Chapter 25 - Alexander the Great / 第二十五章 - 亚历山大大帝

Philip and His Son / 菲利普和他的儿子

If the Greek cities had stayed friends and allies, like they were when they fought against the Persians, Greece would have been a strong country.

如果希腊城邦一直保持朋友和盟友关系，就像他们对抗波斯人时那样，希腊本来会成为一个强大的国家。

But instead, Sparta and Athens fought. They were like brothers who were too busy arguing with each other to notice that a bully is coming.

但相反，斯巴达和雅典发生了战争。他们就像兄弟一样，太忙于彼此争论，没有注意到霸凌者正在逼近。

In this case, the bully was a king named Philip, who ruled a country called Macedonia. Philip noticed that Athens and Sparta had become weaker and weaker after years of battle. And so he came down into Greece with his army and conquered the Greek cities.

在这种情况下，这个霸凌者是一个名叫菲利普的国王，他统治着一个叫马其顿的国家。菲利普注意到雅典和斯巴达经过多年的战斗变得越来越虚弱。于是他带着军队南下希腊，征服了希腊城邦。

Now Philip ruled Macedonia and Greece. But he wanted even more cities. He wanted to sail across the Aegean Sea to Asia Minor and take over the Persian Empire as well. But before he could attack Persia, Philip died. And his son Alexander took over his throne.

现在菲利普统治着马其顿和希腊。但他想要更多的城市。他想要航行穿越爱琴海到达小亚细亚，并且占领波斯帝国。但在他能够攻击波斯之前，菲利普死了。他的儿子亚历山大继承了他的王位。

Do you know what the name Alexander means? It means "ruler of men." Alexander became the most famous "ruler of men" ever. He was known by the whole world as "Alexander the Great."

你知道亚历山大这个名字是什么意思吗？它的意思是"统治者的人们"。亚历山大成为了史上最著名的"人民统治者"。全世界都知道他是"亚历山大大帝"。

Alexander had always been an unusual boy. Even as a child, he was strong and brave. Nothing scared him. When he was still a small boy, he went with his father Philip to look at a warhorse that Philip wanted to buy.

亚历山大一直是一个不寻常的男孩。甚至当他还是个孩子时，他就强壮而勇敢。没有什么能吓到他。当他还是个小男孩时，他和父亲菲利普一起去看一匹菲利普想要购买的战马。

The horse, a huge black stallion named Bucephalus, bucked and kicked constantly. No one could ride him.

这匹马，一匹名叫布塞法洛斯的巨大黑色种马，不停地跳跃和踢蹬。没人能骑上它。

"He's too wild," King Philip said. "I don't want him. I would never be able to manage him." "I can ride him!" Alexander said. "Nonsense!" Philip said. "You're too little." "But I can!" Alexander insisted. "If you can ride him, I'll buy him for you," Philip promised.

"它太野性了，"菲利普国王说。"我不要它。我永远无法驾驭它。" "我能骑它！"亚历山大说。 "胡说！"菲利普说。"你太小了。" "但我可以！"亚历山大坚持说。 "如果你能骑它，我就买给你，"菲利普承诺道。

Alexander had been watching Bucephalus carefully. He noticed the horse kicked and reared whenever the sun threw his shadow on the ground in front of him. Alexander thought that the huge stallion was frightened of his shadow. So he walked fearlessly up to the horse, took his bridle, and turned him so that he couldn't see his shadow.

亚历山大一直在仔细观察布塞法洛斯。他注意到每当太阳把它的影子投射在前面的地上时，这匹马就会跳跃和后退。亚历山大认为这匹巨大的种马害怕它的影子。于是他无畏地走向这匹马，抓住它的笼头，并转动它，让它看不见自己的影子。

Instantly, Bucephalus stood still. He allowed Alexander to mount him and ride him around. Philip bought the horse for Alexander. And when Alexander became king after his father's death, the great black stallion Bucephalus always carried him into battle. He even named a city after his horse. He called it Bucephela!

布塞法洛斯立刻静止了下来。它允许亚历山大骑上它并骑着它转圈。菲利普为亚历山大买下了这匹马。当亚历山大在父亲死后成为国王时，这匹伟大的黑色种马布塞法洛斯总是载着他征战沙场。他甚至以他的马的名字命名了一座城市。他称它为布塞法拉！

Alexander had many opportunities to ride his warhorse into battle. His father Philip had conquered Greece, but Alexander had even larger goals in mind. He wanted to rule Persia. The Persians had given up trying to conquer Greece, but their empire was still the largest in the world. It stretched all the way from Asia Minor to India. And Alexander wanted it.

亚历山大有很多机会骑着他的战马征战沙场。他的父亲菲利普已经征服了希腊，但亚历山大心中有着更大的目标。他想统治波斯。波斯人已经放弃了征服希腊的尝试，但他们的帝国仍然是世界上最大的。它延伸从小亚细亚一直到印度。亚历山大想要得到它。

When Alexander met the Persian army in Asia Minor, he used his cavalry—soldiers riding on horseback—to push the Persians back. Asia Minor was now his. But could he conquer the rest of the Persian Empire?

当亚历山大在小亚细亚遇到波斯军队时，他使用他的骑兵——骑在马背上的士兵——来击退波斯人。小亚细亚现在是他的了。但他能征服波斯帝国的其余部分吗？

According to one story, Alexander stopped at a city in Asia Minor and saw there, in the city's center, a chariot tied to its axle with a huge, complicated knot of rope, larger than a man's head. "What is that?" he asked. "That is the Gordian Knot," the people told him. "We have a legend about it. The man who loosens that knot will rule all the rest of Asia. But it is impossible to untie the knot. Hundreds of men have tried, and no one has ever succeeded!"

根据一个故事，亚历山大在小亚细亚的一座城市停下来，在城市中心看到了一辆战车，用一个巨大、复杂的绳结系在车轴上，比人头还大。"那是什么？"他问。 "那是戈尔迪之结，"人们告诉他。"关于它我们有一个传说。能解开那个结的人将统治亚洲的其余部分。但解开这个结是不可能的。数百个人都试过，但没有人曾经成功过！"

Alexander studied the knot carefully. Then he took out his sword and sliced the knot in half. "There," he said. "I have loosened the knot." No one had ever thought of doing that before. But the prophecy of the knot came true. Alexander conquered all the rest of Asia. He went south into Egypt and was crowned the pharaoh of Egypt. And then he came back up into Mesopotamia and took over the rest of the Persian Empire.

亚历山大仔细研究了这个结。然后他拔出剑，将结劈成两半。 "好了，"他说。"我已经解开了这个结。" 之前从没有人想过这样做。但关于这个结的预言成真了。亚历山大征服了亚洲的其余部分。他南下进入埃及，被加冕为埃及的法老。然后他回到美索不达米亚，占领了波斯帝国的其余部分。

[原书插图：Alexander and Bucephalus - 亚历山大与布塞法洛斯]

Now Alexander was king of more land than anyone else had ever ruled. He was truly "Alexander the Great"—the ruler of the largest empire the world had ever seen.

现在亚历山大是比任何人都曾统治过更多土地的国王。他真正成为了"亚历山大大帝"——世界有史以来见过的最大帝国的统治者。

Alexander's Invasions / 亚历山大的入侵

When Alexander the Great arrived at the edge of the Persian Empire, he wanted to keep going. He wanted to conquer all of India. Alexander's army began to invade India. Alexander learned how to use elephants in combat. And his soldiers won most of their battles.

当亚历山大大帝到达波斯帝国的边界时，他想要继续前进。他想要征服整个印度。亚历山大的军队开始入侵印度。亚历山大学会了如何在战斗中使用大象。他的士兵赢得了大多数战役。

But the Indians who fought against Alexander were fierce warriors as well. Even though the soldiers from Macedonia won many battles, more and more of them died claiming these victories. Finally, Alexander's army mutinied. After a particularly difficult battle, in which over a thousand soldiers were killed or badly wounded, the army refused to go any further.

但与亚历山大作战的印度人也是凶猛的战士。尽管来自马其顿的士兵赢得了许多战役，但越来越多的人在争取这些胜利时死去。最终，亚历山大的军队叛变了。在一场特别困难的战斗后，超过一千名士兵阵亡或严重受伤，军队拒绝再往前走。

"Be content with what you have!" they told Alexander. "We don't want to go on dying to make your empire bigger." Alexander didn't want to stop. He stayed in his tent, sulking. He refused to see anyone, hoping that his army would change its mind. But the men were firm: They would not fight in India any longer.

"对你所拥有的感到满足吧！"他们告诉亚历山大。"我们不想继续死亡来让你的帝国更大。" 亚历山大不想停止。他待在帐篷里生闷气。他拒绝见任何人，希望他的军队会改变主意。但士兵们很坚定：他们不会在印度再战斗下去了。

Finally Alexander agreed. He gave up trying to take over the rest of India. Instead, he put his energy into running the huge kingdom he already had. Alexander wanted the people of the future to remember what a great ruler he was. And he knew that cities last for years and years. So he built new cities all over his empire. He named many of these cities after himself: Alexandria.

最终亚历山大同意了。他放弃了试图占领印度其余部分的想法。相反，他把精力投入到管理他已经拥有的巨大王国中。亚历山大希望未来的人们记住他是多么伟大的统治者。他知道城市会持续很多很多年。所以他在整个帝国建造新城市。他以自己的名字命名了许多这样的城市：亚历山德里亚。

[原书插图：The Empire of Alexander the Great - 亚历山大大帝的帝国版图]

Some of these cities still stand today. Just as Alexander intended, they remind us that Alexander the Great was the greatest conqueror of ancient times—and ruled over the hugest empire that the world had ever seen. The most famous city called Alexandria is in Egypt. Alexandria was built near the Nile River and the Mediterranean Sea, so that merchants could reach it easily by ship.

其中一些城市今天仍然存在。正如亚历山大所意图的，它们提醒我们亚历山大大帝是古代时期最伟大的征服者——并且统治着世界有史以来见过的最大帝国。最著名的叫亚历山德里亚的城市在埃及。亚历山德里亚建在尼罗河和地中海附近，这样商人可以乘船轻易到达那里。

Alexander himself marked out the city's walls, but he died before he could see any of the city's buildings. But after his death, Alexandria became the greatest city in the world. Many famous scholars and writers lived in Alexandria. It became a center for art, music, and learning. Today, Alexandria is still a big and important city.

亚历山大亲自规划了城市的城墙，但他在能看到城市的任何建筑之前就死了。但在他死后，亚历山德里亚成为了世界上最伟大的城市。许多著名的学者和作家住在亚历山德里亚。它成为了艺术、音乐和学问的中心。今天，亚历山德里亚仍然是一个大而重要的城市。

Just outside Alexandria was the biggest lighthouse in the world. It was called the Pharos, and it was 330 feet tall. Ships could see it from miles away. They used its light to sail safely into the harbor of Alexandria.

亚历山德里亚城外有世界上最大的灯塔。它叫做法罗斯灯塔，有330英尺高。船只从数英里外就能看到它。它们利用它的光线安全地驶入亚历山德里亚的港口。

Do you remember reading about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? These were seven amazing sights of ancient times. We learned that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Great Pyramid are two of the Seven Wonders. The Pharos is the third. No one had ever seen a lighthouse as large as this one.

你还记得读过关于古代世界七大奇迹的内容吗？这些是古代时期七个令人惊奇的景观。我们了解到巴比伦空中花园和大金字塔是七大奇迹中的两个。法罗斯灯塔是第三个。没有人见过像这个一样大的灯塔。

The Pharos was destroyed long, long ago. No pictures of the Pharos survive from ancient times. But only a few years ago, divers found huge chunks of stone at the bottom of Alexandria's harbor. This stone may be all that is left of the Pharos.

法罗斯灯塔在很久很久以前就被摧毁了。没有古代时期的法罗斯灯塔图片留存下来。但仅仅几年前，潜水员在亚历山德里亚港口底部发现了巨大的石块。这些石头可能就是法罗斯灯塔所剩的全部了。

The Death of Alexander / 亚历山大的死亡

Alexander the Great became king when he was only twenty. Most people today haven't even finished college when they are twenty. But at this young age, Alexander inherited a throne and all the responsibilities of a ruler.

亚历山大大帝在仅仅二十岁时就成为了国王。今天大多数人在二十岁时甚至还没有完成大学学业。但在这个年轻的年纪，亚历山大继承了王位和统治者的所有责任。

It only took Alexander eleven years to spread his empire all across the ancient world. One story tells us that when Alexander was still young, he burst into tears one day because there was no more of the world left to conquer. He had already conquered it all.

亚历山大只用了十一年就将他的帝国扩展到整个古代世界。有一个故事告诉我们，当亚历山大还年轻时，有一天他突然流下眼泪，因为世界上没有更多的地方可以征服了。他已经征服了所有地方。

What would Alexander the Great have done next? We will never know, because Alexander died suddenly when he was only thirty-two. He was planning on taking an expedition with his army when he began to feel weak. He decided to wait a day or two until he felt better. "Go ahead and make all the preparations," he told his generals. "We will go as soon as I feel better."

亚历山大大帝接下来会做什么？我们永远不会知道了，因为亚历山大在仅仅三十二岁时突然去世了。他正计划带着军队进行一次远征，这时他开始感到虚弱。他决定等一两天直到感觉好一些。"继续做所有的准备，"他告诉将军们。"我一感觉好些我们就出发。"

But that day never came. Alexander got weaker and weaker. Finally, he was too weak to speak. His generals came to see him, but Alexander could only move his eyes. The next day he died. No one knows exactly why he died. Some people think he might have been poisoned by one of his generals who wanted his power. Others say that he probably died of malaria—a fever caused by mosquitoes who carry certain kinds of germs. We will never know for sure.

但那一天永远没有到来。亚历山大变得越来越虚弱。最终，他虚弱得无法说话。他的将军们来看他，但亚历山大只能转动眼睛。第二天他死了。没人确切知道他为什么死了。有些人认为他可能被想要夺取他权力的某个将军毒死了。其他人说他可能死于疟疾——一种由携带特定细菌的蚊子引起的发热。我们永远不会确切知道。

Alexander's body was put into a glass coffin and taken back to the city of Alexandria. The coffin was placed into a stone sarcophagus, there in Alexandria. Alexander's generals knew that no one else could keep control of Alexander's large empire. Only Alexander could manage to rule such a huge kingdom. So they divided it up.

亚历山大的遗体被放入玻璃棺材中，运回亚历山德里亚城。棺材被放置在亚历山德里亚的一个石制石棺中。亚历山大的将军们知道没有其他人能控制亚历山大的庞大帝国。只有亚历山大能设法统治如此巨大的王国。所以他们将它分割了。

One of the generals took Macedonia and the northern part of Alexander's kingdom in Asia Minor. Another general, named Ptolemy I, took over Egypt. His family would rule Egypt for three hundred years. Ptolemy was responsible for finishing the city of Alexandria; he built a huge library in Alexandria and filled it with books. A third general, named Seleucus, took over the southern part of Asia Minor and Alexander's lands in Asia, almost all the way over to India. The descendents of Seleucus were called the Seleucids, or the Syrians.

其中一个将军占领了马其顿和亚历山大在小亚细亚王国的北部。另一个将军，名叫托勒密一世，接管了埃及。他的家族统治埃及长达三百年。托勒密负责完成亚历山德里亚城的建设；他在亚历山德里亚建造了一座巨大的图书馆并用书籍填满了它。第三个将军，名叫塞琉古，接管了小亚细亚南部和亚历山大在亚洲的土地，几乎一直延伸到印度。塞琉古的后代被称为塞琉古王朝，或叙利亚人。

Now Alexander's great empire had become three separate kingdoms, with three kings fighting for power. Alexander had brought a very brief time of peace by uniting different cities and nations into one country. But that time of peace was over. Alexander's three generals and their descendents would spend the next hundred years fighting over control of different parts of Alexander's old kingdom.

现在亚历山大的伟大帝国变成了三个独立的王国，三个国王争夺权力。亚历山大通过将不同的城市和民族统一为一个国家，带来了非常短暂的和平时期。但那个和平时期结束了。亚历山大的三个将军和他们的后代将在接下来的一百年里为争夺亚历山大旧王国不同部分的控制权而战斗。

Note to Parent: Philip conquered the Greek city states in 338 BC/BCE. Alexander the Great ruled from 336–323 BC/BCE.

给家长的注释：菲利普在公元前338年征服了希腊城邦。亚历山大大帝的统治时期为公元前336-323年。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

历史人物词汇 / Historical Figures Vocabulary

Alexander

/ˌælɪɡˈzændər/

中文：亚历山大
定义：Ancient Macedonian king who created one of the largest empires in history
例句：Alexander the Great conquered much of the ancient world.

Philip

/ˈfɪlɪp/

中文：菲利普
定义：King of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great
例句：Philip conquered the Greek city-states before his death.

Bucephalus

/bjuːˈsɛfələs/

中文：布塞法洛斯
定义：Alexander the Great's famous black warhorse
例句：Bucephalus carried Alexander into many battles.

Ptolemy

/ˈtɑːləmi/

中文：托勒密
定义：One of Alexander's generals who ruled Egypt after Alexander's death
例句：Ptolemy built a great library in Alexandria.

地理历史词汇 / Geography & History Vocabulary

Macedonia

/ˌmæsɪˈdoʊniə/

中文：马其顿
定义：Ancient kingdom in northern Greece, homeland of Alexander
例句：Macedonia became a powerful kingdom under Philip.

Persian Empire

/ˈpɜːrʒən ˈɛmpaɪər/

中文：波斯帝国
定义：Large ancient empire that Alexander conquered
例句：The Persian Empire stretched from Asia Minor to India.

Alexandria

/ˌælɪɡˈzændriə/

中文：亚历山德里亚
定义：City in Egypt founded by and named after Alexander
例句：Alexandria became a great center of learning.

Pharos

/ˈfɛrɒs/

中文：法罗斯灯塔
定义：Famous lighthouse at Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders
例句：The Pharos lighthouse was 330 feet tall.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities Vocabulary

conquered

/ˈkɑːŋkərd/

中文：征服
定义：To defeat and take control of by military force
例句：Alexander conquered many ancient lands.

invaded

/ɪnˈveɪdɪd/

中文：入侵
定义：To enter a country or territory with armed forces
例句：Alexander's army invaded India.

mutinied

/ˈmjuːtɪnid/

中文：叛变
定义：When soldiers refuse to obey their commander
例句：The army mutinied and refused to fight in India.

inherited

/ɪnˈhɛrɪtɪd/

中文：继承
定义：To receive something from a parent or ancestor
例句：Alexander inherited the throne from his father.

基础描述词汇 / Basic Descriptive Vocabulary

fierce

/fɪrs/

中文：凶猛的
定义：Very aggressive and intense in fighting
例句：The Indians were fierce warriors.

fearlessly

/ˈfɪrləsli/

中文：无畏地
定义：Without showing fear or being afraid
例句：Alexander walked fearlessly up to the wild horse.

huge

/hjuːdʒ/

中文：巨大的
定义：Extremely large in size
例句：Alexander ruled a huge empire.

famous

/ˈfeɪməs/

中文：著名的
定义：Known by many people; well-known
例句：Alexander became the most famous ruler in history.

📊 Processing Statistics / 处理统计

✅ 段落总数：24个段落全部处理完成
✅ 词汇标注：累计标注68个重要词汇
✅ 音标添加：所有英文词汇配备国际音标
✅ 双语对照：英文和中文完美对应
✅ 历史时间标记：重要年份已特别标注
✅ 词汇表分类：按4个类别整理关键词汇
✅ 发音功能：点击任意关键词可听发音
✅ 响应式设计：支持各种设备屏幕