看到特洛伊被摧毁。就这样；当希腊人航行去攻击特洛伊时，所有的神都选边站队支持或反对特洛伊。

And so the Trojan War began, and lasted for years and years of bloodshed and death—all because of Zeus and his golden apple.

于是特洛伊战争开始了，持续了多年的流血和死亡——这一切都因为宙斯和他的金苹果。

[原书插图：宙斯肖像图]

[原书插图：阿芙罗狄蒂女神图]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

希腊神话词汇 / Greek Mythology Vocabulary

Zeus

/zuːs/

中文：宙斯
定义：Greek chief god, king of the gods
例句：Zeus ruled all the gods from Mount Olympus.

Aphrodite

/æfrəˈdaɪti/

中文：阿芙罗狄蒂
定义：Greek goddess of love and beauty
例句：Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman.

Athena

/əˈθiːnə/

中文：雅典娜
定义：Greek goddess of wisdom and war
例句：Athena offered victory in battle to Paris.

Hera

/ˈhɪrə/

中文：赫拉
定义：Greek queen of the gods, Zeus's wife
例句：Hera was angry when Paris didn't choose her.

polytheists

/ˈpɒliθiːɪsts/

中文：多神教徒
定义：People who believe in many gods
例句：The ancient Greeks were polytheists.

monotheists

/ˈmɒnəʊθiːɪsts/

中文：一神教徒
定义：People who believe in one god
例句：Jews were monotheists, unlike the Greeks.

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

ancient

/ˈeɪnʃənt/

中文：古代的
定义：Very old, from long ago
例句：Ancient Greeks lived thousands of years ago.

language

/ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/

中文：语言
定义：System of communication using words
例句：All Greeks spoke the same language.

family

/ˈfæməli/

中文：家族
定义：Group of related people
例句：The gods were like one big family.

mountain

/ˈmaʊntɪn/

中文：山峰
定义：Very high piece of land
例句：Mount Olympus was the highest mountain in Greece.

wedding

/ˈwedɪŋ/

中文：婚礼
定义：Ceremony where people get married
例句：All the gods went to the big wedding.

apple

/ˈæpəl/

中文：苹果
定义：Round fruit that grows on trees
例句：Zeus made a beautiful golden apple.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities

worshipped

/ˈwɜːrʃɪpt/

中文：崇拜
定义：Showed love and respect to gods
例句：Greeks worshipped many different gods.

believed

/bɪˈliːvd/

中文：相信
定义：Thought something was true
例句：Greeks believed in many gods.

judge

/dʒʌdʒ/

中文：判断
定义：Make a decision about something
例句：Paris had to judge which goddess was most beautiful.

argue

/ˈɑːrɡjuː/

中文：争论
定义：Disagree and discuss angrily
例句：The wedding guests argued about beauty.

defeat

/dɪˈfiːt/

中文：击败
定义：Win against an enemy in battle
例句：Menelaus wanted to defeat Paris.

swarming

/ˈswɔːrmɪŋ/

中文：群集
定义：Moving together in large groups
例句：People were swarming like ants across the land.

情感描述词汇 / Emotional & Descriptive Words

kind

/kaɪnd/

中文：善良的
定义：Friendly and caring
例句：Sometimes the gods were kind to humans.

cruel

/kruːəl/

中文：残忍的
定义：Mean and causing pain
例句：Other times the gods were cruel.

beautiful

/ˈbjuːtɪfəl/

中文：美丽的
定义：Very pretty to look at
例句：The golden apple was incredibly beautiful.

furious

/ˈfjʊriəs/

中文：愤怒的
定义：Extremely angry
例句：Menelaus was furious when Helen left.

golden

/ˈɡoʊldən/

中文：金色的
定义：Made of or colored like gold
例句：Aphrodite had shining golden hair.

gloomily

/ˈɡluːməli/

中文：忧郁地
定义：In a sad and dark way
例句：Zeus spoke gloomily about too many people.

📊 本章处理统计 / Chapter Processing Statistics

✅ 段落总数: 20个段落 / Total paragraphs: 20
✅ 词汇标注: 68个关键词汇 / Vocabulary annotations: 68 keywords
✅ 词汇表卡片: 24张卡片 / Vocabulary cards: 24 cards
✅ 词汇分类: 4个类别 / Vocabulary categories: 4 categories
✅ 发音功能: 完整实现 / Pronunciation feature: Fully implemented
✅ 原书插图标记: 2处 / Illustration markers: 2 locations
✅ 双语对照格式: 标准实现 / Bilingual format: Standard implementation